Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
and the whole experience is bound to make you nostalgic for the days when train travel
was more than a matter of simply getting from A to B. Allow two hours for the return trip.
The other end of the line at Boscarne Junction links up with the
Camel Trail
; bikes can be
taken on the trains if there's space, but it's worth ringing ahead to make sure.
Charlotte Dymond Courtroom Experience
( 01208-76616; Shire Hall, Bodmin; adult/child £3.95/2.50; 11am-4pm)
Located inside the Shire Hall
next to the tourist information centre, Bodmin's old county courtrooms explore the story
of Charlotte Dymond, a local girl who was found murdered on Bodmin Moor in 1884.
Using film, audio and some dodgy waxworks, the exhibit relives the infamous 1884 trial,
during which a young farmhand (and Dymond's alleged boyfriend) Matthew Weeks was
found guilty of the murder. Weeks was subsequently hanged at Bodmin Jail, and crowds
of around 20,000 turned up to watch his execution (extra trains had to be laid on specially
for the occasion). At the end of the tour you can cast your own verdict and look around
the old holding cells below the court.
MUSEUM
DON'T MISS
CAMEL VALLEY VINEYARD
Two miles west of Bodmin is Cornwall's most prestigious wine-maker,
Camel Valley Vineyard
(
01208-77959;
www.camelvalley.com
; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat), run by local entrepreneur Bob Lindo. It's been
producing award-winning wines since 1989, including a range of world-class whites and rosés, and a sparkling
bubbly that's Champagne in all but name. Aficionados say the wines have a fresh, light quality that comes from
the mild climate, sunlight, and pure sea air. The top wine is Darnibole Bacchus, the only UK wine to be afforded
its own 'geo-specific' status.
There's a range of tours around the vineyard available, all of which include the chance to try some of Bob's
best vintages, and a wine shop where you can stock up on your favourites.
Sleeping & Eating
St Benet's Abbey
( 01208-216014;
www.stbenetsabbey.co.uk
; Lanivet; d £70-86)
This atmospheric B&B near the village
of Lanivet is packed with history. It's housed in a former abbey dating from 1411, al-
though the rooms feel much more modern: the best have four-poster beds and coloured
leaded windows. It feels a tad generic in places, but let's face it - how often do you get the
chance to stay in a 15th-century abbey?
B&B
££
