A COUNCILLOR who organised a walk to beat the bounds of Mevagissey is hoping it will become an annual tradition once more.

Cornwall councillor James Mustoe came up with the idea of beating the bounds and was joined by other walkers on the hike of more than 12 miles.

Cllr Mustoe said before the walk: “In the days before maps were commonly available, beating the bounds served as an important tradition in local parishes, where civic representatives from the parish walked the entirety of the parish boundaries annually to preserve an oral memory of the boundaries.

“This served to not only help people remember where the boundaries lay but was also a useful check-up to see if any other parishes had taken liberties and annexed things that they shouldn't have.

“Apparently, they'd also take young people to ensure the memories were passed down through the generations, and ‘whip’ them at certain waymarked points to ensure they remembered.

“The beating the bounds tradition continues in some places. I've seen one at Probus, for example, but I've never seen it in in my lifetime in Mevagissey.”

After completing the walk, Cllr Mustoe said: “We beat the bounds, that's for sure! We left Mevagissey in torrential rain at 9am, which continued in fits and starts through the first part of our journey, but spirits were good, with an excellent crew of people and dogs, that saw us push on, through paths less travelled, into bright sunshine for the afternoon and the second half of the walk, finishing at 4pm.

“I'm pleased to report that it doesn't appear that St Goran, St Ewe or Pentewan parishes have annexed anything recently, so we can breathe a sigh of relief!

“Thanks so much to everyone who came along and, in particular, the landowners who allowed us access at a couple of points so we could join our route together!

“At 12.17 miles and 37,276 steps, I'd certainly like to consider resurrecting this as an annual tradition and, after some excellent feedback, am looking forward to doing it again next year!”