Hensbarrow Downs

About Hensbarrow Downs

Dominating the landscape north of St Austell, this is a hill defined by Cornwall’s industrial heritage. While the natural summit features a Bronze Age cairn, the true high point is now an artificial spoil tip from the surrounding china clay workings, offering a stark, moon-like environment with surprisingly expansive coastal views.

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Did You Know?

• •The name derives from the Old English 'henn', meaning a wild bird or waterhen, combined with 'beorg', a burial mound, referring to the Bronze Age round cairn that occupies the natural summit.
• •Known as the heart of the 'Cornish Alps', the hill’s profile has been completely transformed by the china clay industry; the official Marilyn summit is now located atop a massive spoil heap that stands significantly higher than the original ground.
• •During the medieval period, the hill was the assembly point for the Blackmoor Stannary, one of the four Cornish districts where tin miners met to settle legal disputes and manage the industry's administration.
• •The summit provides a unique vantage point over the mid-Cornwall plateau, with clear views stretching to the jagged silhouette of Roche Rock, the high granite tors of Bodmin Moor, and the waters of St Austell Bay to the south.
• •It is perhaps the only hill in the country where the highest point is technically a 'sky tip' composed of waste quartz sand, meaning the summit can literally grow or change shape depending on local quarrying activity.
• •Because of its significant distance from the higher peaks of Bodmin Moor, this hill qualifies as a Marilyn, possessing over 150 metres of relative prominence despite its modest elevation.