Brea Hill, Trebetherick
Encyclopedia
Brea Hill is a circular hill beside the River Camel
estuary in north Cornwall
, United Kingdom
. The hill is 62 metres (203.4 ft) high and there are Bronze Age
tumuli (burial mounds) at the summit. The underlying geology in this area of Cornwall is Devonian
slates.
Brea Hill is situated at the south end of Daymer Bay
between the settlements of Trebetherick
and Rock
in the civil parish
of St Minver Lowlands
. approximately five miles northwest of Wadebridge
On the west side, Brea Hill rises straight from the foreshore; on the north and south it rises from low sand dunes. To the east, the dunes give way to a golf course and grassland with St Enodoc's Church (where the poet Sir John Betjeman
is buried) just below the hill.
The South West Coast Path
follows the west flank of the hill with an alternative route passing to the east. Brea Hill is grassed and treeless (except for a small wooded area low on the south flank) with rough footpaths leading to the summit and burial mounds.
poem 'Back from Australia', where Betjeman uses the alternative spelling Bray Hill
River Camel
The River Camel is a river in Cornwall, UK. It rises on the edge of Bodmin Moor and together with its tributaries drains a considerable part of North Cornwall. The river issues into the Celtic Sea area of the Atlantic Ocean between Stepper Point and Pentire Point having covered a distance of...
estuary in north Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The hill is 62 metres (203.4 ft) high and there are Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
tumuli (burial mounds) at the summit. The underlying geology in this area of Cornwall is Devonian
Devonian
The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya , to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya...
slates.
Brea Hill is situated at the south end of Daymer Bay
Daymer Bay
Daymer Bay is a bay and a beach on the east side of the River Camel estuary in north Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately six miles north of Wadebridge.Daymer Bay lies west of Trebetherick village at...
between the settlements of Trebetherick
Trebetherick
Trebetherick is a village on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the east side of the River Camel estuary approximately six miles north of Wadebridge and half-a-mile south of Polzeath....
and Rock
Rock, Cornwall
Rock is a coastal village in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated opposite Padstow on the northeast bank of the River Camel estuary. The village is in the civil parish of St Minver Lowlands approximately four miles northwest of Wadebridge.-Geography:The main residential area is set back from...
in the civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
of St Minver Lowlands
St Minver
St Minver is the name of an ecclesiastical parish, a civil parish and a village in north Cornwall, United Kingdom.The civil parish of St Minver is in Bodmin Registration District and is nominally divided into St Minver Highlands and St Minver Lowlands .The combined parish is bounded on the south...
. approximately five miles northwest of Wadebridge
Wadebridge
Wadebridge is a civil parish and town in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town straddles the River Camel five miles upstream from Padstow....
On the west side, Brea Hill rises straight from the foreshore; on the north and south it rises from low sand dunes. To the east, the dunes give way to a golf course and grassland with St Enodoc's Church (where the poet Sir John Betjeman
John Betjeman
Sir John Betjeman, CBE was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack".He was a founding member of the Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture...
is buried) just below the hill.
The South West Coast Path
South West Coast Path
The South West Coast Path is Britain's longest waymarked long-distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for , running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harbour in Dorset. Since it rises and falls with every river mouth, it is also one of the more...
follows the west flank of the hill with an alternative route passing to the east. Brea Hill is grassed and treeless (except for a small wooded area low on the south flank) with rough footpaths leading to the summit and burial mounds.
Popular Culture
Brea Hill features in the John BetjemanJohn Betjeman
Sir John Betjeman, CBE was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack".He was a founding member of the Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture...
poem 'Back from Australia', where Betjeman uses the alternative spelling Bray Hill
At home in Cornwall hurrying autumn skies
Leave Bray Hill barren, Stepper jutting bare,
And hold the moon above the sea-wet sand.
The very last of late September dies
In frosty silence and the hills declare
How vast the sky is, looked at from the land.