Carn Galver Mine operated until the late 19th Century extracting tin ore. The mine was very wet and was drained by an adit running down to Porthmoina Cove and from below this level, the engine house on which a chimney still remains was used to pump water from the mine. The other engine house was used for hauling up the ore and crushing it. The cottage beside the engine houses was formerly the Count House where miners would be paid. The mine didn't turn out to be very productive and became uneconomical, partly due to the cost of draining it.
A number of remains in the valley were associated with the mine.
During the 1830s, one of the largest waterwheels ever built in Cornwall was constructed in the valley. It had a diameter of 60ft (roughly the height of a 4-storey building) and mechanical power was transferred from the wheel to a nearby mineshaft via an arrangement of flat rods for which a course over the ground was created. Water was delivered to the wheel along a leat from a reservoir created by damming the stream.
The remains of the building near the stream was originally a tin stamping (ore crushing) mill, powered by a waterwheel. The large, high wall alongside the wheel was built to create a splash shield so that water blown out of the wheel buckets by the wind would not disturb the settling tanks used to separate out the fragments of pulverised ore.
As you climb up to the headland you can also see a tunnel at the back of the cove which is a drainage adit for the mine. The rusty colour below the tunnel is from iron dissolved into the water from the lodes in the mine.
An adit is a roughly horizontal tunnel going into a mine. In Cornwall these were important for drainage as many of the ore-bearing veins are close to vertical, through which water can easily seep. Drainage adits were sloped slightly upwards to meet the main shaft, so water trickling into the main shaft from above could be diverted out of the adit. Below the adit, engines powered by waterwheels or steam were needed to pump the water up to the level of the adit where it could then drain away.
An Iron Age fort was situated on the headland of Bosigran. A wall roughly 100 metres in length has been built across the promontory, linking the cliffs, to enclose it. The size and the way it is constructed varies along its length from simple large stones in a line to drystone wall backfilled with rubble, indicating it has been repaired or modified since it was originally built. It's possible that it was later used to contain livestock to separate the two grazing areas either side of the wall running inland.
Several species of heather grow in Cornwall and are most easily recognised when they flower from July to September. The one with the most brightly coloured (purple) flowers is known as bell heather due to the bell-shaped flowers. This is the earliest one to start flowering - normally in June. Bell heather is usually interspersed with ling or common heather which has much smaller flowers which are usually paler and pinker and come out at the start of July. A third kind known as cross-leafed heath is less abundant but can be recognised by the pale pink bell-shaped flowers that grow only near the tips of the stems, resembling pink lollipops. A fourth species known as Cornish heath grows only on the Lizard and has more elaborate flowers which are mostly pale with a dark purple crown at the front.
The seal species most frequently seen along the Cornish coast is the grey seal. Common seals are also sometimes seen. Seals are not closely related to other marine mammals. The skeleton of an adult male grey seal (apart from the limbs) closely resembles that of a leopard. However, as you might be able to guess from their facial features, seals are most closely related to dogs, bears and otters. In fact, a dog is very much more closely related to a seal than a dog is to a cat.
Porthmeor Cove is a Site of Special Scientific Interest due to its geology. In fact it is cited as one of the most important geological locations in Southwest England. It lies on the boundary of the West Penwith granite and the effects of the molten granite intruding into the surrounding rocks can be seen quite clearly here as the granite is a light colour and the surrounding slate is much darker. Along one side of the cove, a round area of granite can be seen, completely surrounded by darker rock. This is known as a cupola, where the blob of granite rose up from below rather like in a lava lamp. Leading from this are thin bands where the molten granite forced its way along cracks in the bedrock.
Stonechats are robin-sized birds with a black head and orange breast that are common along the Cornish coast all year round.
A similar-looking bird called the whinchat is also present in the summer but this can be identified by a white stripe across its eye. Both stonechats and whinchats can often be spotted perching on dead sticks or brambles protruding above gorse and heather, and consequently the term "gorse chat" or "furze chat" has been used locally to mean either species. For a long time, stonechats and whinchats were thought to be members of the thrush family but genetic studies have revealed they are actually members of the (Old World) flycatcher family.
