Events, activities and visiting

          The World Heritage Site (WHS) covers a wide variety of landscapes and destinations throughout Cornwall and west Devon, and there are a great many stimulating visitor attractions and walks to experience.

          Below we offer a number of links to websites that provide details of attractions open to the public along with special events, general tourism information and what the weather is up to.

The Count House Workshop, Botallack - built in the mid 1860s, Botallack Count House was the impressive administrative building for this important nineteenth century mine. Now owned by the National Trust, the building houses interpretation covering the history and ecology of the local mining area, as well as being used as a centre for community events.
www.nationaltrust.org.uk 01736 788588

Levant Mine and Beam Engine - owned by the National Trust, Levant is home to the only Cornish beam engine anywhere in the world that is still in steam, in its original mine location. This famous engine is housed in a small building on the edge of the cliffs and was restored after 60 idle years by a group of volunteers known as the “Greasy Gang”.
www.nationaltrust.org.uk 01736 786156
 

Poldark Mine – described as one of the two most atmospheric mine tours in Europe*, Poldark offers the rare opportunity go underground in a complete 18th century tin mine and experience all the excitement of extensive tin mine workings dating from the 1700s. Poldark also has on display the last Cornish beam engine to pump commercially in Cornwall, the Poldark Engine. Formerly located at a china clay pit in mid Cornwall, this ceased working in 1959 but has recently been restored to pump once more.
 www.poldark-mine.co.uk 01326 573173

(*Sir Neil Cossons, Chairman, English Heritage 2000-2007)

 

King Edward Mine - King Edward, formerly the world famous Camborne School of Mines Training Mine, is the oldest complete mine site in Cornwall.

• Visit the museum, find out how a mine works and learn about the social history

• Take the guided tour through the tin processing plant where the machinery can be seen running

• Browse in the shop

• Group and school visits a speciality

Visit the Mineral Tramways exhibition. King Edward is also an ideal base from which to explore the ‘Great Flat Lode’ trail.
www.kingedwardmine.co.uk 01209 614681

Mineral Tramways – explore the historic landscape in and around the mining districts of Camborne, Redruth and Gwennap via a 60km network of mostly off-road multi-use trails, largely following the tramway routes that once serviced the region’s tin and copper mines from the eighteenth through to the twentieth centuries. The predominantly flat trails are ideal for beginners, novices and families and the coast to coast route can be cycled in just a few hours. Enjoy stunning scenery, discover historic mine sites and experience Cornwall’s rich mining heritage, with various picnic/refreshment stops and bike hire facilities en route. *See also the Mineral Tramways Exhibition at King Edward Mine (above)*
www.cornwall.gov.uk 01872 323468
 

Cornish Studies Library - based at the Cornwall Centre in Alma Place, Redruth, this is Cornwall Council’s largest library of books and printed resources on Cornwall. The collection of over 30,000 volumes covers Cornwall’s history, geography, industries, customs and other aspects of Cornish life. Open to everyone, the collection also highlights Cornwall’s mining industry through books, photographs, maps, newspapers and journals.
Cornish Studies Library 01209 216760
 

Gwennap Pit – Gwennap Pit is an open air amphitheatre, possibly a hollow created by sunken mine workings.  Having remarkable acoustic properties, it was a favourite preaching place of John Wesley, the eighteenth century founder of Methodism, thousands from the mining communities gathering.  Remodelled in 1806 as a memorial to him, it seats 2,000 on 13 circular grassy terraces, the top tier being 34 metres across. Used since then for the annual Whit Monday/Spring Bank Holiday gathering, other events are held - music, drama, worship, weddings. Alongside is a visitor centre.
Gwennap Pit 01209 820013 or 01326 372084
 

St. Agnes Museum - housed in a Listed nineteenth century chapel, the social and economic legacy of tin and copper mining in St. Agnes is reflected in a fascinating collection of artefacts, photographs, maps, films, audio and family histories which, together, trace the impact of metalliferous mining on today’s landscape and community. www.stagnesmuseum.co.uk 01872 553228

Cotehele - Medieval house with superb collections of textiles, armour and furniture set in extensive grounds with riverside quay. The quay provides the gateway to a working watermill and the wider estate for visitors to enjoy, with its abundant wildlife and evocative industrial ruins - all that remains of a rich industrial past. Our Discovery Centre also provides an insight into the changing times and stunning heritage of this area of the Tamar Valley.
www.nationaltrust.org.uk 01579 351346

Tavistock Museum - occupies rooms above the historic Court Gate in the town centre. There are permanent exhibitions, DVD shows, and artefacts which record the town's early history as an Abbey and a Stannary town, and its later history as a commercial centre for copper and arsenic mining. The many fine public buildings and model workers’ cottages built by the Dukes of Bedford from their mining royalties, the Tavistock Canal and the three former foundry sites give Tavistock a real link to its mining past.
www.tavistockhistory.ik.com 01822 612546