We visited Perranporth at spring low tide on a bright May day to find the rock-cut swimming pool on Chapel Rock. It turned out to be very easy to find in a wonderful location.

We could not miss Chapel Rock which dominates the centre of the immense Perranporth beach, its St Piran flag flying proudly straight out in the stiff wind. A hazy sandstorm was blowing from the direction of the Watering Hole.

The pool is large and fairly deep (we did not try it), clearly of C20 construction and still holding water to its original design depth. Facing north-west, it is invisible from the town. It is not hard to imagine it full of swimmers on a hot summer’s day. Just remember to keep an eye on the tide as it comes in mighty fast. You can find the pool here.

It is not often that we are critical of things Cornish but it is hard to feel any sense of affection or even accept the monstrous building that dominates the beach in Perranporth.

Had it been one or even two storeys high then it might have blended in but it defies belief that any planner could have approved a four storey building in a location like this. It is completely out of scale with the nearest houses. The cafe at its point is suitably named the Alcatraz which shows some self-awareness. Had St Piran seen it on his arrival, he would have turned his millstone around and gone back to Ireland.

As it was not an afternoon for sitting on the wind-swept beach, we headed a few miles inland to find St Piran Round which was a little gem.

The Round is a large circular enclosure, about 40m across and 2.5m high, with a ditch and smaller bank outside the main one. It has two entrances.

We are inclined to agree with Craig Weatherhill (Cornovia) that it was almost certainly an Iron Age Round which was later converted into a playing place or plen-an-gwary where miracle plays were once performed. It was probably used as a preaching pit and, in recent years, has been used by the Gorsedd.

A ‘frying pan’ feature can just be seen in the photograph. This may have been used to provide a hidden entrance for the miracle plays.

It was beautifully mowed in concentric circles when we saw it and we tried to imagine it filled with people listening to a Wesleyan sermon. Much larger than Gwennap pit, it could probably house up to 10,000 with ease.

You can find Perran Round here.

On our way home, we could not resist the temptation to visit Perranzabuloe church.