Zennor
Quoit
Burial Chamber
SW 469380
It is very hard to park near the path that leads uphill to this site. There are two very small laybys for one vehicle each before the house where the track is on the coast road. Follow the track uphill to where it forks, take the left and carry on uphill until you reach a mine ruin near the hilltop. Just to the SE of the rock outcrops near here are the remains of Sperris Quoit.
Follow the path from the mine ruin until you reach a junction, turn right and this leads to Zennor Quoit
This is a very imposing tomb high on the moor and seems a desolate windswept place. It is a good example of a portal dolmen and as well as the enclosed burial chamber, it also has an additional antechamber and entrance façade.
The large capstone weighs over 9 tons and is at an angle having slipped. (In 1881 the floor of the chamber was “excavated” with explosives but the main chamber survived) The capstone appears to be only in contact with one of the five supporting stones. There are two large portal slabs either side of a closing stone and beside the tomb are 5 remaining standing stones forming a rectangular structure about 3.5 by 1.5 metres. It is believed that the whole structure was part of one mound.
View of portal slabs and standing stones
We camped at Trevalgan Farm site near here where an excellent coastal walk has been made and the owner has even constructed his own modern stone circle near the cliffs and attached his own “legend” to it. I didn’t have my camera on this walk to record it. It is also a very good campsite.
Easter
2002