The cross marked way continued from Redgate Cross to King Doniert’s Stone. Actually this is two stones that are probably the bases and shafts of other ancient crosses. One includes an inscription that refer to King Doniert, said to have been the last king of Cornwall. Other records suggest he died in 875 AD. These were both the biggest and most decorated cross pieces I’ve seen since leaving Land’s End.
Shortly after these stones there was a cattle grid that marked the start of Bodmin Moor. It means that livestock can graze anywhere on the Moor. We saw some Belted Galloway cattle, a hardy breed, doing just that. They were near the Longstone Cross, another of the simple style of slab crosses similar to those seen earlier in the walk. At the time, such crosses would have been common at cross roads and as boundary markers or meeting points.
A little further on, The Hurlers are much older being three Neolithic stone circles near the village of Minions.
Obviously Minions has made the most of the well known loveable short sighted cartoon creatures. The Teashop is an excellent place.
From Minions the road was downhill all the way to Upton Cross and Rilla Mill. Once more the flowered narrow lanes returned. I heard the flap of a buzzard’s wing and saw its shadow on the road. Smaller birds were also common in the hedges: wren, Jay, blue tit were just a few I saw. The road dipped and climbed again, sometimes steeply, before arriving at Trebullett Methodist Church marking the end of Day 10.
We retraced our route by car for an ice cream at Minions. It was a glorious day and a great sense of achievement in reaching Bodmin Moor, 300 metres above sea level, the highest so far.
From Psalm 121
I look up to the hills:
From where does my help come?
My help comes from God the Creator.
Prayer
As the road rises and falls,
As the hills mount in waves to the horizon,
As the track winds downhill
Or climbs steeply to the summit,
So I am amazed to be walking this way.
The cross marks the way;
Both guide and meeting point,
Telling part of the human story in this landscape.
With a buzzard’s eye view of the earth,
Or a Primrose eye view from the hedge,
Keep us in your care, Creator.
May the road rise to meet us.
JAL 11.04.2019i
Day 10 of the End to End: Redgate Cross to Trebullett Methodist Church