Botallack Mine
I had been here before but decided to take a closer look at the extensive remains of Botallack Mine during a walk in the area in October 2006. I parked at Pendeen Watch and then walked the coast path to Kenidjack. It is quite difficult to decide where one mine finishes and another begins - Geevor, Levant, Botallack, Wheal Edward, Kenidjack and Cape Cornwall - so closely are they packed together. Indeed, after Levant closed, Geevor, one of the last mines to work in Cornwall, and the most modern-looking along here, took over some of its extensive workings. At its most prosperous from around 1835 to 1890, Botallack was visited by Queen Victoria in 1846. In 1865 some 500 men worked there and eleven steam engines operated. Most impressively sited of these were the Crown engine houses, perched on a ledge above the sea. The lower of these housed a pumping engine, the upper was the winding engine for the 1360 foot deep Diagonal Shaft. The mine last worked in 1907-1914 when the impressive arsenic flues near the cliffs were built. A photo of the Count House, now owned by the National Trust, is in another walk I did, also in October 2006, from Pendeen Watch. There is also some 20th century headgear to be seen. If needing refreshment, try the Queen's Arms in Botallack village.
To see the area without a long walk, park in Botallack
Botallack's Crown Engine Houses high above the sea
Wheal
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Charlestown
Charlestown may well be familiar from such TV and movies as ‘The Eagle has Landed’, ‘Poldark’, ‘The Onedin Line’ and ‘Charles Darwin’s Voyage of the Beagle’. The harbour and picturesque village were the work of engineer John Smeaton - who built the pier at St. Ives, several canals and the famous lighthouse on Eddystone Rocks, now replaced and standing on Plymouth Hoe. He built Charlestown in 1801 for local industrialist Charles Rashleigh, mainly to export the china clay from the hills above St. Austell. China clay is no longer exported from here and now the harbour is owned by a company called Square Sail who provide ships of all periods for movie-making; their small boatyards operate on the western side of the harbour and a couple of their tall ships are usually moored by the quay. Unusually for Cornwall the harbour has a sea-lock keeping it, like Padstow, in constant water. Beech trees line the approach to the village and colourful Georgian cottages line the harbour and fetch premium prices. A Shipwreck Exhibition has a vast collection of shipwreck artefacts and displays on diving and ocean liners. There are a couple of pubs; the Rashleigh Arms, on Fore Street above the harbour, is preferred. A restaurant, in a former boathouse, is open all day and serves good local produce. Charlestown gets busy, so best to avoid school holidays.
China Stone in the Tregargus Valley near St. Stephen-in-Brannel
Tregargus Valley near St. Stephen-in-Brannel
Classic Air Force - I am unsure whether this still exists at Newquay Airport
This museum was previously situated near Coventry but moved down to Cornwall in 2013. It is now on the Aerohub site on the old St. Mawgan Airfield, on the opposite side from Newquay Airport. Classic Air Force opened in Cornwall at Easter 2013 and we were lucky enough to be able to attend one of its free Easter opening days. Considering how recently the aircraft had moved down from the Midlands - there were still more to come later - everything ran surprisingly smoothly thanks to the great enthusiasm of the staff running the operation. Housed in and around a massive former RAF hangar, the collection of airplanes is impressive, ranging from simple single-engined craft such as the Auster Aristocrat and Chrislea Super Ace, through the De Havilland Dragon Rapide bi-plane, to the classic jets such as the English Electric Canberra, the Hawker Hunter and Sea Hawk, the Gloster Meteor and the Hawker Siddeley Nimrod. Many are in flying condition and some are used to give visitors air trips. While we have to claim supreme ignorance when it comes to aviation, we were impressed by the scope of the collection, the presentation and the sheer enthusiasm of the staff. Pasties and relatively simple snacks were available when we were there.