There are several ways to explore Holywell. It’s part of a big walk in my Mid Cornwall Walks or the Saints Walks, a stunning walk with an embarrassment of riches but quite tiring. Alternatively you can walk to Holywell from Polly Joke, an easy four mile circular. And easiest of all you can park at Holywell itself.
We parked at Polly Joke and walked across the common and down through the sand dunes. Depending on the sands and tides there are a variety of wonders. A ship wreck, a geological marvel creating a holy well, a waterfall in the back of a cave, another holy well on a golf course, giant sand dunes, a river and of course the wonderful sea.
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Yesterday, we just did the dunes and the hidden holy well, but I have added photo of all the sights and sounds. I say sounds, because you can’t see the waterfall, only hear it in the darkness. The sands had covered the wreck, possibly the tide wasn’t low enough but I think the sands were a bit too high. If that surprises you, the floor of a beach is always changing. After heavy storms people have often come down to their local beach to discover all the sand has gone. The course of a river across the beach can have shifted and sandbars can moved and reform, often with devastating consequences.
As with all cave exploration, no matter how small a cave, know what the tide is doing. On a big flat beach like Holywell, cave exploration is best done on a falling tide. A rising tide is always faster than you think.
