Take a walk through Bodmin and you’ll find its streets telling stories in bold colour and striking detail and moments captured in time. A series of new murals are bringing the town’s heritage, culture and wildlife to life in unexpected places – why not take a wander and see these new additions to Bodmin’s streets?
A town in motion: Honey Street
On Honey Street, artist Jack Tierney has created a powerful mural inspired by historic photographs from the George Ellis collection, held at Kresen Kernow.
Ellis, a Bodmin-based photographer, documented life across Cornwall from the 1930s to the 1970s – and this artwork weaves together those glimpses of everyday life into a contemporary collage.
Look closely and you’ll spot moments that defined the town: Land Girls heading out to work during the Second World War, community celebrations like Beating the Bounds, sporting triumphs, agricultural shows, and performances at St Petroc’s Church.
Each image captures a piece of Bodmin’s past, reimagined to sit in its present.
Here are some of the images that informed the mural:
A cinematic past: Crockwell Street
On Crockwell Street, artist Claire Prouvost nods to Bodmin’s cultural history with a bold, cubist-inspired mural. Painted on the remaining walls of the former Palace Theatre – an art deco cinema – the piece plays with shape, colour and perspective to evoke the magic of the big screen.
The building’s original façade, long since demolished, is reimagined on the reverse side in a playful way, while stylised figures hint at the glamour and escapism of cinema’s golden age. It’s a striking tribute to a much-loved venue and a reminder of the town’s rich creative past.
Nature up close: Dennison Road Car Park
At Dennison Road Car Park, Cornwall-based street artist Koe One brings the natural world into sharp focus. His photorealistic mural features some of Cornwall’s most iconic birdlife, including the much-loved Cornish chough, alongside a buzzard and fox.
Detailed and lifelike, the artwork offers a moment to pause and admire the wildlife that surrounds Bodmin.
Together, these murals create a trail through Bodmin that invites you to explore a little more slowly. Whether you’re discovering the town for the first time or seeing familiar streets in a new light, they offer a fresh way to connect with Bodmin’s stories of the past, present and natural.
Have you spotted the new murals? What did you think?
Bodmin’s food and drink scene has been quietly building something special over the last few years. From award-winning pubs and Michelin-recognised dining to independent cafés, local producers and lively street food events, the town is becoming a place where great food feels rooted in community, creativity and Cornwall itself.
At the heart of it all is a strong sense of local pride. You’ll find chefs championing Cornish produce, family-run cafés bringing flavours from around the world to the town centre, and producers supplying restaurants and retailers across the UK.
One of the clearest signs of Bodmin’s growing reputation is the success of Fern Cornwall, just outside the town in nearby Nanstallon. Led by Michelin-trained chef Paul Welburn, the restaurant has earned recognition from the MICHELIN Guide for its modern approach to Cornish dining and focus on seasonal local ingredients. Bodmin’s independent restaurant scene continues to gather momentum too.
Flory Restaurant recently celebrated a double awards success, picking up both a Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Award and a Gold Award at the Taste of the West Awards, recognising its commitment to showcasing West Country produce.
The town’s pubs are also gaining national attention. The Hole in the Wall has long been one of Bodmin’s best-loved historic pubs, and in 2025 it was named CAMRA South West Pub of the Year -putting it amongst the top real ale pubs in the country.
Tucked away in The Piazza, you’ll find Native Burger, one of Bodmin’s most popular restaurants. Serving mouth-watering burgers made using local produce, they are winners of both regional and national best casual dining at the 2025 Muddy Awards.
Alongside these destination venues, Bodmin’s food culture is equally shaped by its independent cafés and everyday gathering places. The town has seen a growing number of Portuguese cafés and bakeries bringing fresh pastries, strong coffee and relaxed continental-style hospitality to Cornwall. New openings have quickly built loyal followings, adding another layer to Bodmin’s increasingly varied food scene. Community events are helping bring everything together.
Bodmin Feast – Street Food Evenings have become regular fixtures in the town calendar, filling Mount Folly with food traders, music and people gathering in the centre of town on Friday evenings. Organisers describe the events as a way to bring “great local food, community spirit, and a bit of buzz” into Bodmin.
