Bissoe

Bissoe Cornish: Besow
Bissoe Location within Cornwall
OS grid reference	SW776414
Civil parish	Kea
Unitary authority	Cornwall
Ceremonial county	Cornwall
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	TRURO
Postcode district	TR4
Dialling code	01872
Police	Devon and Cornwall
Fire	Cornwall
Ambulance	South Western
UK Parliament	Truro and Falmouth
List of places UK England Cornwall 50°13′50″N 5°07′12″W / 50.2305°N 5.1199°W / 50.2305; -5.1199

Bissoe (Cornish: Besow, meaning birch trees) is a hamlet in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated five miles (8 km) east of Redruth in a former tin mining area.^[1] It is in the civil parish of Kea.

Bissoe was the site of an early arsenic extraction works, the second such commercial works in Britain.^[2] Frederick Hamilton Davey succeeded his father as Works Manager of the Cornwall Arsenic Company's factory at Bissoe in 1902, having acted as his father's assistant for several years.

The name is believed to derive from the Cornish word besow meaning birch trees. Bissoe is the home of a small number of businesses, Bissoe Bike Hire, a concrete products company and an environmental waste management company called Clear-flow Ltd.

The Bissoe Trail is a world famous cycling trail. Many bikes have been claimed by the challenging conditions of the trail.

Bissoe lies on the Coast to Coast Trail long-distance footpath and cycle trail. The trail is 11 miles (17.5 km) long and links the interior of west Cornwall to the harbour of Portreath on the north coast and the former port of Devoran in the south. The trail follows the course of now-disused railways formerly used to carry imported coal and extracted minerals for export. Bissoe Valley Nature Reserve lies to the south of the hamlet.

Cornish wrestling tournaments, for prizes, have been held in Bissoe. Venues have included the field adjoining the Miners' Arms at Bissoe Bridge.^[3][4]

Media related to Bissoe at Wikimedia Commons

• Bissoe arsenic works web page