Name change campaign for highest point in Cornwall, Brown Willy

A campaigner is calling for the name of Cornwall's highest point to be changed back to its original form.

Bronn Wennili, which means 'Hill of Swallows', stands at 420 metres, or 1378ft, and is on Bodmin Moor.

At some point the name was changed or bastardised from its original Cornish to Brown Willy.

Campaigner Chris Hines said: "Restoring the original name Bronn Wennili to the highest point in Cornwall is a complete no brainer.

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"It has a lovely meaning – 'Hill of Swallows', a name that the county and its people can be proud of and something that will be slightly more attractive to residents and tourists than Brown Willy!"

Mr Hines, founder and former director of Surfers Against Sewage and former sustainability director at the Eden Project, set up A Grain of Sand to campaign for environmental issues.

He explained: "During the summer I was asked to give a keynote presentation to the AGM of West Cumbria Tourism, where I flagged up what lessons they could learn from Cornwall. The emphasis was on using the coastline for tourism, but I thought about what their tourist offer is based around. It struck me that while they have Scafell Pike, we have Brown Willy. Not quite so appealing.

"I also researched the name and discovered Bronn Wennili and thought that changing the name back would be a simple and effective way of delivering some positive change. "

Mr Hines is also clear that he wants a full restoration of the original name and a removal of Brown Willy. "This isn't a case for dual names, one in English and one in Cornish. This is its proper name and should be its only name."

Mr Hines will be asking for the support of Cornwall Council and has received backing from his local councillor, Joyce Duffin.

"I totally agree that the original Cornish name should be reinstated," said the councillor for Mount Hawke and Portreath. "I will be discussing further with Cornwall Council how this can be brought about."

Mr Hines is unclear why the name was changed in the first place and has contacted the Ordnance Survey, which has said it may be able to say when it was changed, but not why. It added that such changes were usually at the request of the local authority. This would indicate a change back to Bronn Wennili would also require a simple request.

A Grain of Sand aims to drive positive change in different ways and Mr Hines said this was a perfect example of working on a small scale to help effect change. He enrolled long-term friend and internationally renowned photographer Andy Hughes and his Jack Russell Maui for a walk to the summit to capture some pictures.