The parish of Linkinhorne is bordered by the River Inny to the north east and Bodmin Moor to the west. Bissected by the wooded Lynher Valley, the parish is divided into two nearly equal parts by the River Lynher, which runs through it on a north-south axis. A medieval bridge crosses the river at Plushabridge.
The east of the parish is mainly agricultural and characterised by meadows and tumbling streams, while the west rises steeply to Bodmin Moor. The parish includes the villages of Minions, Henwood and Caradon, all of which prospered greatly during the nineteenth century when Captain Jack Clymo discovered a small vein of copper ore. Caradon Hill became a hive of activity, with more than four thousand men, women and children employed in the mines. Derelict engine houses and other remnants of mining can still be seen today.
The name 'Linkinhorne' means church site (Lann) of Kenhoarne, although the parish church is dedicated to St Melor, or Mylor. The church of St Melor, which mostly dates from the fifteenth century, has the second highest tower in Cornwall, a medieval altar slab and a thirteenth century font. Nearby is the holy well of St Melor.
Linkinhorne features in the Domesday Book as Reselton (town by the ford), which was part of the manor of Rillaton, one of the seventeen 'Antiqua Maneria' belonging to the Duchy of Cornwall. In 1837 the Rillaton Round Barrow was discovered near Minions containing Bronze Age grave goods including a gold beaker disk now on display in the British Museum. The Hurlers stone circle, one of Bodmin Moor's most famous landmarks, lies within the parish of Linkinhorne, near Minions, as does The Cheesewring, a stack of rocks precariously balanced on top of one another, and Daniel Gumb's cave.
The Darley Oak at Darley Farm is thought to be a thousand years old and has a circumference of thirty six feet.