The wider food and drink economy around Bodmin is just as important to the story. Businesses including Proper Cornish, The Cornish Company Suppliers, Harbour Brewing Co. and Camel Valley Vineyard are all helping put this part of Cornwall on the culinary map, producing and supplying food and drink enjoyed far beyond the county.
And there’s more to come. Food festivals, pop-ups and independent openings continue to grow, while events like eat:Bodmin Food Festival are helping showcase local producers and bring new visitors into the town.
Whether it’s a pint in a centuries-old pub, street food on Mount Folly, coffee and pastel de nata in a tucked-away café, or a Michelin-recognised meal in the countryside nearby, Bodmin’s food and drink scene is becoming one of the town’s most exciting stories.
With thanks to Harbour Brewery, Flory and Fern Cornwall for the photos featured in this article.
For one weekend each year, the ancient county town of Bodmin throws open its streets to a festival so old that even its origins are lost to time – and so vivid that it stops traffic, draws crowds, and conjures a medieval atmosphere like almost nothing else in the south-west.
Bodmin Riding & Heritage Festival takes place on the first weekend of July, and in 2026 that means the festivities kick off on Friday 3 July, with the heart of the celebration on Saturday 4 July.
The earliest written record of Bodmin Riding dates to 1469, when it appeared in the accounts for the rebuilding of Bodmin Parish Church. But even then, it was described as an established custom, suggesting its roots stretch back further still, possibly into the early medieval period.
At its heart, the festival commemorates one of the more dramatic episodes in Bodmin’s long history: the theft of the bones of St Petroc in 1177, when the relics of the town’s patron saint were spirited away to Brittany, before being recovered and triumphantly returned. The procession of St Petroc’s casket, which still survives in St Petroc’s Church, remains a central element of the festival to this day.
Nobody knows when or why Bodmin Riding began. It was an ancient event in 1469 — the first time it was recorded on paper.
Over the centuries, the festival grew to include sports and horseracing, Cornish wrestling, a grand ball, civic feasting, and the Riding Ale – a tradition of communal drinking that remains part of the weekend. The custom faded in the early 19th century, with the last traditional Riding thought to have been held around 1825 but was revived in 1974 and has since developed into the lively event it is today.
What happens on the dayThe weekend begins on the Friday evening with a shared feast – local food and drink, live music, and the ritual Riding Ale, gathering the community in anticipation of the celebrations ahead. On Saturday, the town centre closes to traffic and the streets come alive.
The traditional procession is one of the day’s highlights: led by Bodmin Town Band, with local children performing the furry dance to the centuries-old Riding Tune – a melody first recorded in 1770 under the title Captain Brown’s March.
Attendees are encouraged to come in medieval costume, and many do, lending the streets a fun and chaotic atmosphere. Alongside the procession, you’ll find craft stalls, local artisans and businesses, historical re-enactments, live music, and plenty of children’s activities. It’s a full day out for families and history enthusiasts alike.
No account of the Bodmin Riding festival is complete without mention of its most theatrical element – the Hunting and Trial of the Beast of Bodmin. The Beast, depicted as a large, shaggy, panther-like creature, is pursued through the town by hunters known as “helliers”, before being dramatically captured and put on trial outside the historic Shire Hall.
The Beast tradition links to real-life folklore – in the 1980s and 1990s, Bodmin Moor was the site of numerous reported sightings of a large wild cat, and the legend has never quite gone away. The festival’s mock trial gives it a suitably Cornish twist, part street theatre, part ancient ritual, and very memorable.
Beyond the spectacle, Bodmin Riding is something rarer – a genuinely community-owned festival, run by local volunteers and shaped by local people. It commemorates not just the bones of St Petroc, but also the Cornish Prayer Book Rebellion of 1549 – when Cornish men and women took up arms to defend their language and religious traditions – and the hanging of Mayor Nicholas Bowyer, a figure woven into the town’s civic memory.
Like Padstow’s famous May Day celebrations, Bodmin Riding is a reminder that Cornwall has a living tradition of festival culture stretching back centuries – one that belongs to the people who take part in it.
With thanks to the Bodmin Camera Club for the images from the 2019 festival.
Bodmin is set to take centre stage in Cornwall’s cultural calendar in 2026 as the town prepares to host the annual Esedhvos Festival and Gorsedh Kernow ceremony.
