Minster

Minster is an inland parish in north Cornwall, set in the wooded valley of the River Valency about half a mile east of Boscastle. The civil parishes of Forrabury and Minster were united in 1919, and Boscastle is the main settlement within the combined parish. The Celtic name for Minster was Talkarn, but it was renamed in Anglo-Saxon times after a monastery that once stood on the site.

Minster Church, the mother church of Boscastle, is a Norman building dedicated to St Materiana. It is Grade I listed and holds a Site of Special Scientific Interest designation for an unusual reason - the church supports the largest known greater horseshoe bat maternity roost in Cornwall, one of the biggest in the UK. The church sits among the trees of Minster Wood, reached by a footpath along the river from Boscastle harbour.

Boscastle itself is the main draw for visitors - a narrow harbour inlet flanked by high cliffs, with a cluster of pubs, a pottery, and the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic. The South West Coast Path runs through the parish, with dramatic clifftop walking in both directions. Tintagel and its castle ruins are roughly 4 miles to the south-west along the coast. The Valency Valley, which runs inland from Boscastle through Minster, offers sheltered woodland walking along the river. The valley was badly affected by the Boscastle flood of 2004 but has since recovered, and the riverside paths are well maintained by the National Trust.