Luxulyan: wooded valley, viaduct and historic trails

Luxulyan combines an impressive valley landscape with traces of industrial history, ancient paths and ecclesiastical architecture. Luxulyan Valley is a dramatic, densely wooded valley with steep slopes near St Blazey; the River Par flows through the valley. Those looking for holiday accommodation in Luxulyan will find a place where experiencing nature and making historical discoveries are closely connected, without the trip being limited to just one theme.

Woodland landscape in Luxulyan Valley

Carmears Wood lies in the valley, a stand of mature broadleaf woodland classified as an ancient semi-natural woodland. The woodland setting gives Luxulyan its distinctive character and provides a clear reason to allow time in your day plans for paths through the landscape. Luxulyan Valley is open to visitors every day throughout the year. Limited free parking is available; those arriving by car should take this restriction into account when planning.

Treffry Viaduct: engineering history in granite

Treffry Viaduct is one of the area’s most striking historic structures. Joseph Treffry had it built between 1839 and 1844 so that a mineral railway could run from St Blazey and Par to Newquay. The structure is both a viaduct and an aqueduct: built from granite, the ten-arch bridge is approximately 200 metres long and stands up to 27 metres above the valley floor. It is considered the earliest granite construction of its kind in the region.

Treffry Viaduct can be reached on foot from Luxulyan railway station via a signposted route. This partly follows the Saints’ Way, which is believed to have been used by early Christian pilgrims. This makes it possible to combine a visit to the structure with experiencing part of the trail, without presupposing a particular circular walk or walking time.

Saints’ Way and other options along the way

The Saints’ Way passes through the parish of Luxulyan and runs across central Cornwall from Padstow on the north coast to Fowey on the south coast. The entire route is approximately 30 miles, or 48 kilometres, long. When planning your trip, it is therefore important to distinguish between visiting individual sections in Luxulyan and taking a longer walk along the entire route. A National Cycle Route also passes through the parish. When choosing your accommodation, you can therefore weigh up whether your focus should be more on woodland, historic structures, walking or a cycling tour.

Church, holy well and local history

Luxulyan’s cultural heritage includes the Church of St Ciricius and St Julitta, a Perpendicular parish church dating from the mid to late 15th century. East of the parish church lies St Cyor’s Well, a medieval holy well house in a small paved courtyard. The church also offers visitors self-service refreshments. Together, these places add a religious and local perspective to the area’s landscape and engineering history.

For families, Luxulyan can therefore bring together different interests in one trip: woodland and river scenery, an exceptional granite structure, historic trails and church art. Holiday accommodation in Luxulyan is particularly well suited to plans that allow you to organise your days flexibly between nature, culture and your own excursions, rather than heading for just one attraction.

Discover more places in Cornwall

For further travel planning, you can also compare Porthcurno, Morwenstow, Colan, Padstow, Luckett, Gweek, Illogan and Tywardreath. Luxulyan offers a clearly recognisable combination of a wooded valley, an industrial past and trails through Cornwall.

For the wider travel overview: Cornwall.