Bringing together music, language, heritage, storytelling and celebration, the event will welcome Bards, performers and visitors from across Cornwall and beyond for several days of cultural activity in and around the town, culminating in the iconic bardic ceremony on Saturday 5 September 2026.
It will mark the first time Gorsedh Kernow has visited Bodmin since 1997 — and organisers say the town’s rich cultural history and central location make it the perfect setting for the event.
Grand Bard Gwythvosen Jenefer Lowe said: “We are delighted that the Gorsedh is coming to Bodmin. Our last visit was in 1997, and it is wonderful to be returning in 2026. Bodmin, the historic capital, lies at the heart of Cornwall and Cornish culture, and we look forward to working with the people of Bodmin to ensure a wonderful event next September.”
Founded to celebrate and protect Cornwall’s Celtic identity, Gorsedh Kernow champions Cornish culture in all its forms — from language, literature and history to music, dance, art and community traditions. Each year, the Esedhvos Festival also recognises achievements in Cornish culture through awards for adults and young people.
For Bodmin, hosting the event is another major moment in the town’s growing cultural story.
As Cornwall’s historic county town, Bodmin has long played an important role in the county’s civic and cultural life. Today, its independent businesses, creative organisations, historic landmarks and year-round events continue to make it a hub for Cornish heritage and contemporary culture alike.
Mayor of Bodmin, Councillor Liz Ahearn, said: “Bodmin is honoured to be chosen as host town for the Gorsedh Kernow in 2026. This is a significant cultural event for Cornwall, and we look forward to welcoming the Bards, performers and visitors to our town to celebrate Cornish culture, language and heritage.”
Over the coming months, a local organising committee will begin working with Gorsedh Kernow and community partners to shape a programme that reflects Bodmin’s identity, creativity and community spirit.
Visitors can expect a vibrant celebration of Cornish culture across the town — from performances and exhibitions to community events and the much-loved bardic ceremony itself.
More details about the 2026 programme will be announced in the months ahead.
Flamm, Cornwall’s contemporary art festival, will take place in Bodmin, Cornwall, in 2026 from Saturday 28th February to Sunday 1st March 2026.
Today, Flamm is delighted to announce the full programme, taking place across the town; showing work made by those living and working in Cornwall and the South West, many being supported by the festival to realise their ideas and create new works, as well as bringing global artists to the region for the first time, with partners including Liverpool Biennial and Counterpoints Arts.
Over 20 exhibitions, installations and events over the weekend will transform the Cornish town, from the platform of the heritage railway station to Bodmin Keep and Bodmin Jail, along the high street and paths of the town and in unexpected places.
Newly commissioned artists include:
Nicola Bealing’s work spans painting, printmaking and installation. Drawing on historical narratives, folklore and everyday absurdities, she reimagines found stories with dark humour and psychological depth. For Nicola’s project, a forest of ghostly hanging baskets will transform the platform at Bodmin General into a surreal, unsettling landscape. Expanding the station’s usual eight baskets to around fifty, each will overflow with pale paper cut-outs of plants, animals and human forms. Suspended overhead, they will disrupt sightlines and movement, creating a playful yet disconcerting “glitch” in the everyday, where familiar station décor tips into something uncanny and unexpected.
Rachael Jones works between landscape, memory and human connection to place. Working with moving image, sound and installation, she often collaborates with communities to reveal layered local stories and overlooked voices. Her films balance poetic imagery with documentary sensitivity, creating intimate portraits of people and environments in flux. Rachael’s project reimagines hidden objects from Bodmin Keep’s archives while the museum undergoes repairs. Selected items will be reproduced as large weatherproof cut-outs, creating a trail around the site that leads to a film installation in the Keep’s trench. Drawing on diary entries from the collection, narrated by local voices, the film weaves personal and social histories.
Working in sculpture, installation and participatory projects, Alice Mahoney’s work often transforms everyday materials into playful yet thought-provoking assemblages that explore care, repair and transformation. Alice is interested in how objects hold memory and emotion, and how making can build connection and resilience. Alice will create an immersive installation combining light, sound, sculpture and film, inspired by Bodmin’s watery past, present and future. Beginning with participatory walks to sites such as wells, rivers and caverns, with Alice and Jonny Davey, the project gathers stories, sounds and imagery to create an audio map, sculptural works by Alice Mahoney and film by artist Naomi Frears, that move water in playful, unpredictable ways.
