Page:Cornwall (Salmon).djvu/86

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CORNWALL perilous bogs. Cultivation is rapidly increasing, but there is plenty of wildness left. This is the rainiest district of Cornwall, and is often swathed in fogs. Legends and prehistoric remains cluster thickly — stone-circles, beehive- huts, logans ; there must at one time have been a large population here, pre-Celtic and later. Bodi'igan's Leap. (See Portmellin.) Boleigh or Bolieit (about 2 m. E. of St. Buryan) is supposed to be the scene of Athelstan's final victory over the Britons. The Pipers, two rude granite pillars, have been supposed to mark the burial-place of the slain, but are probably of earlier date. Boscastle may be reached by coach from Camelford Station (5 m.) or from Bude (18 m.). The name, a corruption of Bottreaux' Castle, embodies recollections of the Norman family of that name ; the castle has gone. Boscastle is one of the wildest and most romantic spots on the Cornish coast. The place is entirely unconventional, with cliff-paths for its prom- enades, and no accessible beach. A tortuous zigzag ravine allows the Vallency stream to join an inlet of the sea, and thus a tiny port is formed ; but it must be seen to be realised. Entrance to the harbour, through a double bend of rocks, is exceedingly difficult ; vessels are warped in by immense hawsers. The best view of this harbour, sometimes called a miniature Balaclava, is from the exposed coast- guard station on the right ; but the view from Willapark Point, on the opposite side, is 66