Cornwall and Devon Walks with Julia Bradbury episode 1: Julia takes on a stunning six-and-a-half-mile route on Cornwall’s most westerly point. She’ll experience the iconic landmark of Land’s End.
In this uplifting travel series, Julia Bradbury heads off the beaten track as she explores Cornwall and Devon by foot, meeting the people who live and work in these two spectacular counties and sampling some of the West Country’s legendary fare.
Cornwall and Devon Walks with Julia Bradbury episode 1
Cornwall
Cornwall is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, with the River Tamar forming the border between them. Cornwall forms the westernmost part of the South West Peninsula of the island of Great Britain. The southwesternmost point is Land’s End and the southernmost Lizard Point. Cornwall has a population of 568,210 and an area of 3,563 km2 (1,376 sq mi). The county has been administered since 2009 by the unitary authority, Cornwall Council. The ceremonial county of Cornwall also includes the Isles of Scilly, which are administered separately. The administrative centre of Cornwall is Truro, its only city.
Cornwall was formerly a Brythonic kingdom and subsequently a royal duchy. It is the cultural and ethnic origin of the Cornish diaspora. The Cornish nationalist movement contests the present constitutional status of Cornwall and seeks greater autonomy within the United Kingdom in the form of a devolved legislative Cornish Assembly with powers similar to those in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. In 2014, Cornish people were granted minority status under the European Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, giving them recognition as a distinct ethnic group.
Land’s End – Cornwall and Devon Walks
Land’s End is a headland and holiday complex in western Cornwall, England, situated within the Penwith peninsula about eight miles (13 km) west-south-west of Penzance at the western end of the A30 road. To the east of it is the English Channel, and to the west the Celtic Sea. Land’s End is the most westerly point of mainland Cornwall and England. However, it is not the westernmost point on mainland Great Britain, as this title narrowly goes to Corrachadh Mòr in the Scottish Highlands.
Tourists have been visiting Land’s End for over three hundred years. In 1649, an early visitor was the poet John Taylor, who was hoping to find subscribers for his new book Wanderings to see the Wonders of the West. In 1878 people left Penzance by horse-drawn vehicles from outside the Queens and Union hotels and travelled via St Buryan and Treen, to see the Logan Rock. There was a short stop to look at Porthcurno and the Eastern Telegraph Company followed by refreshments at the First and Last Inn in Sennen.
They then headed for Land’s End, often on foot or horse, because of the uneven and muddy lanes. Over one hundred people could be at Land’s End at any one time. At Carn Kez, the First and Last Inn owned a small house which looked after the horses while visitors roamed the cliffs. The house at Carn Kez developed into the present hotel. The earliest part of the house was damaged by the Luftwaffe when a plane returning from a raid on Cardiff jettisoned its remaining bombs. 53 fisherman were injured or killed. In the build-up to D-Day American troops were billeted in the hotel leaving the building in a bad state.
Julia Bradbury
Julia Michele Bradbury is an Irish-born English television presenter, employed by the BBC and ITV, specialising in documentaries and consumer affairs.
She is best known for co-presenting the BBC One programme Countryfile with Matt Baker from 2004 until 2014. She also presented Watchdog (2005–2009) and Planet Earth Live (2012) for the BBC and Take on the Twisters (2013), The Wonder of Britain (2015), Britain’s Best Walks (2017), Cornwall and Devon Walks (2021) and The Greek Islands with Julia Bradbury for ITV
Bradbury’s father Michael Bradbury, a Derbyshire-born, steel and engineering industry marketing director and Greek mother were in the Republic of Ireland when Bradbury was born. The family returned to Britain, where she grew up in an old rectory and attended primary school in Edith Weston, Rutland, followed by King Edward VII School in Sheffield, where her father worked for British Steel Corporation and her mother ran a fashion business. Bradbury attended acting classes, and took part as a child in the Crucible Theatre’s stage production of Peter Pan, starring Joanne Whalley and Paula Wilcox.