Gravel Hill Iron Mine
The pool (known locally as "dead man's pool") and the holes directly above it in the cliff are the remains of the Gravel Hill iron mine. The mine is known to have been active before the 18th century and thousands of tonnes of ore were extracted in the 19th century. The mine worked a huge lode of iron, known by the utilitarian name of The Perran Iron Lode, which meets the cliffs here. This extends for about 3 miles inland and there were a number of mines along it.
On walks
- Holywell to St Piran's Oratory (7.4 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.
