Jamaica Inn

Jamaica Inn is a granite coaching inn standing high on the bleak expanse of Bodmin Moor at Bolventor, Cornwall. Dating from around 1750, it served travellers on the road between Launceston and Bodmin and became associated in local memory with the region's smuggling trade. Its lasting fame, however, comes from Daphne du Maurier, who stayed nearby and set her 1936 novel "Jamaica Inn" here, cementing its reputation as a wild, atmospheric outpost. Today it operates as a hotel, pub and restaurant, with a smuggling museum and rooms dedicated to du Maurier.

The inn is well known in local tradition for ghost stories. Visitors and staff report footsteps, a figure said to be a former patron, and unexplained sounds in the older parts of the building, and it is a popular subject for paranormal groups. These accounts are anecdotal and unverified, and are best seen as part of the inn's folklore.

Much of Jamaica Inn's appeal lies in the documented blend of coaching history, moorland setting and literary heritage. That real story is atmospheric enough without needing embellishment.

Jamaica Inn is a privately run hotel, pub and restaurant on Bodmin Moor, open to the public year-round, with accommodation, food and drink and paid attractions including the Smugglers' Museum and Daphne du Maurier rooms. Access to the bar, restaurant and grounds is generally free, while the museum charges admission.

The inn sits in an exposed moorland location, so visitors travelling in poor weather should take care on the roads. As a working business, guests are asked to respect other patrons and staff.