Where the land ends

06.06.2025

Today I have been walking the south west coastal path between Cape Cornwall and Sennen Cove. Just past Cape Cornwall where moorland meets the sea is Ballowall Barrow or Carn Gluze, a unique Bronze Age structure which remains puzzling amongst archaeological findings to date. Walkers on the coastal path could be forgiven for missing Carn Gluze as despite it’s size it sits hidden from view above the trail with no signs to it.

It was discovered and unearthed by William Copeland Borlase in the 19th century after Tin Miner’s had told him of strange lights and dancing fairies at the location. Many archaeologists work on a hunch and in this case Borlase got it right. What sets it apart from other cairns is the thick high outer wall containing five cists and an inner mound of stone with a large open chamber at it’s centre. The outer wall has a breach on the seaward side that aligns with the direction of the central chamber, which can only be viewed on the opposite side via the curving narrow gap between the outer and inner walls. The walls are now like a rockery covered with the spires of Penny Wort and pink Sea Thrift.

Moving through the cairn is a disorientating experience as the high walls prevent you from seeing out which caused in me a feeling of claustrophobia. Some of the cists where Borlase found pottery shards and cremation remains are still open. Even though the site has been renovated it feels authentic and conjures a weird captive atmosphere.