A guided walk to Tregonning Hill, exploring the unique qualities of the granites found en route and how they have been worked.
The walk will be led by sculptor Dr David Paton and geologist Dr Beth Simons. Meet outside the National Trust Godolphin House ticket office from 9.45am. The walk will depart at 10am sharp. National Trust entrance is not required, but there is a charge for the car park which is a short walk from the ticket office.
The walk will follow public footpaths. Please wear suitable footwear and come prepared for a range of Cornish weather. We won’t be put off by a bit of drizzle, but in the event of extreme rain or wind the walk may be rescheduled or cancelled. 
Dr David Paton is a Senior Lecturer at Falmouth University. He has been a practising artist and stone sculptor since 1997 and for many years worked extensively on public art projects. Soon after moving to Cornwall in 2005 he started working with Trenoweth Dimensional Granite Quarry near Falmouth, where his deep affinity for the material and people led him to start a PhD entitled The Quarry as Sculpture: The Place of Making (2015).
Dr Beth Simons is a Cornish geologist with a PhD and a number of publications on the mineralogical and geochemical variation of granites in South West England, including the relevance for extraction of critical metals for the low carbon economy, such as lithium. Since 2017 she has worked for INGOs and a UN agency in humanitarian shelter response to disasters and conflict. She collaborated with David Paton on the Tracing Granite project commissioned by CAST for Groundwork (2016-18), with the support of FEAST. She also compiled the Geological Glossary published on the Groundwork website. In her spare time, she runs a South West England geology website: variscancoast.co.uk
The walk is part of Water and Stone/Dowr ha Men, a three-day celebration of granite, exploring the geological formation of the stone and its impact on landscape and built heritage, as well as the ways in which it is shaped by human industry and in turn shapes the lives of those who live and work with it. The event begins with a keynote by Dr Ruth Siddall on Friday evening and continues on Saturday with walks, demonstrations and a programme of talks, and on Sunday with more walks and a pigment workshop.
Water and Stone is made possible by the support of Falmouth University, with FEAST, Cornwall Council, Arts Council England, Cornwall Community Foundation and Helston Town Council.