Misty monuments in West Cornwall - Men an Tol and Lanyon Quoit

On a dull August day in Cornwall, I decided to investigate Men an Tol - a mysterious holed stone on the moors around Zennor

It's on the road from Penzance towards Madron and Morvah. There's a roadside sign by a tiny former school 

...and places to park by this gate.

There was also a notice about the Lanyon Tea Room, of which more later

This should have been a view, but it's cut off by the mist

...and more mist - but you couldn't get lost ...

...as the path is very clear

We passed an old farmhouse

Another one, seemingly abandoned in the distance

We turned off, along a broad grassy track (with an old mining building on the horizon)

And there it was, in a circle

Men an Tol (translates as "the stone with the hole", which is hard to argue with)

As to its origins, it could be Neolithic or Bronze Age. It looks like it was once part of a stone circle. 

It is said that if you crawl through it, you will be cured of a bad back. I tried: it didn't appear to work. Alternatively, legend says it will help someone get pregnant, or get babies back from the elves, should they have been stolen. 

I have no evidence of this either way!

Husband peering through the mist in search of a view!

Inspired by the little poster, we visited the Lanyon Tea Rooms, in a farm outbuilding

The view improved a little as the mist began to lift: this is from the Tea Room window. Very nice cream tea with freshly baked scones still warm fromt he oven.

 On the map, there's a further anitquity nearby: Lanyon Quoit, right beside the Madron to Morvah road

There are steep steps over the wall - or a little further along, there's a gate!

Lanyon quoit - a Neolithic dolmen, or chambered tomb

The rough area around it was once a barrow

In the 18th Century, it was tall enough to ride through mounted on a horse
 

But the tomb fell down and one of the stones was badly damaged, so on re-erection 20 years later, there were only three supports, not four

...and you definitely couldn't ride through it on a horse any longer.

So, it has changed over the years, but makes a pleasant, easily accessible place to visit. And as if by some magic, the moment we decided to go home, the sun broke through the clouds 

Today's walk: It's 1.5 miles return from the road to Men an Tol, and Lanyon Quoit is by the roadside, about 2 miles away.  They could easily be combined into one walk on a better day, with a stop at the tea room. Men an Tol is about 8 miles from St Ives, but couldn't be more different, on the wild and lovely moors. Highly recommend a visit.