ROCKY Valley with its bluffs and deep clefts on the north coast of Cornwall between Boscastle and Tintagel comes under the care of the National Trust.

A bridge in the valley carries the South West Coast Path over a stream that flows to the coast from the St Nectan’s Glen attraction, at Trethevey, with its 60-foot St Nectan’s Kieve waterfall. The site around the waterfall is revered as a sacred place, with people leaving ribbons, crystals, photographs, inscriptions and other devotions.

St Nectan was said to be the eldest of the 24 children of King Brychan from Wales. St Nectan’s Kieve can be interpreted as St Nectan’s tub.

The National Trust encourages people to look out for two carvings of maze patterns on a rockface near ruined mill buildings in Rocky Valley. These are believed to possibly date back to the Bronze Age, though there is a certain amount of mystery surrounding their origin. The two labyrinths are protected as an ancient scheduled monument.

The stream in the valley, verdant in its upper section, is a habitat for otters, and scarlet tiger moths can also be seen.

Benoath Cove and Bossiney Haven lie to the west of Rocky Valley before the Willapark headland is reached. This is one of three areas called Willapark in the Boscastle and Tintagel district.

The one in Boscastle has a white watchtower building and there is another Willapark on the coast above Bossiney Haven. The name in Cornish means enclosure with a view. The Willapark near Tintagel, like the one at Boscastle, was the site of an Iron Age cliff fort. The Lye Rock on the coast here at one point had a significant puffin population but numbers had dropped away substantially before the end of the 20th century.

*Andrew Townsend is a journalist and writer. He further explores the county in the travel book, Cornwall Favourites For One And All!: A Quick Guide To Good Places To Visit Across The County, which is available in print and as an ebook. More details on Andrew’s books and ebooks can be found via this link to his author page on Amazon - https://bit.ly/AndrewTownsendAuthor