Trencrom Hill Fort is one of the highest hills in the westernmost Cornish district of Penwith – and I was looking forward to finally conquering this great peak. Ten minutes after parking the car, I had.

The ascent was a little tamer than expected but it was none the less epic at the summit. The views from these granite stacks are incredible – from sand-trimmed St Ives Bay to the north to Mount’s Bay in the south, and the ancient field patterns stretching west across the moors towards Land’s End.

In my Trencrom expedition team were some visiting friends, one of whom enquired about the age of this historic site. I usefully stated it was ‘really bloody old’.

Vic, if you’re reading, I’d like to get a bit more specific: Trencrom Hill is an Iron Age hill fort, with remains of stone huts, a well and ramparts, though apparently Bronze Age remnants have also been found on the slopes; it’s owned and protected by the National Trust.

One of the things that I love about the western ‘island’ of Penwith is its primitive, time-mocking landscape. There’s a huge concentration of prehistoric sites (more neolithic sites than anywhere in Europe – thanks Wiki).

On the day I went to Trencrom, the sky was bright blue and the gorse nice and yellow – but for some reason I couldn’t resist tinting these shots sepia. Somehow it seemed more, well, Iron Age…

Trencrom Hill – nr Nancledra, off Penzance-St Ives road.