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Carn Galva and view towards Bosigran cliffs
In 1861 John Thomas Blight, the Cornish author, illustrator and antiquarian, described Carn Galva in his A Week at the Land’s End as: “a bold and curious pile of granite rock, about 623 feet above the level of the sea, is a conspicuous object from the locality. With the golden furze, purple heath, whortleberry, and the bright mosses and lichens on the rocks, this cairn has in colour a gorgeous appearance.”
Part of the HEATH proposal includes the insertion of two cattle grids on the B3306 narrow twisting coast road that runs from St.Just to St.Ives – arguably one of the most scenic roads in Britain. Jon Brookes of the National Trust informed Zennor Parish Council on 9th January 2007 that there would be no need to close the road for building the two cattle grids, and that the £37,000 for the whole project would be met from European Heath Project Funds.
Two supporters of Save Penwith Moors recently (end July 2008)went to the site of the proposed cattle grids and took photographs where the grids will - if permitted - will be inserted on this very busy road especially during the holiday season. Both these cattle grids are to be positioned close to sharp bends in the road; the western one, near Rosemergy, will be adjacent to the end of a footpath that leads downhill over the moors and is likely to provide a convenient track for cattle to use.
Location of cattle grid at western Rosemergy end of B3306
25th SEPTEMBER 2008 The Cornishman reported that planning permission for the two cattle grids on the B3306 below Carn Galva had been granted to the National Trust, but that the Trust had not yet confirmed that the scheme will go ahead.
4th SEPTEMBER 2008 The Cornishman reported that “The charity [National Trust] wants its tenant farmer Bob Scrambler of Bosigran Farm to be able to graze up to 75 beef cattle on the 150 hectare Carn Galva moorland, in its stated efforts to control bracken and promote a better habitat for birds and butterflies.” The same issue also reported that Jon Brookes, National Trust’s property manager for West Penwith, said grazing would “bring the moors alive” by clearing gorse away from rich archaeological burial sites long buried by it ….. the cattle make tracks in the gorse and stop it from being so dominant.” And the same ‘authority’ again: “The habitat [of Carn Galva moors] used to be woodland and that’s what it all wants to get back to, and in some places we’ve got willow creeping back.”
Traffic flow statistics at Zennor on the B3306 during 2004 shows that traffic during August was almost four times that recorded during January: the August daily average in a 24 hour period was 1301 vehicles - some 40,000 in that month. If cattle are to be allowed to roam across this road serious accidents are bound to happen, especially as this is the only straight stretch of road between Morvah and Zennor where it is possible to overtake, and is in an area subjected to frequent dense foggy conditions that makes visibility extremely difficult.
[Ref: Annual Report of Traffic and Collision Statistics 2005; TRAFFIC AND COLLISIONS IN CORNWALL, Richard Fish, Department Director; Cornwall County Council. http://www.cornwallstatistics.org.uk/media/pdf/p/h/Traffic__Collisions_2005_ALL.pdf]