Altarnun

By the picturesque packhorse bridge, the chiefly 15th century church in Altarnun - dedicated to St Nonna, mother of David the patron saint of Wales – has been dubbed the ‘Cathedral of the Moors’. The church has a 108-feet pinnacled tower that rises high above the peat-stained river. Look out, too, for the set of 79 superb bench ends, carved at the beginning of the 16th century, boldly depicting secular and sacred subjects – such as saints, musicians, clowns, moorland sheep and even a bagpipe player. In the churchyard stands the only relic of St Nonna’s time, a Celtic cross that is thought to date from the same time as her journey here from Wales in around AD 527. Also in the churchyard are slate memorials that were carved by local sculptor Nevil Northey Burnard, who became famous when he sculpted the head of Edward VII, then Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall, he is also responsible for the effigy of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism (see also Trewint). Situated in a steep-sided valley of Penpont Water, this pretty, granite-grey village also has literary associations with Daphne du Maurier; the Old Rectory of 1842, which lies close to the church, is featured in her most famous novel Jamaica Inn. 

The land around Altarnun, known as East Moor, is an unrestricted open access area that includes the 1,100-feet Fox Tor and the Nine Stones Circle.