Rebecca Proctor’s work combines traditional craft with contemporary forms. Using hand-built and thrown methods, she explores the meeting point between utility and imagination, often drawing inspiration from natural processes, geology and coastal landscapes. Her pieces balance fragility and strength, celebrating clay’s tactile qualities and its connection to place. Widely recognised in the contemporary ceramic world, the Flamm project will see Rebecca realising her largest sculpture and first outdoor piece. Rebecca’s project responds to the legend of Rose Wright, a 19th-century Bodmin Jail inmate said to have cursed the prison. Inspired by the jackdaws she befriended, the work features around 20 black ceramic birds swirling above a charred wooden plinth that evokes the jail’s weight and history.
Colombian-born artist Carlos Zapata is known for his expressive carved wood sculptures and automata. Drawing on folk art traditions, personal history and global politics, his work tells stories of resilience, displacement and human emotion with bold colour and intricate detail. Often both playful and unsettling, his sculptures invite reflection on cultural identity, memory and the shared experiences that connect people across borders. For Flamm 2026, Carlos will present a large-scale sculptural automaton that transforms the familiar into the unexpected at Discovering 42.
Small Acts, led by Katie Etheridge and Simon Persighetti, create participatory artworks that bring communities together in inventive, joyful ways, often in the informal “third spaces” where people naturally gather. Visual artist Kitty Hillier works with biomorphic forms, layered abstraction and research into communication and plant intelligence. Together, they present Re:Rooted, a moving sculpture developed with young dancers from KBSK. Shaped by GPS mapping and creative walking, the root‑like form is carried through Bodmin, inviting audiences to navigate the town anew and discover hidden dances along the route.
Multidisciplinary artist Georgia Gendall works across sculpture, performance, writing, photography and participatory practice, often embracing absurdity, risk and unconventional materials. Her projects challenge ecological entanglements, interspecies relationships and the systems we inhabit, from worm‑charming championships to cow‑licked sculptures. For Change Here, Gendall transforms the Bodmin Railway announcement system into an uncanny conversation between two conductors. Loosely inspired by Cornwall Railway Society accounts and structured around thermodynamic cycles, the work drifts through themes of loss, nostalgia and change.
SHARP is a queer, working‑class, socially engaged artist whose interdisciplinary practice spans experimental video, photography, sculpture and sound installation. Their work explores remembrance, collective experience and queer perspectives on the human condition, with pieces held in major public collections and recent recognition from the Henry Moore Foundation and Exeter Contemporary Art Prize. Once We Were Held draws on research into Bodmin’s Bethany Project, a radical place of rest for people with HIV/AIDS. Combining sound, scent, visuals and sculpture, the installation creates a space of queer resilience, using reclaimed daffodils to connect LGBTQIA+ care histories with Cornwall’s landscape.
As well as co-commissioning SHARP’s project, the Flamm and Counterpoints Arts partnership has enabled an artist’s exchange project – putting the theme of the festival [Dis]Location in a wider context. Facilitated by artist Sovay Berriman, one of the co-commissioned artists in 2023, three Flamm artists are paired with three Counterpoints artists. Each pair exchanges on their socially engaged work, ideas and interests through a series of conversations in the run up to Flamm 2026. These exchanges will be documented and shared online, and the group will come together for a special episode in Sovay’s Meskla Podcast post-Festival.
The artist pairs are:
Flamm also holding a live podcast event during the festival to highlight the conversations around [Dis]Location, with Sovay Berriman & Liverpool Biennial 2025 Curator Marie-Anne McQuay, hosted by Jelena Sofronijevic of EMPIRE LINES podcast.
