Coastal Cornwall - Castle that became a drinking and gambling den

DOYDEN Point, at the mouth of the picturesque Port Quin inlet in North Cornwall, offers fantastic views of the surrounding area.

An eyecatching feature looking over the promontory is Doyden Castle which was built in the 1820s as a truncated Gothic tower for timber merchant Samuel Symons from Wadebridge.

Mr Symons would meet up with his friends to drink and gamble at the remote castellated property. Today the house, which like Roscarrock to the east of Port Quin featured in the hit 1970s Poldark television series, is offered as holiday accommodation by the National Trust, as is nearby Doyden House which was built for Captain Herbert Latimer Conor, a former prison governor, in the early 20th century.

In addition, there is a long-disused mine in the vicinity of Doyden Point with slate fencing posts around open shafts.

To the west of the headland, coastal walkers face a climb to Trevan Point, which stands at 213ft (65m) above sea level. I assume the naming of the point has something to do with John Archer Trevan, a bygone relative of mine, though confirmation of this has so far eluded me – if anyone in the district knows about the reason behind the naming, I’d be pleased to hear from them.

John was the principal coast officer of HM Customs at Port Isaac from 1793 until he retired 50 years later in 1843 at the age of 74. John had lived at White House Cottage above the harbour at Port Isaac, which had been in his wife’s family for generations.

During the Second World War, to help air crews from RNAS St Merryn, near Padstow, locate a practice bombing area at sea, a large white arrow was created on the clifftop at Trevan Point.

*Andrew Townsend is a journalist and writer. He further explores the county in the entertaining travel book, Cornwall Favourites For One And All!: A Quick Guide To Good Places To Visit Across The County, which is available in print and as an ebook. More details on Andrew’s books and ebooks can be found via this link to his author page on Amazon - https://bit.ly/AndrewTownsendAuthor