Walks in Cornwall with mining/quarrying heritage

Walks in Cornwall with mining/quarrying heritage

Enjoy the walks by being guided by the app

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Download the app and use it to explore the walks and to purchase a guided route.
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The app will direct you to the start of the walk via satnav.
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The app guides you around the walk using GPS, removing any worries about getting lost.
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The walk route is described with detailed, regularly-updated, hand-written directions.
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Each time there is a new direction to follow, the app will beep to remind you, and will warn you if you go off-route.
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A map shows the route, where you are at all times and even which way you are facing.
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Each walk is packed with information about the history and nature along the route, from over a decade of research than spans more than 3,000 topics.
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Once a walk is downloaded, the app doesn't need a phone or wifi signal during the walk.
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The app counts down distance to the next direction and estimates time remaining based on your personal walking speed.
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We keep the directions continually updated for changes to the paths/landmarks - the price for a walk includes ongoing free updates.

The walks cover areas with metalliferous mining and also the major slate quarrying areas including Delabole and the coastal quarries around Tintagel.

  • 2.2 miles/3.6 km - Easy

    Eden Project

    Poppies at Eden

    Eden Project

    2.2 miles/3.6 km - Easy

    A walk though a granite landscape mined first for tin, then china clay and now for geothermal power to generate electricity and heat the space-age greenhouses of the Eden Project.

  • 2.5 miles/4 km - Easy

    Botallack Head

    Crown Mines

    Botallack Head

    2.5 miles/4 km - Easy

    A circular walk around Cornwall's most iconic mining remains, used for the filming of the BBC's Poldark series

  • 2.7 miles/4.3 km - Easy

    Hayle and The Towans

    Gardens at Hayle

    Hayle and The Towans

    2.7 miles/4.3 km - Easy

    A circular walk on the Towans at Hayle, where Cornwall's beam engines were cast using sand from a prehistoric lagoon when West Penwith was an island.

  • 6 miles/9.6 km - Easy

    Twelveheads and Chacewater

    Poldice Mine

    Twelveheads and Chacewater

    6 miles/9.6 km - Easy

    A circular walk in the Copper Kingdom of the Old World where the majority of world's copper came from during the 18th and 19th Centuries

  • 2.4 miles/3.8 km - Easy-moderate

    Gwithian and Upton Towans

    Gwithian Towans

    Gwithian and Upton Towans

    2.4 miles/3.8 km - Easy-moderate

    A circular walk around the nature reserve in the sand dunes that was once the National Explosives Works where young girls manufactured dynamite from nitroglycerine, two tonnes of which detonated causing a shock wave that broke windows in St Ives and Penzance and could be heard on Dartmoor.

  • 2.4 miles/3.9 km - Easy-moderate

    Tintagel, Church and Castle

    Tintagel Castle

    Tintagel, Church and Castle

    2.4 miles/3.9 km - Easy-moderate

    A short circular walk exploring some of the historic sites in Tintagel including King Arthur's Castle and Merlin's Cave, the Old Post Office, and the ancient parish church on the cliffs.

  • 2.7 miles/4.4 km - Easy-moderate

    Gwennap Pit to Carn Marth (short version)

    Gwennap Pit

    Gwennap Pit to Carn Marth (short version)

    2.7 miles/4.4 km - Easy-moderate

    A circular walk at Carn Marth with panoramic views right across mid-Cornwall to Falmouth and the Roseland, the Cornish Alps and Bodmin Moor, and St Agnes and Trevose Head

  • 3 miles/4.9 km - Easy-moderate

    Baker's Pit and Rogers' Tower

    Rogers' Tower

    Baker's Pit and Rogers' Tower

    3 miles/4.9 km - Easy-moderate

    A circular walk from the Bakers Pit nature reserve to an Iron Age hillfort where the remains of prehistoric roundhouses were seen as a convenient source of stone for a folly built in the era when the Poldark novels are set.

