Gurnard's Head
Site details |
|
|---|---|
| Type of site: | Promontory Fort / Cliff Castle |
| Nearest town: | Zennor |
| Map reference: | SW 4336 3842 (SW4338) |
| Coordinates: | 50.1901, -5.59682 |
Nearby sites |
|
| Bodrifty | Ancient Village / Settlement (3.2km) |
| Boscawen Un | Stone Circle (11.3km) |
| Zennor Quoit | Burial Chamber (Dolmen) (3.5km) |
| The Merry Maidens of Boleigh | Stone Circle (13.9km) |
| Men-An-Tol | Stone Circle (3.6km) |
| Pendeen Fogou / Pendeen Vau | Fogou (6km) |
| Sancreed Well | Holy Well (9.3km) |
| Madron Well | Holy Well (5.8km) |
| Chysauster | Ancient Village / Settlement (5.1km) |
| Lanyon Quoit | Burial Chamber (Dolmen) (4.8km) |
| Tregeseal East | Stone Circle (7.7km) |
| Chun Castle | Hillfort (5.3km) |
| Kenidjack Cliff Castle | Promontory Fort / Cliff Castle (9.8km) |
| Bosigran Castle | Promontory Fort / Cliff Castle (2.3km) |
| The Blind Fiddler | Standing Stone / Menhir (10.4km) |
| Boleigh Fogou | Fogou (13.3km) |
| Bosiliack Barrow | Barrow (4.3km) |
| Boswens Menhir | Standing Stone / Menhir (5.9km) |
| Brane - Entrance Grave | Burial Chamber (Dolmen) (10.8km) |
| Carn Euny Fogou & Village | Ancient Village / Settlement (10.1km) |
| Carfury | Standing Stone / Menhir (4.6km) |
| Ballowall Barrow (Carn Gloose) | Burial Chamber (Dolmen) (10.6km) |
| Chapel Carn Brea | Burial Chamber (Dolmen) (11.5km) |
| Chun Quoit | Burial Chamber (Dolmen) (5.5km) |
| The Drift Stones | Standing Stone / Menhir (10.2km) |
| Gun Rith | Standing Stone / Menhir (14km) |
| Gurnard's Head | Promontory Fort / Cliff Castle (NANkm) |
| Porthmeor Stone | Standing Stone / Menhir (1.3km) |
| Sancreed Beacon | Ancient Village / Settlement (9.2km) |
| The Selus Stone | Standing Stone / Menhir (9.4km) |
| Tregiffian Barrow | Burial Chamber (Dolmen) (14km) |
Gurnard's Head is a long, narrow, headland near the hamlet of Treen, in the parish of Zennor, on the north side of the Penwith peninsula. The name derives from the fact that the shape of the headland is supposed to resemble the head of the Gurnard fish. The Cornish name for the headland is 'Ynyal', which means 'desolate'.
Two crumbling stone ramparts, each around sixty meters long, cross the narrowest part of the headland forming an Iron Age promontory fort (cliff castle) known as Trereen Dinas (not to be confused with Treryn Dinas, near another hamlet called Treen in the parish of St Levan, the other side of Land's End). The ramparts enclose an area of roughly three hectares within which the remains of sixteen roundhouses have been found, averaging six meters in diameter. An excavation in 1939 revealed that the back of the inner rampart had been constructed in three steps, providing a place for slingers to stand. This type of construction has also been found in some Iron Age cliff castles in Brittany. The promontory defences are generally fairly hard to make out, although it is possible to discern the remains of the walls and at least one entrance.
The area is almost entirely owned by the National Trust, and the cliff castle is on open access land just off the coast path.