A collaboration with Liverpool Biennial will also bring several works from their 2025 event to Cornwall. The five selected commissions will be shown with two new commissions from Liverpool Biennial 2025: BEDROCK at Flamm 2026 by artists Linda Lamignan and Amber Akaunu:
Dear Othermother is a new film which tells a personal tale of single motherhood in Toxteth, Liverpool, by BAFTA Scholar and filmmaker Amber Akaunu. This autobiographical documentary-style film is inspired by the African proverb “it takes a village to raise a child”, and centres around single parents and their best friends who have built alternative ‘villages’ through which they collectively raise their children. Touched by the trees in a forest of eyes is a new multi-screen video work by Norwegian video and sound artist Linda Lamignan. Referencing the artist’s ancestry, the knowledge systems of animism and geology, Lamignan explores how the idea of land as a resource has been perpetuated throughout time by tracing the history of the palm oil and petroleum trade between Nigeria and Liverpool.
The festival programme is further enhanced by a wider programme of exhibitions, workshops and events led by artists and local communities.
This includes
Group exhibitions include Dialogues II with Heather Burwell, Tina Kutter, Jane Jobling, Sarah Bennett, Charlotte Squire, Chris Summerfield, John Elliott, Sara Bor, Keith Frake, Claire Gladstone, Stella Tripp at Discovering 42 and one by CAMP where the exhibition brings together 11 artists who recently connected through CAMP’s Sculpture and 3D KIN network, each with a longstanding engagement in sculptural materials and processes, and with space and/or site. Dialogues II refers to the exchanges and emerging shared themes that developed as the artists came to know one another and their respective practices. Contemporary Art Membership Platform (CAMP Membership CIC) is a member-led support and professional development network for artists, arts workers, and other creatives in the South West.
An exhibition bringing together two artists exploring what it means to be human through distinct yet overlapping perspectives. Through painting, Max Whetter approaches the subject from a male viewpoint, while Emma Digerud-White responds from a female perspective shaped by lived experience, care and emotional intimacy. Positioned within Flamm’s theme of [Dis]Location, the works consider emotional, psychological and relational states of belonging and estrangement, creating a dialogue that invites reflection on vulnerability, identity, connection and shared human experience.
Outdoor installations will pop up across the town: In the town square, with Jacqui Orly, visitors are invited to take part in a transaction. Penny for penny, pound for pound, money is exchanged for the exact same monetary value. A participant may hand over 50p and receive 50p in return, or exchange a £5 note for an equivalent amount made up of smaller denominations. There is no profit, no loss, and no apparent gain.
Elizabeth-Jane Grose presents a multi-faceted installation in St Petroc’s Soldiers’ Chapel, examining the experience of [Dis]Location through the stories of people who experienced war. Using craft-based techniques and materials, Grose creates evocative images from stuff of the lower ranks of the art world, challenging notions of a visual hierarchy.
Elsewhere, Woven voices: The Bodmin Dress Project is a collaborative textile artwork created by local artist Rebecca Wood with the Bodmin community. Through shared stories, memories, and handmade contributions, the dress reflects personal and collective transformation, celebrating Bodmin’s past, present, and creative spirit. It will be in the town’s Air Ambulance shop and will include performances. Another textile work will be by Hannah Jacobs and participants at Kinsman Estate. A Tapestry for tickets to anywhere is a collective artwork initiated by Hannah Jacob with over 100 contributors all over Cornwall, now including additions from the residents at the Kinsman and Treningle Estate. Over the last few weeks, Hannah and the residents have used collage, movement and drawing to explore how public transport affects our lives and our connection to each other, and document the interesting and significant journeys in their lives.
Work by the community and with them is also seen in Alexander Prynne’s HERE, an immersive installation piece that explores and evokes neurodivergent safe spaces and experiences. It has been created by an autistic artist in collaboration with the local neurodivergent community for an authentic experience. Alexander Prynne is an autistic creative based in Bodmin. He creates work across a range of mediums including theatre, poetry and film.
Meanwhile, Amanda Young and SkillSHARE participants’ piece is a fun, interactive installation in the form of a walk-in book dedicated to the life stories of SkillSHARE’s participants, offering visitors the opportunity to engage with the storytelling aspect of the project and to explore their own narratives as a result. The Storybook of Bodmin aims to see people come out of the shadows to recognise and discover their own significance through its pages, thus exploring their own mental and physical health and aspirations, and the place of Bodmin within this.