  • 3.0 miles/4.9 km - Easy-moderate

    St Agnes Beacon and Wheal Coates

    Towanroath Engine House at Wheal Coates

    St Agnes Beacon and Wheal Coates

    3.0 miles/4.9 km - Easy-moderate

    A circular walk between St Agnes Head and the engine houses of Wheal Coates via St Agnes Beacon, with spectacular panoramic views

  • 3 miles/4.8 km - Easy-moderate

    Tintagel Church to Trebarwith Strand

    Port William

    Tintagel Church to Trebarwith Strand

    3 miles/4.8 km - Easy-moderate

    A circular walk on quarrymens' trails along the cliffs of Tintagel past the Thunderhole blowhole to the long, sandy beach at Trebarwith Strand from Tintagel's mediaeval clifftop church with relics including the font that once stood in Tintagel Castle's chapel.

  • 3.4 miles/5.5 km - Easy-moderate

    Luxulyan Valley circular

    Luxulyan Valley

    Luxulyan Valley circular

    3.4 miles/5.5 km - Easy-moderate

    A circular walk following the leats and horse-drawn tramways through the World Heritage site of the Luxulyan Valley to the massive viaduct which carried the tramways towards Newquay and water to winch the trams up the valley with a huge waterwheel, recommended in guidebooks as early as the 1920s "as one of the most glorious walks in all Cornwall".

  • 3.4 miles/5.4 km - Easy-moderate

    Wheal Maid and Poldice Valley

    Taylor's Engine House

    Wheal Maid and Poldice Valley

    3.4 miles/5.4 km - Easy-moderate

    A circular walk in the area described in Victorian times as the richest square mile anywhere on Earth

  • 3.7 miles/6.0 km - Easy-moderate

    Calstock

    Tamar Valley

    Calstock

    3.7 miles/6.0 km - Easy-moderate

    A walk at Calstock where a Victorian mineral railway from Kelly Bray once ran down to the quayside and the viaduct was built in the 1900s to connect this to Plymouth, creating today's Tamar Valley Line. The walk includes an option circular diversion around the relics of Okel Tor mine.

  • 5 miles/8 km - Easy-moderate

    Minions and Caradon Hill

    Caradon Hill

    Minions and Caradon Hill

    5 miles/8 km - Easy-moderate

    A walk through the remains of the UK's most productive copper mines which employed thousands of people in Victorian times, including brakemen who each scooted an individual loaded ore wagon down to Liskeard on the railway that forms much of the walk route.

  • 5 miles/8 km - Easy-moderate

    St Austell, Clay Trails and Menacuddle Well

    Rhododendrons at Menacuddle Well

    St Austell, Clay Trails and Menacuddle Well

    5 miles/8 km - Easy-moderate

    A circular walk in china clay country, including a trail laid on the trackbed of a mineral railway from St Austell to the Cornish Alps and one of Cornwall's most picturesque holy wells.

  • 5.8 miles/9.3 km - Easy-moderate

    St Stephen and Tregargus Valley

    Wheal Arthur

    St Stephen and Tregargus Valley

    5.8 miles/9.3 km - Easy-moderate

    A circular walk from St Stephen along a tributary valley of the River Fal to the hamlet of Coombe via some of Cornwall's best preserved remains of the Victorian and early 20th Century China Stone industry

  • 6 miles/9.6 km - Easy-moderate

    Stithians to Kennall Vale

    Path through Kennall Vale

    Stithians to Kennall Vale

    6 miles/9.6 km - Easy-moderate

    A circular walk in the valley of the River Kennall, where during Victorian times the cascading river was used to power gunpowder mills, five of which exploded in a chain reaction so violent that the roof of one was found a mile away.

  • 6.1 miles/9.8 km - Easy-moderate

    Feock to Devoran

    Carnon River at Devoran

    Feock to Devoran

    6.1 miles/9.8 km - Easy-moderate

    A circular walk to the Victorian-engineered town of Devoran which was once the largest mining port in Cornwall, and along Restronguet Creek on the route of the railway that lead from the ore bins and smelting houses to the mines of Redruth

  • 6.2 miles/10 km - Easy-moderate

    Gwennap Pit and Carn Marth

    Gwennap Pit

    Gwennap Pit and Carn Marth

    6.2 miles/10 km - Easy-moderate

    A circular walk through an area steeped in mining history, with panoramic views from Carn Marth and the almost legendary Gwennap Pit which became so famous that even the neighbouring mine was renamed to Cathedral

  • 2.5 miles/4 km - Moderate

    Danescombe Valley

    Cotehele Gardens

    Danescombe Valley

    2.5 miles/4 km - Moderate

    A circular walk from Cotehele Quay into the broadleaf woodland of the Danescombe Valley where bluebells and orchids flower in spring and fungi erupt through the carpet of autumn leaves.

