The South West Coast Path and the Cornish Tin Mining Industry together tell one of Cornwall’s most compelling stories, where rugged clifftop trails lead past iconic engine houses and disused mine shafts. This coastline once powered the world’s tin trade, with rich lodes attracting miners from far and wide and shaping the culture of the communities you see today.
Tin has been mined in Cornwall since prehistoric times, with the county’s deposits playing a vital role in the Bronze Age when tin was alloyed with copper to make bronze. By the medieval period, tin from Cornwall was being exported to Europe, and the 18th and 19th centuries saw the industry boom with the advent of steam power and deep-lode mining. Many of these mines were perilously close to the sea, with tunnels stretching far beneath the ocean bed.
Main Mining Sites Along the Coast
Much of Cornwall’s north coast between Perranporth and Portreath bears the remains of its mining heritage. Walking the South West Coast Path here offers dramatic views of headlands crowned with chimney stacks and engine houses, spoil heaps spilling down towards the sea, and fenced-off shafts marking the entrances to vast underground networks. Notable sites include:
Wheal Coates (St Agnes Head): Perhaps the most photographed mine in Cornwall, its Towanroath Shaft engine house stands spectacularly above the Atlantic. This was a key site for pumping water from deep tin lodes and is now part of the UNESCO Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape.
Cligga Head: Between Perranporth and St Agnes, this headland was the site of extensive wolfram (tungsten) and tin extraction. Open workings and spoil heaps remain, and the path passes close to dramatic granite cliffs that were quarried for aggregates alongside the mining activity.
Wheal Charlotte: Perched on the cliffs north of Perranporth, this small but notable mine extracted tin and copper in the 19th century. Ruins of its engine house can still be seen from the path.
St Agnes Mining District: Once a powerhouse of Cornish mining, this area was dotted with mines, ore dressing floors, and calciner chimneys. The South West Coast Path threads through this industrial landscape, with numerous interpretation boards to guide visitors.
These sites — remote, windswept, and exposed to the elements — often required workers to endure harsh conditions, both underground and above. The proximity to the sea meant constant threats of flooding, while the isolation made for tight-knit mining communities.
Perranporth to Portreath — Tin Mining Highlights
| Name / Area | Location | What to Look For |
|---|---|---|
| Wheal Coates | St Agnes Head, just north of Chapel Porth | Iconic engine house (Towanroath Shaft), calciner ruins, mine shafts fenced for safety |
| Cligga Head | East of Perranporth | Open quarry faces, spoil heaps, granite outcrops, mine adits |
| Wheal Charlotte | Cliffs north of Perranporth | Engine house remains, grassy spoil mounds, fenced shafts |
| Blue Hills Mine | Near Trevellas, inland from coast path | Restored tin working site with museum (seasonal opening) |
| Polberro Mine | Near St Agnes village | Overgrown engine house foundations, capped shafts, spoil |
| Portreath Harbour | Portreath | Once used to ship coal in and tin ore out, with old loading areas visible on the quay |
Legacy and Landscape
Today, nature has reclaimed much of Cornwall’s mining landscape. Heather and gorse cloak the spoil tips, seabirds wheel around old chimneys, and the roar of the surf has replaced the clatter of machinery. Yet the legacy is everywhere: in the engine houses that silhouette the skyline, in the stone cottages of mining villages, and in the place names that still echo their industrial past.
For walkers, this stretch of the South West Coast Path offers not only stunning sea views but also a vivid connection to Cornwall’s mining heritage — a story of ingenuity, hardship, and global influence carved into the cliffs.
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