A walk on the wild side!
Just a short walk from the Barns is the beautiful wooded Butney bank. This narrow spit of land juts out into the creek opposite the village of Devoran. It is a favourite with the locals for a quiet dog walk, to bird watch or to look for the visiting wild geese that love to graze here at low tide.
The ancient Oak
This is a lovely spot to unwind no matter the time of year. Despite it’s close proximity to the busy main road the bank feels like it’s own little world. There is an ancient oak tree about half way out into the creek that in the winter shows off a perfect and rather splendid dome of branches. In the summer provides a shady spot for a picnic. The whole of this tree, from the tips of it’s canopy to it’s thick roots, is bright green. It is completely covered in a matty coating of the soft, fuzzy lichen. If ever a tree needed hugging, it’s this one.
This narrow strip of land, rather like a long straight finger poking out into a peaceful creek is a wonderful habitat for birds and plant life. You will find, depending on the time of year, golden gorse, grasses, ferns, moss and all manner of wading birds. In the spring, there are waves of pink thrift across the mud flats and at particularly high tides the creek becomes a lake of glassy water. In recent years this area has become popular with stand-up paddle boarders and kayakers.
A hidden history
Standing here on a warm summer’s evening all is natural and serene. But Butney Bank has actually has a very interesting past, it is unbelievably completely manmade. Once this whole area was a hive of industry, chimneys billowed smoke, furnaces roared. Boats brought timber from Norway (hence the name of Perranarworthal’s pub – The Norway Inn) and took away mining machinery to destinations as far flung as South Africa and Brazil. Below the surface of the water, tin miners tunnelled out beneath the river beds hunting for deposits and the waste they created was piled up creating artificial islands. These islands became landing stages and platforms for further mine shafts. All was black clinker, iron red dirt and grey smoke. Gradually the islands formed what we see today – Butney Bank.
But these days nature has completely taken over and Butney Bank became a haven for wildlife and an ideal spot for an peaceful evening walk.
Getting there:
Butney Bank is a short walk down quiet lanes and footpaths (estimated 15-20 mins) from any of our cottages. There is one busy road to cross.
Facilities:
There is on-road parking and some off-road at the café.
Yummy Scummy Café provides hot and cold food and drinks as well as some amazing cakes close to Butney Bank. There is indoor and outdoor seating overlooking the creek.
Butney Bank is at the end of the Coast to Coast bike trail.
NB: I should note that I have not been able to find the name Butney Bank in any historical record, it is the name my father, who has lived in the area of more than 75 years, gives the bank. He doesn’t remember why it is called this but played there as a boy.
