The Cheesewring on Bodmin Moor

Today we visit the Cheesewring on Bodmin Moor — A stack of uneven granite holders, balanced on one another.

Legend has it that the Cheesewring is the result of a contest between a Saint and a Cornish giant. When Christianity had just been introduced to the British Isles, the giants were not happy about it.

The saints had invaded their land and were declaring their wells as sacred. One of the larger giants, Uther, was given the task of ridding their land of the saints. He confronted the frail Saint Tue, who proposed a rock throwing contest. If Uther won, the saints would leave Cornwall. If Saint Tue won, then the giants would convert to Christianity.

Uther took his turn first and threw a small rock to the top of nearby Stowe’s Hill near Minions on Bodmin Moor, the highest village in Cornwall. Tue prayed for assistance, and although he was weak, picking up a huge slab he found it was very light. One after the other, the pair threw their rocks, stacking them up in piles, some large on small, and others small on large.

When the score was twelve stones each, Uther threw a thirteenth stone, but it missed the piles and rolled down the hill. Tue picked up the fallen stone, and as he lifted it, an angel appeared to carry it to the top of the pile of rocks. Seeing this, Uther conceded, and thus most of the giants decided to follow Christianity thereafter.