On our last day in Cornwall we went to visit a tin mine right on the edge of a cliff.  Levant Mine and Beam Steam engine.

This is the only Cornish beam engine anywhere in the world that is still in steam on its original mine site.
The famous Levant engine is housed in a small engine house perched on the edge of the cliffs.
Restored after 60 idle years by a group of volunteers known as the 'Greasy Gang', it is interesting to see this old engine in action, with its evocative sounds and smells.

We learnt all about the mine.  How the mine shaft was accessed by a series of ladders that took the works more than 2 hours to ascend and descend.  They weren't paid for this either.  The working day didn't begin until they had reached the bottom.  The conditions were horrendous.

 

Lanyon Quoit

On one of our drives around the Cornish Coast we went looking for menhirs or dolmens.  We found Lanyon Quoit which is probably one of the best-known of Cornwall's ancient monuments, dating from the Neolithic period (3500-2500BC).

It is believed that Lanyon and other quoits in the area were used as ritual funeral sites. It's possible that bodies were laid on top of the capstone to be eaten by carrion birds.

The site is just in a field in the middle of nowhere.  On a very minor narrow road not very far from St Ives.  it was a little hard to find but I spotted it from the road.

 

Kynance Cove

There are 166 beaches in Cornwall.  One of the lesser known ones is Kynance Cove. Most people head to the more touristy and obvious places such as The Lizard and Lands End.   Bit of a walk to get to but worth for the views. There is a long steep path leading down from the carpark followed by a set of rough stone steps.  This was not our first visit here either.  We came here last year.  On that occasion the weather was much better.  This time there was a thick fog hanging low and swirling around the jiggered rocks.  In some ways that added to the beauty of the place, giving it an eerie look I thought.

 

Mullion Cove

One of our favourite places in Cornwall is Mullion Cove.  It is a tiny little cove with only a general store and a café.

It is a busy fishing port and shore is lined with lobster pots and fishing nets.

We met a local man who told us he had written two books about Mullion Cove, one on the history of the cove and the other about mining the soaprock for porcelain.  His name is Robert Felce and he was very interesting to talk to.   He told us everyone comes back to Mullion and it must be true because this was our second visit here.  there is something magical about it.

 

St Ives

We visited the Barbara Hepworth sculpture garden and museum which is in St Ives where she lived and had a studio.  We also visited the Tate Gallery but we were very disappointed with it's contents.  The building itself and the views from its windows is far more interesting. 

 

Carbis Bay

There is a lovely path from St Ives to Carbis Bay which is the next bay along from St Ives.  The path is just over 2 miles long and meanders through the shrubbery and ferns offering lovely views of the coast along the way.

We caught the train to Carbis Bay and walked the path back to St Ives.  Unfortunately it is not so well signposted on that route and we got ourselves onto a different path and soon found ourselves wandering around the streets of Carbis Bay.  We met a postman delivering mail and he directed us back onto the path.

Here's a few of the snaps I took along the way.

 

Mevagissy

We visited the very picturesque cove of Mevagissy.  Reached by narrow winding country lanes going steeply down you eventually come to the tiny township of cobblestoned streets with brightly coloured shops and houses.

The road leads very steeply down to the harbour where there is still a thriving fishing community.  Lobster pots and fishing nets line the harbour walls and there many vessels coming and going through the 3 harbours. 

It is a very busy picturesque spot and we had a picnic lunch while watching the boats.

 

Perronporth Beach

On the returned journey we were on the A30 and discovered just how jammed up it gets so we took a detour to Perronporth beach.  So glad we did.  What a beautiful place.  It was blowing a gale on the beach and the wind had whipped up the surf and there was this amazing spray.  I took some awesome photos of it.  We walked all along the beach amongst the vast collection of rocks and found some shelter from the wind.

The train trip took 2 hours.  The train goes to a couple of stations and the engine changes from the front to the back and back again so that is what takes the time, not the journey.  It was fun anyway to ride the train and look at the scenery.

When we returned to Bodmin General we got into the car and drove to Llanhydrock, a magnificent country house set on a large estate of woods and parkland.  When we arrived we discovered that the house wasn’t open, just the gardens and the church so we wandered around all of that and visited the very pretty little church.

Llanhydrock is essentially a Victorian house which evolved from a much earlier house dating back to the 14th century.  Much of the house was destroyed in a great fire in the 1800's.  It was  rebuilt and later after many years where is was unoccupied it was extensively renovated and now it has 49 rooms open to the public by the National Trust.