Giant
Bolster's Blood
Fill the hole with your blood, she said. He tried.
Stand where it happened
- What's there
- Clifftop beacon hill and a small cove
- Legend from
- Cornish tradition
- Best time
- May Day weekend
- Tone
- Light-hearted
One foot on St Agnes Beacon, one on Carn Brea. And a hole in the cliff that had no bottom.
St Agnes Beacon rises above the village, and the National Trust cove at Chapel Porth lies below. Legend says the giant Bolster was so huge he could stand with one foot on the Beacon and the other on Carn Brea, six miles away. He made his wife carry stones to the top of the hill. He fell for St Agnes and would not leave her alone. She promised to return his love if he filled a hole in the cliff at Chapel Porth with his blood. He cut his arm, but the hole ran out to sea, and he weakened and died. Villagers re-enact the story each May.