Bodmin sits at the heart of Cornwall, where rich history, creative culture and vast natural landscapes meet. In its lively and wide-ranging spaces – ancient streets, moorland, woodland, communities, and country estates – it is a place that rewards those who dig a little deeper. It’s a place where discoveries are made. 
In addition to the festival, art lovers can also explore visitor attractions such as Bodmin Jail, Bodmin Railway or St Petroc’s Church, where history is at their fingertips. Bodmin is also a natural playground, where moorland gateways, rolling countryside, the Camel Trail and lush woodlands invite discovery at every turn. Visit Bodmin Moor, the rolling estate at National Trust’s Lanhydrock or take a stroll in Cardinham Woods.
Music, comedy, dance and cinema come together in glorious technicolour in the town. Organisations like intoBodmin, The Beat and St Petroc’s Church throw their doors wide to creative events and performances, and with a wealth of natural inspiration, Bodmin is also home to a hive-like community of creatives.
Get up close with their work at one of the local galleries – you’ll find them tucked in streets and studios around the town. In Bodmin, you’ll find workshops in everything from art and crafts at the Bodmin Gallery & Creative Studio, to sustainability and science at Discovering42.
A new tourism campaign has been launched to position Bodmin as one of Cornwall’s most distinctive destinations – marking the culmination of a year-long collaboration between local partners, businesses and community organisations.
The campaign, More to Bodmin, introduces a bold new destination identity for the town – one that invites visitors to discover a place that reveals more the deeper you explore.
The campaign represents the creation of a new tourism body for Bodmin, bringing together partners under a shared vision to raise the town’s profile, encourage longer stays and connect visitors with a wider range of experiences.
Importantly, a major aim of the project is also to celebrate a sense of local pride and community amongst those living in Bodmin – a town full of residents fully aware of how special their stories and spaces really are, and happy to share those secrets.
Launched in early April, the campaign is supported by a new website alongside an outdoor and print media campaign, designed to reach new audiences and inspire visits throughout the year.
The campaign shines a light on the many layers that make Bodmin unique. Visitors are invited to experience history you can touch, from the atmospheric stories of Bodmin Jail and Railway to the rich collections held at Bodmin Keep and the Town Museum. Alongside this, wild landscapes within easy reach offer space to explore, with the Camel Trail, Cardinham Woods and surrounding moorland providing opportunities for adventure, wellbeing and discovery.
At the centre of Bodmin’s offer is its people. The campaign celebrates a town that is loved by its community, where markets, events and everyday moments create a warm and authentic sense of place. This is complemented by a programme of culture in motion, from festivals and performances to creative spaces like The Beat and intoBodmin. People can get hands-on with interactive experiences at science museum Discovering42 and get creative with workshops at Bodmin Gallery.
Bringing everything together is a focus on connected discoveries – encouraging visitors to move between experiences, uncover hidden corners and build their own journeys through Bodmin’s stories, landscapes and communities.
Councillor Leigh Frost, Councillor for Bodmin St Petroc and Leader of Cornwall Council Cabinet says “Bodmin has always been a place of remarkable stories, rich character and warm community spirit. What’s exciting about the More to Bodmin campaign is that it brings all of this together in a way that truly reflects who we are. It shines a light on the heritage, landscapes and creativity that make our town special, while celebrating the people who give Bodmin its heart.”
Developed collaboratively with a wide range of local stakeholders, the campaign provides businesses and organisations with a shared platform, tools and messaging to amplify their own offer while contributing to a stronger overall destination.
Over the past year, a group of dedicated individuals and organisations have formed a new tourism committee for the town. Partners include Bodmin Gallery, Bodmin Jail, Bodmin Keep, Bodmin Railway, Bodmin Town Council, Bodmin Town Museum, Cardinham Woods, Discovering42, intoBodmin, National Trust’s Lanhydrock and St Petroc’s Church.
Working with Cornwall Council’s Experience project, which has funded the new campaign and will continue to support the town to establish the tourism body over the next 12 months, their aim is to set up a plan to keep the town front of mind those looking for things to do – whether that’s the holiday market, residents of Cornwall and the community of Bodmin.
As the campaign rolls out over the next few weeks, visitors will be encouraged to look beyond the expected – uncovering stories, experiences and connections that reveal there is always more to Bodmin.