Consolidated Mines
A number of mines neighbouring Wheal Maid including Wheal Girl, Wheal Virgin and Wheal Fortune were all interconnected underground. Seven pumping engines were being run flat-out to drain them but despite this, they were still struggling to keep water levels down. The engines were so expensive to run that all the mines closed in 1779.
In 1782, after the mines were amalgamated, five newer, more efficient engines were purchased to pump out the water saving £11,000 per year (equivalent to around a million pounds today) on coal compared to the previous seven.
On walks
- Wheal Maid and Poldice Valley (3.4 mile walk)
Get the iWalkCornwall app
Download the app and use it to explore the walks and to purchase a guided route.
The app will direct you to the start of the walk via satnav.
The app guides you around the walk using GPS, removing any worries about getting lost.
The walk route is described with detailed, regularly-updated, hand-written directions.
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.
A map shows the route, where you are at all times and even which way you are facing.
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.
Once a walk is downloaded, the app doesn't need a phone or wifi signal during the walk.
The app counts down distance to the next direction and estimates time remaining based on your personal walking speed.
We keep the directions continually updated for changes to the paths/landmarks - the price for a walk includes ongoing free updates.
