Golant

Golant is a delightful waterside village devoted to boats, fishing and peace and quiet. Some of the famous Troy boats are built here. It has two historical connections that make it unique, that of The Life of St Sampson and the story of Tristan and Iseult. St Sampson built his monastic cell in the 6th century. On the site of the cell stands St Sampson’s Parish Church, and, by the porch, another of Cornwall’s many holy wells.

Of all the Cornish saints, St Sampson is perhaps the one we know most about, thanks to a biography written about him in the early 7th century. He was the son of a Welsh king who eventually became abbot of Caldey Island off the Pembokeshire coast. One day, near Easter, he saw an angel who told him to leave Wales and travel across the sea. He did so, and reached Padstow, where he began a walk across Cornwall on what is now the Saints’ Way. He eventually reached Golant, and converted the people there to Christianity after seeing them worshipping an idol. He set up a small monastery before continuing on his way to Brittany, where he founded the Bishopric of Dol. It is said that he was particularly good at curing lepers.

Close to the village can also be found the Castle Dore Earthworks, the remains of an Iron Age fort. Castle Dore was the place where 6,000 Roundheads surrendered to King Charles (in 1644.

It is also where, it is said, King Mark of Cornwall’s palace stood, and yet another of the places where the story of Tristan and Iseult was played out. It is recorded that Iseult attended the church and gave her wedding dress to be made into a priest’s chasuble, a sleeveless cloak worn over the alb by priests during the saying of Mass.