  • 3.1 miles/4.9 km - Moderate

    Trevaunance Cove and Blue Hills mine

    Trevellas Coombe

    Trevaunance Cove and Blue Hills mine

    3.1 miles/4.9 km - Moderate

    A circular walk along the stream of Trevellas Coombe where tin ore is still worked using traditional water power, past Stippy Stappy - the row of sea captain's cottages, and down the valley to the sandy beach of Trevaunance Cove with the remains of Victorian harbour which was demolished by Atlantic storms.

  • 3.6 miles/5.8 km - Moderate

    Delabole

    Helland Barton Woods

    Delabole

    3.6 miles/5.8 km - Moderate

    A circular walk around Delabole past the slate quarry, along back lanes and tracks, and through fields and bluebell woods. The route circles the quarry pit and passes the showroom from which tours are available.

  • 3.8 miles/6.8 km - Moderate

    Minions and the Cheesewring

    The Cheesewring

    Minions and the Cheesewring

    3.8 miles/6.8 km - Moderate

    A circular walk around the iconic landmarks at Minions, including The Hurlers stone circles, The Cheesewring and the engine houses of the South Phoenix Mine.

  • 4.0 miles/6.5 km - Moderate

    Pendeen to Portheras Cove

    Portheras Cove

    Pendeen to Portheras Cove

    4.0 miles/6.5 km - Moderate

    A circular walk from Pendeen via the Geevor and Levant mines to the lighthouse at Pendeen Watch, returning via the white, sandy beach at Portheras Cove.

  • 4.2 miles/6.7 km - Moderate

    The Rumps to Polzeath around Pentire Point

    The Rumps

    The Rumps to Polzeath around Pentire Point

    4.2 miles/6.7 km - Moderate

    A circular walk across the Iron Age hillfort on the twin headlands of The Rumps and around Pentire Point, with panoramic views of the Camel Estuary and the offshore islands, to the sandy beach at Polzeath. The Pentireglaze lead mine extends from the headland beneath the sea and boats could be heard passing overhead from within the tunnels.

  • 4.4 miles/7 km - Moderate

    Praa Sands to Trewavas Mine

    Wheal Trewavas

    Praa Sands to Trewavas Mine

    4.4 miles/7 km - Moderate

    A circular walk from Praa sands across Rinsey Head to the engine house of the ironically-named Wheal Prosper, and Trewavas mine where an engine house now forms part of the path

  • 4.7 miles/7.5 km - Moderate

    Perranporth to St Agnes (via bus)

    Perranporth

    Perranporth to St Agnes (via bus)

    4.7 miles/7.5 km - Moderate

    A one-way coastal walk, made circular via an initial bus journey, along the ore-bearing cliffs between Perranporth and St Agnes passing the remains of Nobel's dynamite works, Britain's best preserved spitfire base and the Blue Hills of Trevellas Coombe where tin is still processed on a small scale using traditional methods.

  • 4.7 miles/7.5 km - Moderate

    Porthtowan to Chapel Porth

    Banns Vale

    Porthtowan to Chapel Porth

    4.7 miles/7.5 km - Moderate

    A circular walk from Porthtowan, along the coast, valleys and woodland, passing engine houses and other relics of Cornish copper mining.

  • 4.8 miles/7.8 km - Moderate

    Godolphin to Tregonning

    View from Tregonning Hill

    Godolphin to Tregonning

    4.8 miles/7.8 km - Moderate

    A circular walk from the mansion with possibly the oldest formal gardens in the country to two hills that altered the course of history, creating the wealthiest estate in Cornwall and giving rise to the Cornish China Clay industry.

  • 4.8 miles/7.8 km - Moderate

    Luxulyan Valley to Prideaux

    Luxulyan Valley

    Luxulyan Valley to Prideaux

    4.8 miles/7.8 km - Moderate

    A circular walk through the World Heritage site of the Luxulyan Valley and surrounding countryside, over the massive viaduct supporting a horse-drawn tram route to Newquay and along the leat that fed Charlestown Harbour.

  • 5 miles/8 km - Moderate

    Caradon Hill to Trethevy Quoit

    Donkey Pool at South Caradon Mine

    Caradon Hill to Trethevy Quoit

    5 miles/8 km - Moderate

    A circular walk in the valley of the River Seaton to the Neolithic tomb from the copper mines of Caradon Hill where the brittle ore could not be usefully crushed by machine so teenage girls were used instead to break the ore with hammers.

