From council elections to sporting success, honours to scandals, here’s a selection of the stories that have made the headlines in Cornwall over the past 12 months.

· New Year honours include an OBE for Penzance Olympic rower Helen Glover; an MBE for Redruth cinema proprietor Geoffrey Greaves; and a British Empire Medal (BEM) for David Haines, lifeboat operations manager at the RNLI Looe Lifeboat Station.

· Truro Cathedral hosts Space by Luxmuralis, an immersive light and sound spectacular enabling visitors to experience a rocket launch and wander through galaxies. Missed it? Luxmuralis returns in January 2026 with Time, a mesmerising voyage through the epochs of humanity.

· The outline of Cornwall is discovered in the rings of a tree trunk by Jamie MacDonald of Mevagissey. The image goes viral on social media, and the piece is now on Jamie’s wall.

· Trevornick Holiday Park in Holywell Bay is described as looking like a “war zone” after being hit by a mini-tornado. Several caravans were damaged by the twister, with roofs taken off and windows blown in.

· Anglican priest Lisa Coupland, 62, from the Lizard, puts on her cloak and best poker face to join series three of The Traitors.

· The government invests £28.6 million investment to support the re-opening of South Crofty tin mine in Pool. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves MP visits during her first trip to Cornwall in July.

· Reflecting feedback from members and supporters, the National Trust celebrates 70 years of custodianship at Trelissick, near Truro, by welcoming dogs into its gardens for the first time to mark.

· An ice sculpture based on Penzance man Rob Trewhella is unveiled outside Tate Modern, representing older people who live in financial hardship and cannot afford to heat their homes.

· Teachers at Newquay’s biggest secondary school man the picket lines after “losing patience” with the Cornwall Education Learning Trust (CELT). More than 50 members of the National Education Union (NEU) and their supporters protest over pay outside Newquay Tretherras.

· Debate ensues over the future of the former General Wolfe pub building in St Austell. Local residents and historians campaign against demolition of the derelict listed building, which was built in 1780 for Edward Coode.

· Hundreds of spectators battle appalling weather conditions to cheer on 45 teams in the 47th Intercollegiate International Mining Games (IMG) at King Edward Mine Museum (KEM). Camborne School of Mines (CSM) is crowned the victor in both the women’s and men’s events, beating teams from the USA, Canada and Australia.

· The World’s Fastest Crimper is crowned during Cornish Pasty Week. Grandmother Sue Mountford, from Penpol near Truro, learned the art of pasty making by watching her mother. The contest at the Great Cornish Food Store attracted entrants from Cornwall, the wider South West and Japan.

· Penzance Council town clerk James Hardy is named named Town Clerk of the Year, beating finalists from Suffolk, Yorkshire, Buckinghamshire and Falmouth.

· Cornwall Heritage Trust turns 40 and announces the transfer into its care of five historic places from Cornwall Council: East Pentire Head, Warbstow Bury near Launceston, Minions Heritage Centre, the Prince of Wales Engine House in Tintagel and Castle an Dinas in Penwith.

· An ambitious land art project four years in the making, Kerdroya - a labyrinth demonstrating traditional Cornish stone hedging techniques – opens at Colliford Lake.

· Liskeard solicitor Albert de Castro Glubb is the first person to be recognised by Pobel a Gernow (People of Cornwall), an initiative similar to the Blue Plaque scheme and a partnership between Cornwall Heritage Trust, Gorsedh Kernow and Federation of Old Cornwall Societies.

· Cornwall Wildlife Trust captures a beaver farting on film at Helman Tor Nature Reserve. Wildlife experts believe the beaver was "marking its territory". The footage makes national news.

· Controversy surrounds Louis Gardner’s appointment as head of future air and space at Spaceport Cornwall. As Cornwall Council’s cabinet member for the economy, Mr Gardner approved a £200,000 grant to the Spaceport. He would later step down from his position, but police would take no further action.

· Actor Kris Marshall, star of the hit BBC One series Beyond Paradise, reveals just how much he loves filming in Looe and South East Cornwall. “I’m a big fan of getting my ‘vitamin sea’,” he says, citing Rame Head as one of his favourite locations.

· Mark Formosa drives more than 1,000 miles from Newquay to Scotland and back to get an NHS dentist appointment after failing to find one anywhere near his home.

· Truro City FC is promoted to the Vanarama league following victory over St Albans. The team tours the city centre in an open-topped bus, to the delight of fans.

· Cornwall Council elections takes place on May 1, with all 87 seats up for grabs. The balance switches from a Conservative minority administration to with Reform UK being the largest party but without a controlling majority. The LibDems and Independent councillors succeeded in joining forces to run the council.

· Explorer Robin Hanbury-Tenison rows 22 miles of the River Tamar on his 89th birthday to raise funds for the Thousand Year Trust, a charity dedicated to tripling the amount of temperate rainforest in the UK.

· The new Bishop of Truro is officially installed at Truro Cathedral. The Right Reverend David Williams spends his first 100 days visiting churches across Cornwall.

· The St Austell A391 link road, connecting to the A30, partially opened in May 2025, but faced immediate criticism for ongoing 30mph limits and slow progress on landscaping, leading to continued traffic issues in Clay Country villages.

· More than 110,000 people attended the three-day Royal Cornwall Show, with Prince William making his first visit as Duke of Cornwall alongside Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh.

· The King’s Birthday Honours include OBEs for High Sheriff Geraint Richards and former Cornwall College principal John Evans.

· The rotting hulk of the Compton Castle paddle steamer is finally removed from Lemon Quay as part of a scheme to upgrade Truro’s waterfront district.

· Launceston welcomes Cllr Nicola Gilbert as its new mayor for 2025/26. Cllr Gilbert joined the town council in 2019 and is a trustee of Coronation Park, a member of the Twinning Association and a regular player at Kensey Vale Bowling Club.

· A tradesman fitting anti-seagull spikes in Porthleven has his mug of builder’s brew stolen by a winged thief who dumps it in the briny. Revenge is sweet.