Altarnun must be one of the prettiest rural villages in the whole of Cornwall. A Norman church was built here in the 12th century, but the present church was built on the same site in the 15th century from unquarried stone from Bodmin Moor. The church is dedicated to St Nonna, mother of St David, who lived in the sixth century. A Celtic cross from the time of St Nonna is located by the church gate.
As the largest parish church on Bodmin Moor, the Grade I-listed church is known as the Cathedral of the Moor. It is thought that construction of the tower may have commenced in the late 1300s, but most of the current church was built largely in the next century in the Perpendicular style, with its bell tower standing 109 ft high. Simon Jenkins considers this to be one of England's Thousand Best Churches.
The stream which flows through Altarnun is known as Penpont Water and eventually joins the River Tamar. The narrow little medieval pack horse bridge (on the left) dates from the 15th century. The cottages beyond the bridge are both Grade II-listed and are thought to date from the late 1600s.
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