After the crossing bear left to a fork in the path at an area of boulders within the grass.
From the boulders, the walk continues to the right in the direction of the steps leading up the coast, but first you may wish to visit the beach.
Once back on the route, follow the path over a stile and through a gate to reach a granite footbridge.
At the boulders, the path to the left leads onto a small promontory between the two streams and there is a steep path leading down the beach from the very end.
During Victorian times, ravens were exterminated by farmers and gamekeepers throughout much of the UK but retained a stronghold in the southwest. Their nests, constructed of robust twigs, can be seen along the cliffs in Cornwall.
Ponies are sometimes used to graze the land along the coast path to increase biodiversity.
Dartmoor ponies, bred for hauling goods, have been recorded living on the wild and inhospitable moors since the Middle Ages. They are unsurprisingly a very hardy breed and have a lifespan of around 25 years. Over the 20th Century, their numbers declined from just over 25,000 in the 1930s to about 5,000 by the start of the 21st century when only around 800 ponies were known to be grazing the moor. Dartmoor ponies have recently found a new niche as conservation grazers. As well as on moorland, they are used by the Wildlife Trusts to graze the coast to prevent bracken and gorse taking hold.
Gurnard's Head is the site of an Iron Age promontory fort known as Trereen Dinas, the meaning of which is along the lines of "fort at the farm on the point". The narrowest part of the promontory was fortified to create a defended enclosure, protected on 3 sides by the cliffs. The remnants of the fortifications are still visible as a ditch and a bank with some drystone walling.
The circular foundations of a group of around 15 Iron Age huts have been found on the grassy east side of Gurnard's Head, with another smaller group of around 3 huts towards the neck of the headland. There were also finds of Iron Age pottery and a cache of rounded beach pebbles likely to have been used as slingshot.
A path leads out onto the very end of Gurnard's Head as there was a coastguard lookout here. All that remains now is a concrete platform.
The engine house ahead was part of Gurnard's Head mine.
A copper mine on Gurnard's Head was in operation before 1821 initially under the name of Wheal Treen and was later worked under the name of Gurnard's Head Mine. By 1877 it had fallen into disuse. The ruined engine house and mine buildings are now all that remains.
A huer's hut was located on Gurnard's Head to look out for pilchards. A small pilchard processing house was also located nearby. Little remains as all the stone from the buildings has been "re-purposed". On the end of the low promontory jutting out into Treen cove, the remains of a Victorian pilchard cellar can also be seen.
The pilchard fisheries rose to their peak in Victorian times. The pilchards were salted and then pressed to extract the oil which was sold as somewhat aromatic lamp oil. The fish were then packed with more salt into hogshead barrels which could fit up to 3000 fish per barrel. Huers (cliff top lookouts) helped locate shoals of fish. The huer would shout "Hevva!, Hevva!" (the Cornish word for "shoal") to alert the boats to the location of the pilchard shoals. The name "huer" is from the old French verb meaning "to shout".
During the late 1950s, the Penzance Chamber of Trade and Town Council discussed building an "Atomic Research Station" near Gurnard's Head. Fortunately this didn't come to fruition as an ageing nuclear reactor would not have enhanced the views or the enthusiasm for local produce.
The settlement and manor of Treen is first recorded in 1304 as Tredyn, based on the Cornish words tre (farmstead) and dinas (fort). This refers to the hillfort on Gurnard's Head, known as Trereen Dinas which also includes the word rynn meaning "point". The hamlet appeared on Victorian maps as "Trereen" and has subsequently become shortened to "Treen".
Since farms and headlands with cliff castles are not uncommon in Cornwall, there is another Treryn Dinas near Porthcurno and a corresponding village also now called "Treen".
The Gurnard's Head is reported as being built in 1812, and from the roof you can tell it was originally known as The Gurnard's Head Hotel. It was refurbished in 2000 and is still a hotel but now owned by EatDrinkSleep who also operate it as one of their small number of award-winning gastro pubs.
Note the standing stone in the centre of the field. It is thought that this might have been an ancient route marker for the path.
