Harlyn (, meaning ''facing a pool'') is a small village on the north coast of

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, England, United Kingdom. It is situated inland from Harlyn Bay (, meaning ''court cove'') three miles from

Padstow Padstow (; ) is a town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town is situated on the west bank of the River Camel estuary, approximately northwest of Wadebridge, ...

and about one mile from

St. Merryn St Merryn () is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and village in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is about south of the fishing port of Padstow and northeast of the coastal resort of Newquay. The village has a primary schoo ...

. Harlyn Bay and the surrounding farm has been owned by the Hellyar family since 1800. It originally comprised the Farm, Beach, Farmhouse (now The Pig at Harlyn]) and the Fish Cellars. The Beach is a family and

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...

beach and is suitable for novice surfers. Many of the houses in Harlyn are holiday lets. East of Harlyn Bay is the village and beach of

Trevone Trevone (, meaning ''river farm'') is a seaside village and bay (, meaning ''Musun cove'') near Padstow in Cornwall, England, UK. Geography Trevone Bay is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). It contains four Geological Conservation ...

and west of Harlyn are Cataclews Point (, meaning ''grey rock''), Mother Ivey's Bay and

Trevose Head Trevose Head (, meaning ''farm of the wall's headland'') () is a headland on the Atlantic coast of north Cornwall, on the south-western coast of Great Britain. It is situated approximately west of Padstow. The South West Coast Path runs aroun ...

. Further west, the beaches at

Constantine Bay Constantine Bay (, meaning ''church of St Constantine'') is a village and beach on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately three miles (5 km) west of Padstow and is in ...

Porthcothan Porthcothan () is a coastal village between Newquay and Padstow in Cornwall, England, UK. It is within the civil parish of St Eval. Porthcothan lies within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Almost a third of Cornwall ha ...

and

Treyarnon Treyarnon () is a hamlet west of St Merryn in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, UK near Padstow. Treyarnon Beach is a small beach nearby with a caravan park, Youth Hostels Association (England & Wales), Youth Hostel and café. Treyarnon Bay ...

are linked by the

South West Coast Path The South West Coast Path is England's longest waymarked Long-distance footpaths in the UK, long-distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for , running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harb ...

. Harlyn lies within the

Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty The Cornwall National Landscape (formerly the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) covers in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom; that is, about 27% of the total area of the county. It comprises 12 separate areas, designated under the Na ...

(AONB). The farm and the many archeological sites are maintained by Harlyn Estates LLP. The village is comprised to a large extent of second homes, and is quiet for much of the year.

The Gold Lunulae of Harlyn

In 1865 a labourer found two wafer-thin crescents of gold known as lunulae at Harlyn Bay. They probably date from the early

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

, and were probably deposited as

grave goods Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are items buried along with a body. They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into an afterlife, or offerings to gods. Grave goods may be classed by researche ...

, as there are several prehistoric burial mounds nearby. The shape of these lunulae indicates a symbolic meaning. They represent the crescent horns of the moon, and may thus have been objects of great ritual and ceremonial significance. The site of the finds was above Onjohn Cove, a small cove between Harlyn Bay and Cataclews Point at . They are preserved at the

Royal Cornwall Museum The Cornwall Museum and Art Gallery, formerly known as the Royal Cornwall Museum, is a museum in Truro, England, which holds an extensive mineral collection rooted in Cornwall's mining and engineering heritage (including much of the mineral coll ...

, Truro. In 2014, after heavy storms had battered the cliffs of Harlyn Bay, local residents and beach users discovered the storms had uncovered an ancient burial cist containing human remains. The remains were recovered for further investigation, but it is assumed that they belong to a female from either the Iron or

periods.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Cornwall Beaches of Cornwall