Carn Marth

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Carn Marth is the name of a hill in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, near Redruth in the Kerrier district. It is 771 feet high, and is well known for the granite quarried from it in the past.

Carn Marth lies a couple of miles southeast of Redruth and is one of the series of ancient hills that run down the backbone of Cornwall stretching all the way to Lands End. That they have attracted people through the ages is hardly a surprise. From before the Bronze Age they have been natural places of refuge, offering easily defended bases and view points out over what was the densely wooded landscape of prehistoric Britain. In more recent times they have been perfect sites for beacons to warn of impending attack, mark victories and celebrations of all sorts.

The hill can be seen from Bodmin Moor on a clear day, over thirty miles. The reverse is also true. One can look back, up to the East past St Agnes Beacon to the hills of the Moor, Rough Tor and Brown Willy, the highest hill in Cornwall at 1375ft, Carn Marth being somewhat less at 771feet. The Celtic Sea and Bristol Channel to the north and the English Channel to the south are both easily seen. Those with keen sight or binoculars will be able to pick out St Anthony’s Light at the entrance to Carrick Roads with Pendennis Castle and Falmouth opposite. Turning further west there is the glint of light on the reservoir at Stithians, then more hills, Carnmenellis and Carn Brea, with views across the Great Flat Lode and its attendant engine houses making such poignant relics of the great age of mining

The topmost parts of the Carn are clothed in Lowland Heath, Gorse, Bracken and a generous mixture of wild flowers. As one would expect this makes for an equally rich population of insects and in turn, as one moves up the food chain, there are small mammals, reptiles and amphibians and then birds being among the most visible. Cuckoos, Warblers, Swallows drinking on the wing in the flooded quarries, Buzzards and even Peregrines soar overhead. Lower down there are fields for grazing, their limits marked by Cornish Hedges.

On the Richard D. James Album by electronic musician Aphex Twin is a song called Carn Marth.