  • 5 miles/8 km - Moderate

    Trebarwith Strand to Tintagel Castle

    Trebarwith Strand

    Trebarwith Strand to Tintagel Castle

    5 miles/8 km - Moderate

    A walk on the tracks trodden by the donkeys laden with slate from the coastal quarries of Trebarwith to Tintagel Haven where the slate was loaded onto ships and Tintagel Castle's island, inhabited during the mediaeval period, the Celtic times of King Arthur, and before this by the Romans.

  • 5.3 miles/8.5 km - Moderate

    Callestick and Ventongimps

    Foxgloves along the lane to Callestick

    Callestick and Ventongimps

    5.3 miles/8.5 km - Moderate

    A circular countryside walk past the nature reserve at Ventongimps and the engine house of West Chyverton mine, with refreshment opportunities at both Callestick Farm, where you can see the ice cream being made, and Healey's Cyder Farm who offer tours and tasting.

  • 5.3 miles/8.6 km - Moderate

    Kit Hill to Kelly Bray

    South Kit Hill Mine

    Kit Hill to Kelly Bray

    5.3 miles/8.6 km - Moderate

    A circular walk in Kit Hill Country Park, given to the county by the Duchy to mark the birth of Prince William and where a midsummer bonfire is lit to celebrate the ancient Celtic Golowan festival

  • 5.4 miles/8.6 km - Moderate

    Cape Cornwall to Levant

    Botallack Head

    Cape Cornwall to Levant

    5.4 miles/8.6 km - Moderate

    A circular walk from England's only Cape, via the engine houses of Kenidjack Valley and perched on rock ledges at Botallack Head, to Levant Mine which had over 60 miles of tunnels beneath the Atlantic and now has a working restored beam engine.

  • 5.5 miles/8.7 km - Moderate

    Boscastle to Tintagel (via bus)

    The Lady's Window

    Boscastle to Tintagel (via bus)

    5.5 miles/8.7 km - Moderate

    A one-way coastal walk, made circular via an initial bus journey, along the dramatic coastline of islands and arches from Boscastle to Tintagel, rated as one of the top five walks in Cornwall. The route includes the most northerly of the coastal slate quarries where trilobite fossils could occasionally be found in the slate tips.

  • 5.6 miles/9 km - Moderate

    Delabole to Lanteglos

    Lanteglos Church

    Delabole to Lanteglos

    5.6 miles/9 km - Moderate

    A circular walk through bluebell woodland, fields and along back lanes from Delabole to Camelford's parish church at Lanteglos, returning via the Iron Age forts of Castle Goff and Delinuth Camp. The route passes around the edge of Delabole quarry and ends at the showroom from which tours are available.

  • 5.7 miles/9.1 km - Moderate

    Perranporth to Trevellas

    Droskyn Point

    Perranporth to Trevellas

    5.7 miles/9.1 km - Moderate

    A circular walk past the remains of Alfred Nobel's dynamite works to the red-and-yellow ore-rich cliffs above the wreck of the treasure ship Hanover, returning, via the spitfire base, along Perran Coombe where a 2-mile leat once carried water to power a massive waterwheel in a chamber within the cliffs.

  • 5.9 miles/9.5 km - Moderate

    Carn Brea and the Great Flat Lode

    Tors on Carn Brea

    Carn Brea and the Great Flat Lode

    5.9 miles/9.5 km - Moderate

    A circular walk along the Great Flat Lode, where the Basset family made their fortune from the rich mineral reserves, to Carn Brea where they built a hunting lodge balanced on a tor in the style of a castle.

  • 5.9 miles/9.5 km - Moderate

    Cotehele to Calstock

    Calstock Viaduct

    Cotehele to Calstock

    5.9 miles/9.5 km - Moderate

    A circular walk through the gardens of Cotehele to Calstock where Cornwall's largest Roman fort once stood, the Vikings allied with the Cornish to fight off the Saxons, and more recently railway wagons were lifted over 100ft by steam power from the quay to the top of the viaduct. The walk includes an option circular diversion around the relics of Okel Tor mine.

