The Unexpected
After a day of continuous rain it appeared that a Summer Solstice Sunset was not going to happen this year – until less than 20 minutes before sundown.
Caradon Hill is not strictly on Bodmin Moor as it is technically just outside the Bodmin Moor Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. However, to all intents and purposes, it is a part of the same upland landscape, though not topped by a typical granite tor, but by a very man-made high-tech television aerial. This aerial takes the natural height of Caradon Hill at around 1211ft to a much greater additional 780ft, making a total "top-of-the-mast" height of 1991ft, and making it the highest lump of metal in Cornwall.
The mast has not been the only relic of human impact on Caradon Hill. It is near surrounded by old mine houses and shafts from the copper boom of the 19th century, and also some old granite quarry workings at the Caradon Quarry. There are also remains and evidence of much older uses of the hill, as in the Bronze Age burial cairns to be found on and around the summit.
The Unexpected
After a day of continuous rain it appeared that a Summer Solstice Sunset was not going to happen this year – until less than 20 minutes before sundown.
Caradon Hill is not strictly on Bodmin Moor as it is technically just outside the Bodmin Moor Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. However, to all intents and purposes, it is a part of the same upland landscape, though not topped by a typical granite tor, but by a very man-made high-tech television aerial. This aerial takes the natural height of Caradon Hill at around 1211ft to a much greater additional 780ft, making a total "top-of-the-mast" height of 1991ft, and making it the highest lump of metal in Cornwall.
The mast has not been the only relic of human impact on Caradon Hill. It is near surrounded by old mine houses and shafts from the copper boom of the 19th century, and also some old granite quarry workings at the Caradon Quarry. There are also remains and evidence of much older uses of the hill, as in the Bronze Age burial cairns to be found on and around the summit.