2024 -England- Cape Cornwall- The Tin Coast

Cape Cornwall is located on the northern coast of Cornwall, immediately around from Lands End with no souvenir shops it just sits pristine against all that the Atlantic Ocean can throw at it. It is also in the middle of the so called, “Tin Coast’, as spreading out either side of the Cape are multiple relics of the Tin Coast’s Industrial past.

The header picture above is of the mine shafts at the Botallack Mine, adjacent to Cape Cornwall, it’s an iconic view used in Films and TV Series. The mine shafts go down and under the sea, with miners reporting hearing the sea crashing on rocks from the mine shafts below. Multiple tragedies are recorded with new shafts being misdirected and resulting in massive sea inundation and loss of life. These events apart, this was tough work and the remains of the tin industry, its well known place in the Industrial Revolution- Richard Trevithick Cornish Engineer and Steam Engine Inventor – are in stark contrast to the beauty of the coastline.

We had previously visited Cornwall in 2019, but this year’s trip allows us to explore parts we missed out on last time and to revisit places that really struck chords with us. We are staying actually at Cape Cornwall, which lies about 1.5km from the village of St Just. Our accomodation is a renovated 500 year old Cornish Granite cottage that is sandwiched between two slightly newer properties, and is just brilliant. A good Airbnb find, cosy, really well appointed and spotlessly clean. In St Just there are good pubs, a Post Office, Coop Superette and a beautiful medieval Church. Cornish granite is everywhere in all the buildings, it is beautiful and so varied in its colours and construction use. We even found basalt-like columns of granite along the coast.

It is mid July and summer in the UK thus far has been quite a bit cooler than average, and much damper. However, this weather has been brilliant for the hiking that we have wanted do whilst in Cornwall. The South West Coast Path provides a wonderful range of relatively easy loop walks/ hikes and whilst at Cape Cornwall we completed two good loop sections. Our first hike took us north directly from our Airbnb along ancient paths around fields, over old stone styles and up to the Botallack Mine site, an industrial graveyard, – see pics below. It and then looped back down the Coastal Path to Cape Cornwall itself with amazing views south to Lands End.

It is a clear evening and we walk from our accomodation a couple of hundred metres to see the sunset past Cape Cornwall, which was just beautiful. All captured on the trusty IPhone

Our second hike was on the south side of the Peninsular, a loop walk from Porthwagga , clockwise along the Coastal Path with stunning views again, and this time looking towards Lands End from the south and east .

Driving around Cornwall means no motorways, little dual carriageway and miles and miles of single track roads with high hedge/stone walls sides and limited passing places!! So it’s very interesting when on such a single track road we met a large tractor towing a full muck spreader!! We both stopped in time – the farmer reversed expertly allowing me to drive into a passing place and he could then pass us, keeping his load of muck intact!!

Next stop Minack Theatre on the Cornish Cliffs