Chapel Carn Brea (NT) - Cornwall’s first and last hill (657 ft) crowned with ancient cairns and offering spectacular panoramic views over Penwith SW 38 28

Carn Euny (EH) - remains of late pre-historic courtyard houses SW 40 29

Bollowall Barrow (EH managed by NT) - unusual and outstanding example of Bronze Age burial cairn SW 35 31

Plen-an-Gwary (place of the play), St Just - grassed remains of medieval amphitheatre, an ancient scheduled monument still open for daily use, allegedly Britain’s oldest working theatre and the site of events and performances like the spectacular Ordinalia miracle plays and Lafrowda festival SW 36 31

Tregeseal Stone Circle – originally one of three early Bronze age circles here SW 38 32

Kenidjack Castle - early Iron Age cliff castle set in rugged cliffs (for hardened walkers only) SW 35 32

Pendeen fogou – Pre-historic underground burial chamber SW 38 35

Chun Quoit,- Neolithic chamber tomb SW 40 34

Chun Castle – Iron Age stone-built hill fort SW 40 34

Men-an-Tol – Mysterious pre-historic holed stone SW 42 34

Lanyon Quoit (NT) - burial tomb dating from the Neolothic period (just off road) SW 43 33

Madron holy Well – early Christain SW44 32

Men Scryfa - inscribed granite pillar dating from the Iron Age SW 42 35

Nine Maidens – classic stone circle SW 43 35

Chysauster (EH) - remains of late pre-historic courtyard house www.english-heritage.org.uk SW 47 35

Mulfra Quoit – Neolithic chamber tomb SW 45 35

Zennor Quoit - late Neolithic chamber tomb SW 46 37

Gurnard’s Head – prominent headland with cliff castle SW 43 38

Merry Maidens – one of Cornwall’s best preserved stone circles, easily accessed from B3315 SW 43 24

Sancreed Holy Well – early Christian in lovely location SW 41 29

INDUSTRIAL AND MARITIME HERITAGE

Tin has been extracted from this area since the Bronze Age but it was not until the 17th century that tunnels or “adits” were excavated into cliff faces along the line of mineral veins. In the deep shaft mining of the 18th and 19th centuries, steam engines were used to drain and pump water from below ground. Huge numbers of men, women and children were involved in the industry, and conditions below ground were intensely noisy, wet, dark and dangerous. The area was intensively mined until the general collapse of tin prices in the 1870s, the closure of Geevor mine in Pendeen in 1990 bringing an end to the dramatic pursuit of hard rock mining in the far west of Cornwall. As part of the St Just heritage area regeneration project, many formerly dangerous relics of the mining industry have recently been restored and consolidated so that future generations can witness them in safety.

Pendeen Lighthouse (reached via the coastal path or from central Pendeen) is dramatically situated on one of the most dangerous and dramatic stretches of coastline in Britain. The lighthouse has been warning mariners of the treacherous sunken and exposed rocks since 1900, was automated in 1995 and has a range of 16 sea miles (limited opening; phone 01736 788418 for times and prices).

Kenidjack Valley (NT) – former powerhouse of Victorian mining in a stunning setting; internationally important for both its history and wild-life SW 36 32

Geevor mine - the UK’s largest and most complete tin mining site
Phone for times and prices.01736 788662; www.geevor.com. SW 37 34
In 1990, Geevor tin mine was the last to close in Cornwall, having occupied three square miles of workings down to a depth of 650m and 1.5km out to sea. A guided underground tour shows how tin was mined and processed and the museum tells the story of the industry and its huge impact on the landscape and local families. There is a well-stocked gift-shop and the café (offering great coastal views) sells home-cooked food.

Levant Mine - Cornwall’s oldest working beam engine (NT – limited opening 01736 786156  SW 37 34
Levant mine is the site of one of Cornwall’s worst mining disasters when 31 miners were killed in the shaft due to mechanical failure in 1919. When open, guided tours include the recreation of sounds, sights and smells of the great mine’s heyday, with Cornwall’s oldest working steam-powered beam engine – used for lifting ore - driven once more following rebuilding work by the National Trust and members of the Trevithick Society. When not open, parts of site may still be explored and, following award-winning conservation works, visitors are able to descend the granite spiral steps which lead from the miners’ “dry “(changing rooms) to the man engine tunnel and walk past a hundred niches cut into the walls where the men left their personal belongings.

Botallack, a village famous for being featured in the popular “Poldark” television series, with its own inn, the atmospheric Queen’s Arms, serving fresh local produce.

Botallack calciner and related structures:
The Crowns, Botallack - engine houses spectacularly perched on rugged cliffs above the sea SW 36 33

The Count House and Count House Workshop here were restored by the National Trust in 1998, and the mine account office workshop contains information about the coast’s industrial and natural history and the Crowns engine houses, Botallack arsenic works and other industrial heritage sites in the area. It’s open free of charge throughout the year (01736 796993).
The Crowns engine houses in Botallack are spectacularly perched on rocks above the sea. From 1862 -75 the upper engine house operated the Boscawen incline, a shaft angled at 32 degrees with wheeled wagons running on rails.

For the first time in its history, the world’s best preserved arsenic works, near the Crowns engine houses at Botallack, can be safely entered. It took over a year to consolidate the labyrinths, calciner and related structures that date back from 1907 and were designed to extract highly poisonous arsenic from the tin ore produced at the mine.

The ore was heated to high temperatures in the calciner, and the resultant fumes were drawn through long stone tunnels called labyrinths, on whose walls the arsenic would condense out. The miners who collected the arsenic were protected only by cotton wool in their nostrils and clay covering their exposed skin. The arsenic was then sent to refineries and processed for use in pesticides, dyes, making shot, clearing glass and in medicines. At a time of fluctuating tin prices, the additional income provided by arsenic sales could make the difference between profit and loss for many mines.

As part of the £3.9 million St Just Heritage Area Regeneration Project, former miner and local contractor Roger MacLean and his team spent many months skillfully repairing and repointing the site after it had been decontaminated . They have also reconstructed one complete pair of condensing chambers to help visitors understand the dangerous process that once went on. Cornwall County Council’s Senior Archaeologist Adam Sharpe says, "All of the work that has been done here has been done is absolutely authentic to the original. The reconstruction of the labyrinth chambers is based on photographs taken when the site was being built in 1907." The Count House Workshop, Botallack (NT) - information about local history and wild-life.