Monday, 1 December 2025

A Drystone Wall Built By Cornish Miners And Pennywort and Ivy.


 A very old drystone wall believed to have been built by Cornish miners who mined and worked on our peninsula in the nineteenth century.  

The wall is a few hundred feet long and covered in Ivy and Pennywort.  The Pennywort are round shaped like pennies.

Years ago our ancestors had medicinal uses for many herbs and plants.  Pennywort was used to treat inflammation and I have read of Pennywort soup being used to treat bee stings.

They really were clever and resourceful our ancestors.  

I often walk past this wall on my walks.  I walked four miles yesterday and eight today.

I have really got back into walking again.  Apart from wearing out shoe leather.  Walking is free and gets you fit.


23 comments:

  1. We try and walk most days, its good to get outside, but we don't ever walk as far as you,keeping fit as we age is a must.

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  2. Hi Marlene. I have really got back into the walking again. I have to get outside and sometimes I might meet another walkers and have a chat. I didn't speak to anyone today just cars passing by. Thanks!

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  3. Interesting drystone wall, built to last. Walking is my favorite exercise. I have a pedometer and try to get 8000 steps daily. Take care of yourself! Cali

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  4. Yes Cali. All the stones are stacked virtually. I suppose it gives the wall strength and makes it shockproof. I like walking so much. Especially when I make myself go for a long hike. Last week I walked 18 miles in one day. It's too wet to weed the gardens and I have to get out of the house even when it was a mizzle day like today. Thanks Cali.

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  5. That is a great wall. I like the way they stack the stones. I love seeing these traditions, here and there.

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  6. Glad you like it Linda. The drystone walls are like stone fingerprints of the legacy these skilled workmen left us. Stone last for centuries if it's maintained. The walls are stunningly beautiful.

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  7. I love drystone walls and the skill that went into them. Walking is good for your spirits as well as your health. I get out almost daily, any weather.

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  8. Me too Boud. I love drystone walls and I love walking.

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  9. There's so much that walking can give us isn't there Dave? Improved physical health. Better mental health. Losing weight. Historical interest. Better appreciation of the weather and Nature. Unique images either in our minds or in our cameras. And as you say, it's free.

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  10. Yes walking is good for mind, spirit and body YP. Staring into the distance is supposed to improve your eye sight. You miss so much travelling in cars. Walking is much more sedate and you notice new things even on a familiar stroll.

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  11. Excellent choice here! And thanks for showing us this drystone wall.

    Walking (and cycling) is my therapy for more or less everything that ails me.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Sabine. I am glad you like the drystone wall. I am thinking of getting a e bike soon. Especially for getting around and to town.

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  12. Your so good walking. Since having to give up swimming everyday I’ve not done much in the way of “exercise “. I am however, trying to get all my spring cleaning done. The weather isn’t playing the game though and it takes away my enthusiasm

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  13. Hi Angela. We are having a lot of wet weather again and I can't get on the veg plot. At least I can walk for exercise and to get out of the house.

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  14. I wonder why more drystone walls aren't stacked vertically? There's no sign of collapse in the one you photographed. I walk every day. I always feel better outdoors, and I hope you do too.

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  15. It does make sense to stack the stones vertically Debby. I try to walk most days. It's good to get out of the house and it makes you feel better walking.

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  16. Those walls were built to last. Walking is good for the soul.

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  17. Yes Jules. Walls built to last. Walking is good for the soul.

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  18. Getting outside for at least 10 minutes per day is essential and the elderly in old folks home often do not get this. It aids the sleep cycle even just to sit out in the open air. In fact the more time we spend outside in the open air the better. I do my daily exercise routine outside in all weathers.

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  19. I agree Rachel. Getting outside and taking exercise like walking and breathing in the fresh air. The convalescence homes of old use to be at the seaside and nurses would wheel them around the grounds to breathe in the fresh sea air. I remember these homes for miners at seaside resorts like Blackpool and Scarborough.

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  20. Sorry to be so late in commenting - it has been a long journey home for me.
    I had no idea that Cornish miners had been in your part of the world. It was usually Irish workers who went to England rather than the other way round wasn't it.

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  21. Glad you got back safely JayCee. Cornish miners mined the 3 peninsula where I live in Southern Ireland. They mined for lead, copper, tin and silver. They left here afterwards in Butte in Montana USA. The Irish Diaspora is said to be around 90 million yet the population is less than London or Yorkshire.

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  22. Stone finger prints - I like that idea. Very lasting fingerprints in many parts of the world.

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