  • 6.2 miles/10 km - Moderate

    Chapel Porth to Trevaunance Cove

    Towanroath Engine House

    Chapel Porth to Trevaunance Cove

    6.2 miles/10 km - Moderate

    A circular walk along the coast between the golden sandy beaches of Chapel Porth and Trevaunance Cove at St Agnes via the iconic engine houses of Wheal Coates, perched above the breakers.

  • 6.2 miles/9.9 km - Moderate

    Par and St Blazey

    Par and St Blazey

    6.2 miles/9.9 km - Moderate

    A circular walk at Par where the land itself was created by the mining industry and is being re-sculpted by nature into sandy beaches, streams and woodland.

  • 2.2 miles/3.5 km - Moderate-strenuous

    Trebarwith Strand to Backways Cove

    Backways Cove

    Trebarwith Strand to Backways Cove

    2.2 miles/3.5 km - Moderate-strenuous

    A short circular walk from the long, sandy beach of Trebarwith Strand to the rugged rocky cove at Backways in which sea foam tornadoes form in windy weather, and returning over the massive headland of Dennis Point with panoramic views of Port Isaac Bay. The cove has been shaped by coastal slate quarrying and the tramways are still evident.

  • 4.5 miles/7.2 km - Moderate-strenuous

    Gunnislake to Chilsworthy

    River Tamar

    Gunnislake to Chilsworthy

    4.5 miles/7.2 km - Moderate-strenuous

    A circular walk in the Tamar Valley at Gunnislake where Victorian canal systems, engine houses and tramways have been recolonised by nature and kingfishers rather than barges now journey up and down the river.

  • 5.2 miles/8.4 km - Moderate-strenuous

    Portreath and Tehidy Woods

    Portreath Beach

    Portreath and Tehidy Woods

    5.2 miles/8.4 km - Moderate-strenuous

    A circular walk along the rugged North Cliffs hiding smuggler's coves such as Ralph's Cupboard, to the sandy beach and historic mining port of Portreath, returning via the bluebell woodland of Illogan and Tehidy Country Park.

  • 5.5 miles/8.8 km - Moderate-strenuous

    Carn Galver to Mên-an-Tol

    Mên-an-Tol

    Carn Galver to Mên-an-Tol

    5.5 miles/8.8 km - Moderate-strenuous

    A circular walk from the coast to the highest area of moor on West Penwith passing engine houses and prehistoric monuments and with spectacular heather in late summer

  • 6.8 miles/10.9 km - Moderate-strenuous

    Porthleven to Rinsey Head

    Porth Sulinces

    Porthleven to Rinsey Head

    6.8 miles/10.9 km - Moderate-strenuous

    A circular walk from Porthleven to the cliff-edge engine houses of Rinsey Head and Trewavas where the under-sea mine, set out with tables and food for the annual Tribute dinner, is said to have been breached by the sea just minutes before all the miners were due underground.

  • 7.6 miles/12.3 km - Moderate-strenuous

    Mevagissey to Charlestown (via bus)

    Mevagissey

    Mevagissey to Charlestown (via bus)

    7.6 miles/12.3 km - Moderate-strenuous

    A one-way coastal walk, made circular via an initial bus journey, from the fishing port of Mevagissey to Charlestown - one of the best-preserved Georgian ports in the world and an engineering masterpiece which included a seven-mile-long leat.

  • 7.3 miles/11.7 km - Strenuous

    Portreath to Tobban Horse

    Coastline at Portreath

    Portreath to Tobban Horse

    7.3 miles/11.7 km - Strenuous

    A circular walk along the rugged coast from Portreath towards Porthtowan passing small coves and remnants of the clifftop mines beside the old RAF base, and returning via the horse-drawn tramway that brought fortune to Portreath harbour, where its "lighthouse" and "monkey house" remain from the shipping activity.

  • 9.7 miles/15.6 km - Strenuous

    Port Isaac to Tintagel

    West Quarry at Trebarwith Strand

    Port Isaac to Tintagel

    9.7 miles/15.6 km - Strenuous

    A one-way walk from Port Isaac to Tintagel along towering cliffs, past the long, sandy beaches of Tregardock and Trebarwith, the slate pinnacles of the coastal quarries and via the mediaeval cliff-top church to the castle of Arthurian legend.

Download the iWalk Cornwall app and use the QR scanner within the app to find out more about any of the walks above.