About
St Columb Major is a small town about 6 miles from Newquay and should not to be confused with St Columb Minor which district in Newquay itself. Often referred to locally as St Columb, it is situated approximately seven miles (11 km) southwest of Wadebridge and six miles (10 km) east of Newquay.
Twice a year the town plays host to "hurling", a medieval game once common throughout Cornwall but now only played in St Columb. It is played on Shrove Tuesday and then again on the Saturday eleven days later. The game involves two teams of several hundred people (the 'townsmen' and the 'countrymen') who endeavour to carry a silver ball made of apple wood to goals set two miles (3 km) apart, making the parish, around 25 square miles in area, the de facto largest sports ground in the world.