It’s billed as ‘Cornwall’s most famous smuggling inn’. It became internationally famous when Daphne du Maurier wrote her bestselling novel that was later made into an Alfred Hitchcock classic. It’s known for its great food, accommodation and tales from days gone by, as well as its location high up on Bodmin Moor. Of course, it’s the Jamaica Inn in Cornwall and it’s a must-visit for anyone travelling through the area.
The Jamaica Inn, just outside the hamlet of Bolventor near Bodmin, Launceston and Liskeard, dates back to 1750, when it was a coaching inn for those heading out across Bodmin Moor. Over the past 270-plus years, its role hasn’t really changed as it welcomes hungry and weary travellers with great food, drink and accommodation. It became globally famous when Daphne du Maurier’s 1936 novel, ‘Jamaica Inn’, was published following her stay at the venue in 1930 in which she got lost late at night while horse-riding. The Hitchcock thriller followed three years later and, ever since, this famous inn has been firmly on the tourism map of Cornwall.
The olde world charm of the Jamaica Inn has been preserved well, including many old rooms, bars and restaurants areas throughout the building that can be visited. More modern additions like a new bedroom wing have been made over the years but a visit to this attraction is pretty much a visit to how an inn would have looked more than 200 years ago. Also at the venue is a Smuggling Museum that’s full of related artefacts and old smugglers’ tales, and a Daphne du Maurier Museum that’s dedicated to the great novelist and contains many of her original letters to royalty.
Of course, eating and drinking at the Jamaica Inn is a highlight all in itself as the food and drinks here are dreamy but also recommended on your visit is the new farm shop on the site that touts local Cornish produce and the gift shop that sells local souvenirs. There are also a plethora of ghost stories that surround the inn, so have a haunting time in one of the attraction’s monthly ghost hunts if you’re into the paranormal. And there are regular murder mystery evenings for anyone that’s game. Plenty to do, eat, drink, see and experience at the Jamaica Inn, then. Smuggle yourself in for a little slice of Bodmin Moor history.