Trebetherick ( kw, Trebedrek) is a village on the north coast of

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and 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 Atlantic ...

. It is situated on the east side of the

River Camel The River Camel ( kw, Dowr Kammel, meaning ''crooked river'') is a river in Cornwall, England. It rises on the edge of Bodmin Moor and with its tributaries its catchment area covers much of North Cornwall. The river flows into the eastern Ce ...

estuary approximately six miles (10 km) north of

Wadebridge Wadebridge (; kw, Ponswad) is a town and civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town straddles the River Camel upstream from Padstow.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 200 ''Newquay & Bodmin'' The permanent populat ...

and half a mile (800 metres) south of

Polzeath Polzeath (; kw, Polsegh, meaning ''dry creek'') is a small seaside resort village in the civil parish of St Minver in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is approximately north west of Wadebridge on the Atlantic coast.Ordnance Survey: Land ...

.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 200 ''Newquay & Bodmin'' Trebetherick straddles the Polzeath to Wadebridge road and extends west to

Daymer Bay Daymer Bay is a bay and a beach on the east side of the River Camel estuary in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately six miles (10 km) north of Wadebridge.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 200 ''Newquay ...

and northwest to Trebetherick Point, a rocky headland in the estuary, where the remains of

shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. Angela Croome reported in January 1999 that there were approximately ...

s can be seen on the foreshore. The

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

owns land adjacent to Trebetherick Point.

Geography

South of Trebetherick Point is

with a sandy beach sheltered from the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

. The beach provides safe bathing for holidaying families and is also popular with

windsurfers Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...

. At the south end of Daymer Bay

Brea Hill Brea Hill ( kw, Bre, meaning ''hill''), pronounced "Bray Hill" is a round hill beside the River Camel estuary in north Cornwall, England, United KingdomOrdnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 200 ''Newquay & Bodmin'' The hill is highOrdnance ...

rises to 62 metres (203 feet) with several

tumuli A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones buil ...

at the summit. Behind Daymer Bay's

sand dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...

s and south of Trebetherick is the St Enodoc Golf Club's

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

. Between its fairways is St Enodoc Church, a small church with a bent

steeple In architecture, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religi ...

. It lies considerably below the current surrounding ground level, having been excavated in 1863 after being completely buried by drifting sand. Trebetherick Point, a headland to the west of the village, is designated as a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

for its

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

. The headland contain deposits from the

Quaternary period The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three period (geology), periods of the Cenozoic era (geology), Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spa ...

as well as various

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

History

Legend has it that

St Petroc Saint Petroc or Petrock ( lat-med, Petrocus; cy, Pedrog; french: link=no, Perreux; ) was a British prince and Christian saint. Probably born in South Wales, he primarily ministered to the Britons of Devon (Dewnans) and Cornwall (Kernow) then f ...

first landed in Trebetherick before crossing the

to Hawkers Cove.

John Betjeman

As a child,

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture, ...

(who would later become

Poet Laureate A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ...

) enjoyed family holidays in Trebetherick and he returned there often as an adult. The surrounding area and its churches, railways and landscape (indeed, Cornwall in general) are celebrated in his work. Betjeman's poem ''Greenaway'' describes the stretch of coast at Trebetherick between Daymer Bay and

where he often walked. It begins: :''I know so well this turfy mile,'' :''These clumps of sea-pink withered brown,'' :''The breezy cliff, the awkward stile,'' :''The sandy path that takes me down.'' Another poem, ''Trebetherick'', celebrates the area and also reveals Betjeman's familiarity with, and affection for, this part of the Cornish coast: :''We used to picnic where the thrift'' :''Grew deep and tufted to the edge;'' :''We saw the yellow foam-flakes drift'' :''In trembling sponges on the ledge'' :''Below us, till the wind would lift'' :''Them up the cliff and o'er the hedge.'' Later in life, Betjeman bought a house called 'Treen' in Daymer Lane, Trebetherick, where he died on 19 May 1984, aged 77. He is buried half a mile away at St Enodoc's Church, a place he commemorated in his poem ''Sunday Afternoon Service'' thus: :'' So grows the tinny tenor faint or loud'' :''And all things draw towards St. Enodoc.'' John Betjeman's grave is on the right immediately inside the entrance gate to St Enodoc's churchyard.

Gallery of images

File:St Enodoc's Church, Trebetheric, Cornwall 01.jpg, St Enodoc church File:Shipwreck_at_trebetherick_point.jpg, Remains of a shipwreck near Trebetherick Point File:CamelestuaryCornwall.jpg, The Camel estuary with Trebetherick Point in the foreground File:Polzeathbayjuly2006.jpg, Trebetherick on the hill beyond Polzeath beach File:Betjeman memorial.JPG, John Betjeman's grave

References

External links

Visitors Guide to TrebetherickLocal government census report, 2004
{{authority control Villages in Cornwall Populated coastal places in Cornwall Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cornwall Year of establishment missing