Paranormal I...Bodmin Moor30th Oct
Lavender Cot...Bodmin Moor 
A favoured resting place for the many travellers who’ve crossed the remote landscape of Bodmin Moor over the years, The Old Inn dates back to the 11th century when it provided shelter for the monks who built the neighbouring church. In more recent times, workers from the local quarries have gathered here after a day’s toil providing granite for such famous landmarks as the Eddystone Lighthouse, Tower Bridge and the Diana Memorial Fountain.
The warm and friendly Cornish welcome remains, and visitors will be made to feel at home in the comfortable cosy bars with their huge roaring log fires and sloping beamed ceilings. With its well-stocked bar of Traditional Ales, Ciders and Fine Wines, The inn is open all day, everyday, so visitors are always guaranteed of a real Cornish welcome.
Apart from being famous for its Moorland Grills and Sunday Roasts, there is an extensive and daily-changing Specials Board of home cooked dishes using only the very best, fresh local produce. A range of tasty hot snacks are available each afternoon if you unfortunately missed lunch! You can also dine in the spacious a la carte restaurant with a menu designed to make the most of the amazing array of fresh local produce available daily which includes fresh fish, Cornish cheeses, local meat, game and poultry.
Also within the parish of St Breward, on Bodmin Moor, lie two of Cornwall’s best known landmarks, Rough Tor and Brown Willy. Rough Tor rises to a height of about 1300 feet and is the second highest point in Cornwall. Brown Willy, about a mile to the west, is the highest at about 1360 feet. From the summit of Rough Tor, there are superb views across Cornwall. On a good day, both coasts can be seen clearly.
The mountain is part of a registered common and is grazed by cattle, sheep and ponies. It is popular with locals and visitors and is the most visited peak on Bodmin Moor. It covers an area of 175 acres and belongs to the National Trust. Near the summit, there is a memorial to the men of the 43rd Wessex Division who died in the Second World War.
Situated just off the A30 halfway between Bodmin and Launceston, you will find the legendary Jamaica Inn. In 1778 the Inn was extended to include a coach house, stables and a tack room creating the L-shaped main part of the building as it is today. Built of solid granite to withstand the vagaries of the notorious peninsula weather on its windswept, exposed hilltop, for nearly three hundred years, Jamaica Inn has welcomed weary travellers to its hearth.
Dame Daphne Du Maurier was one of the Inn’s most famous visitors. Together with a friend she stayed in 1930 to explore, on horse-back, some of the moor’s wilderness and became lost on the bleak, inhospitable landscape in bad weather. The experience left a deep impression on her and out of it grew the inspiration for the novel ‘Jamaica Inn’, first published in 1936. The book, an imaginative tale of adventure, of smuggling, dark deeds and evil men was an immediate success.
Log fires in the great inglenook in the main bar reflect a warm welcome, with good food and drink from the Pedlar’s Bar. To the rear of the Inn is the children’s play area, the Gift Shop and the old stable block, which houses the Smugglers at Jamaica Inn Museum and a memorial room to Daphne Du Maurier, who died in 1989.
The room is full of memorabilia, including her Sheraton writing desk on top of which is a packet of du Maurier cigarettes named after her father. There’s also as a dish of Glacier Mints - Dame Daphne’s favourite sweets.
Close by, Demon Davey, the vicar of Altarnun and arch villain invites you to the Jamaica Inn story, told in tableaux, light and sound.
Here, you can enter into the evil yet romantic era of smuggling in Cornwall and see what is probably the finest collection of smuggling artefacts in the country. Smuggling evolved when customs dues were first introduced in the thirteenth century but there was no form of law and order until the fifteenth century and even then it was negligible. Goods such as silks, tea, tobacco and brandy were more frequently smuggled into Cornwall than anywhere else in England. Smuggling soon became accepted and most took part in the proceedings - even the revenue men were quite approachable to the odd bribe!
Although lacking the remoteness of parts of Dartmoor, if you venture onto the moor in the twilight you may find the tales of the Beast of Bodmin are all too believable
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