The weird and uncanny cry of the "Gannel Crake" is heard by everyone who woos the charms of a romantic coast after the sun has set beyond the western sea. It is said to be the cry of some species of night gull, but is traditionally referred to by the superstitious natives as the cry of a troubled spirit that ever haunts the scene. A short distance inland from the porth is St. Columb Minor, the church of which, together with that of St. Columb Major some six miles farther inland is said to be dedicated to Columba, a maiden saint who is not to be confounded with the great Irish saint of the same name. St. Columb Minor is the mother parish of Newquay and possesses a fine late Decorated church with a remarkably good western tower, said to be the second highest tower in the county. The village is quite a large one from which some fine views of the coast may be obtained. Close at hand is Rialton, from which the statesman Sidney Godolphin took his title, and where, in the surrounding park and dells, many sketches were made by Stansfield, when he visited the district with his friend Charles Dickens. Rialton Priory is a much desecrated building that once belonged to the priory of Bodmin, it having been erected towards the end of the fifteenth century by Thomas Vivian, prior of Bodmin. In 1840 someone carried off a large amount of the priory's ancient stonework to Somerset, where it was placed in private grounds, but the Crown made an order for it to be returned and re-erected at Rialton. St. Columb Major occupies the crown of an eminence, the conjectured site of a Danish fortress. The church is large, mainly early Decorated, and of much beauty. In the chancel is the pre-Reformation stone altar, marked with the five crosses, and supported on slabs of granite. This had been buried beneath the floor and was discovered during some restorations in 1846. Other noteworthy features are the window of the south transept and the grotesque carvings that adorn the font. There are also three good brasses commemorating members of the Arundell family. The whole of this neighbourhood is famous for its "hurlers" and "wrestlers", a memento of which could be seen at the Red Lion a few years ago, for here the landlord used to exhibit with pride the silver punchbowl given to his grandfather (Polkinhorne) when that worthy escaped defeat in a wrestling bout with Cann, the champion of the adjoining county of Devon. The art of wrestling appears to have died out, but the once popular game of hurling is revived once a year, either in the village itself or along the sands towards Newquay. The ball used is about the size of a cricket ball, and after being coated with silver is inscribed:-- "St. Columb Major and Minor, Do your best; In one of your parishes I must rest."