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Coinagehall Street, Helston
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Helston is famous for
its annual Flora Day Festival on the 8th May. The festival is believed to have originated in the pre-Christian
era. On Flora Day the town is decorated in green boughs, hazel and local bluebells which flourish wild in the area. Led
by local silver bands repeatedly playing the 'Flora Dance' the traditional dancers wind their way through the streets, houses
and gardens and the general revelry lasts all day from early morning until gone midnight. The dances are interspersed
with more typical modern fair booths and amusements.
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| Beautiful walks around Loe Pool |
Centuries ago Helston was a thriving port but in the
medieval period the mouth of the Cober River began to silt up, creating the shingle bank called Loe Bar.
This effectively closed off Helston and formed the largest freshwater lake in Cornwall. The banks of the lake are blessed
with a variety of attractive walking paths making this a popular spot for day trips.
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Helston is a lovely old town, one of the five "stannage towns" of Cornwall, where tin
was brought to be weighed, taxed and stamped before it was allowed to be sold. The prosperity that the tin industry brought
to Helston is remembered in the name of the main street - Coinagehall Street (coigne being the name for the corner of a tin
ingot that was cut off to be assayed for quality).
The town has a wealth of traditional Inns and Taverns with interesting interiors, lots of history and
good food. Of particular interest for lovers of real ale is The Blue Anchor. Built in about
1400 is one of the four remaining pubs in Great Britain that brew their own ale on the premises. There are 3 main ales brewed
today. Middle O.G. 1050. Best O.G. 1053 and Special O.G. 1066. At Easter and Christmas an Extra Special is brewed with an
O.G. of 1076. The pub has many old features, a skittles alley and serves traditional fayre in the bars daily.
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