Kelsey Head is the coastal headland between Holywell Bay and Porth Joke, west of Cubert. Its grassland and nearby dunes are important for wildlife, but the open appearance should not be mistaken for an absence of human history.
The Kelseys preserve prehistoric earthworks and burial monuments. Archaeological finds in the wider landscape show people using this coast long before the mines and railways which dominate many modern accounts. The headland, Cubert Common and Porth Joke work best as connected places: the geology, grazing, water and access to the shore helped shape what people could do here.
Today the coast path makes the landscape legible on foot. The map locates the headland rather than an archaeological feature to climb or excavate. For the deeper story, follow the article on the coast before the mines and the separate Cubert Common entry. The useful question is not simply how old the view is, but how many different lives have passed through it.
Where it is
Kelsey Head
50.4046, -5.1464 · Position source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelsey_Head
Kelsey Head — headland orientation
Visiting and access
A location reference, not confirmation of public access or a visitor entrance.
Sources
Connected subjects
Read on
- Before the Mines: The 10,000-Year History Hidden Between Poly Joke and Holywell
Between Poly Joke and Holywell, flints, burial mounds, imported pottery and cliff castles reveal thousands of years beneath an apparently quiet landscape.
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- The Holy Well the Cliff Buried: What Was Inside Holywell Cave Before the 2026 Collapse
The August 2026 rockfall hid Holywell’s cave. Its pools, healing traditions and rival inland well tell a history which survives the loss of access.
- Porth Island Before Newquay: Furnaces, Roundhouses and a Chieftain’s Grave
Porth Island held a defended settlement and an ironworking industry long before Newquay grew around it. Later storytellers supplied a Danish chieftain.