Minions, Cornwall
Coordinates: 50°30′50″N 4°27′14″W / 50.514°N 4.454°W
Minions (Cornish: Menyon) is a village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the eastern flank of Bodmin Moor northwest of Caradon Hill approximately four miles (6 km) north of Liskeard.[1] Minions is first recorded in 1613 and its meaning is unknown.[2]
A stone circle known as the Hurlers is located on the west side of the village. Several other tumuli are also in the area, including Rillaton round barrow, where a Bronze Age gold beaker was discovered. The Cheesewring, a distinctive rock formation, is a mile northwest.
Geography
Minions is in the former Caradon administrative district and in the parish of Linkinhorne. At 300 metres (980 ft) it is said to be the highest village in Cornwall.
The village is dominated by Caradon Hill, standing at 371 metres (1,217 ft) high, on which there is a TV transmission mast on the summit. As a result, there is a road leading up to the summit from Minions.[1] On the western flank of the hill, a quarry recently started up again, cutting granite boulders.
As well as this working quarry, there are many other disused quarries and mine buildings in the area due to the village's mining heritage.[3] Unlike in the west of Cornwall, there are no plans to reopen the tin and copper mines in the area.
Climate
The climate of Minions is Oceanic but, like the rest of Bodmin Moor, due to its higher altitude, it is often cooler, windier and wetter. However, there is a good balance of fair days too, which can get warm in the summer. In winter frosts are common and even though it snows most years, it is never prolonged or severe.
Winter:6c/1c
Spring:14c/6c
Summer:20c/12c
Autumn:12c/3c
Rainy days:173
Snowfalls:2-4 [4]
Community facilities
The village has two main car parks, located on the western and eastern edges on the village.[1] There are two tearooms, a pub with B&B, and a general store which also holds a post office, one of the tearooms and a B&B. A museum dedicated to the mining history of the local area is located to the north of the village in a disused engine house.
Popular culture
In 2015, a road sign was erected outside the village in tribute to the then-forthcoming Minions movie. This sign was eventually removed for safety reasons, due to families stopping on the narrow road to take photographs. Local residents fought for the "tourism-boosting" sign to stay, stating that it had "put Minions on the map." [5] Calls for the colourful sign to be reinstated received strong support, with an anonymous member of the public placing stickers of the popular characters on the original sign. [6]
Filming for Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children took place in 2015.[7]
Gallery
Engine house of a disused mine
Disused granite quarry on the moor
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Minions, Cornwall. |
- 1 2 3 Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 201 Plymouth & Launceston ISBN 978-0-319-23146-3
- ↑ Weatherhill, Craig (2009) A Concise Dictionary of Cornish Place-names. Westport, Mayo: Evertype; p. 49
- ↑ "Crow's Nest" (PDF). Natural England. 1999. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
- ↑ "Annual average temperature for the United Kingdom". Met Office. 2000. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
- ↑ "Cornwall village Minions sign removed". BBC News. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
- ↑ "Minions sees popular cartoon characters return to its sign in the form of stickers". Cornish Guardian. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
- ↑ "Gone For A Burton". Cornwall Independent. 2 October 2016. p. 25.
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