Jackie Loxham

Dragondah is a tiny place in Cornwall on the southwest coast of England. It's in a so-called 'Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty' which worried me a bit at first seeing as how I'm not an outstanding natural beauty myself. 

 

But it turns out only Dragondah's scenery has to be beautiful – which it most certainly is. Although at first the fields and the woods and the cliffs and the beaches were far more interesting to the sheep and the seagulls than they were to me. There were no shops, no schools, no museums, no zoos and nowhere to get a drink after school. Why, it was all so boring, I could hardly be bothered to drag myself outside.

​

Of course, I soon learned my lesson. As soon as I did bother to drag myself outside, I discovered Dragondah was like no other place in England. First of all, there was the ‘interesting’ wildlife. Then there were the ‘intriguing’ locals. And finally, there was the mysterious castle far out in Dragondah Bay. I mean, who the heck had put that there?

 

Well, it turned out an ancient king had put it there over a thousand years earlier. Because, believe it or not, Dragondah had once been home to the royal family of Cornwall. This was far back in the olden days when Cornwall had been its own kingdom with its own king. But if you think Dragondah's story ended when Cornwall finally became part of England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, then you can think again. Dragondah’s story is only just beginning...