Caradon Hill

About Caradon Hill

Crowned by a prominent television transmitter visible across much of south-east Cornwall, this Bodmin Moor peak offers a blend of industrial heritage and wide-ranging views. The ascent from Pensilva passes through a landscape scarred by nineteenth-century copper mining, leading to a summit overlooking Kit Hill and the distant English Channel.

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Did You Know?

• •The name is derived from the Cornish words 'karn', meaning a rock pile or tor, and 'dun', signifying a hill or downland. It likely refers to the prominent granite outcrops that once defined the summit before the installation of modern infrastructure.
• •The summit is home to the Caradon Hill transmitting station, a 237-metre (778 ft) guyed mast that has been a Cornish landmark since 1961. It serves as the primary source of digital television and radio signals for much of Cornwall and West Devon.
• •During the mid-19th century, the hill was the epicentre of a significant copper boom. The South Caradon Mine, situated on its southern flank, became one of the wealthiest copper mines in the British Isles, leading to the rapid growth of the nearby village of Pensilva.
• •The Liskeard and Caradon Railway, a mineral line opened in 1844, once circled the base of the hill. It was an engineering feat of its time, designed to carry granite and ore down to the canal at Moorswater, and eventually to the sea at Looe.
• •From the 371-metre summit, the view to the east is dominated by the chimney stack of Kit Hill. Beyond it, the high plateaus of Dartmoor are visible, while looking south offers a clear line of sight to the English Channel and the Breakwater in Plymouth Sound.
• •It is perhaps the only hill on the moor where the traditional art of navigation is entirely redundant; if you cannot see the massive steel mast, you have likely walked into a very thick cloud or a different county.