Large upright standing stones are known as menhirs due to the Celtic words men meaning stone and hir meaning long. The reason for their construction is unknown; currently the most popular theories are ceremonial. Excavations at some of the menhir sites in Cornwall have found evidence of postholes and pits, and areas of quartz paving. Also beneath some of the stones, charcoal and cremated human bone have been found.
These charcoal deposits have been radiocarbon dated and found to be between the Late Neolithic and Middle Bronze Age and, until recently, menhirs were thought to be associated principally with the people who inhabited Europe during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze age (4-5 thousand years ago), known as the "Beaker people" due to the pottery artefacts they left behind. Some recent research has suggested an older origin (perhaps 6-7 thousand years ago, at the very start of the Neolithic period in Britain). There is also evidence that some stones continued to be erected, or re-used, much later in the post-Roman "Dark Ages" (early mediaeval) period when some were also inscribed.
Porthmeor has been farmed by the Berryman family since the 17th Century and still is at the time of writing. Annie Berryman was born in Porthmeor in 1899 and her great grandson recalled that she used to address him with an old dialect term of endearment, as "my gold", which has now almost died out. A couple of other people from West Cornwall also recall their grandmothers using it. We think it's rather charming and suggest addressing your fellow walkers accordingly.
The route across the fields from Treen to Rosemergy is part of the Zennor Churchway - an ancient route running all the way from St Ives to Pendeen and possibly onwards to St Just.
The chimney and surrounding structures were to process the tin ore extracted at Porthmeor mine. The ore brought up from underground was in the form of tiny crystals within large lumps of otherwise useless rock.
One of the information boards describes how a sledgehammer was used followed by "stamps" (mechanical crushing devices) to break the ore down into a powder from which the heavy tin particles could be separated from the lighter rock fragments using gravity.
The conical structures in the old dressing floors are the remains of devices known as "buddles". These were used to separate the ore from the rock (known as gange) in the ore slurry created by the stamping mill. The slurry was trickled onto the centre of the dome and a rotating set of brushes, suspended from wooden spokes, smeared the slurry around the circular structure. The heavy ore fragments would deposit near the central dome whereas unwanted rock fragments would travel further and end up in a pit around the outside.
In order to be processed, ore-bearing rock mined from mineral veins needed to be crushed to a powder. In earlier times, millstones were used to grind down lumps of ore but later it was done using a process known as "stamping" where the ore was crushed by dropping heavy granite or metal weights to pound it against another hard surface (often a piece of granite known as a mortar stone - as in "pestle and mortar"). The crushing was automated first with waterwheels and later with steam engines. The process was far from quiet and could often be heard from a number of miles away.
The granules of ore were heated in a furnace to remove impurities such as sulphur and particularly arsenic. By heating the ore in air, the arsenic impurities could be driven off as a vapour. As the impurities escaped as gasses, the particles of ore melted into grey crystalline lumps of tin oxide known as "black tin".
The exhaust gasses were cooled and condensed to form a white powder deposited in the flues or purpose-built condensers. The white powder - arsenic - was collected and sold. A few grains of pure arsenic are enough to be fatal but the majority of arsenic workers managed to protect themselves by stuffing cotton wool up their noses and painting their faces and any other exposed areas of skin white with fuller's earth to prevent arsenic being absorbed through the pores of their skin.
Near the farm is the base of a wayside cross, now little more than a granite block with a hole in it.
There are over four hundred complete stone crosses in Cornwall and at least another two hundred fragments.
A number of mediaeval crosses have been found built into walls, used as animal rubbing posts, gateposts and stream crossings. Many were rescued and moved into churchyards during Victorian times. A number were also moved from their roadside locations into churchyards.
There are two very similar looking members of the daisy family that are both known as "chamomile". English chamomile (also known as Roman chamomile) has hairy stems and is the one used for chamomile tea. German chamomile has smooth stems and higher levels of essential oils so this one is used for chamomile-scented pharmaceuticals (shampoos etc). Pineapple weed is related and is sometimes known as "false chamomile" or more confusingly as "wild chamomile" (even though it isn't chamomile and normal chamomile is also wild!).
English chamomile was once common in Britain but it has declined (due to land clearance and changes to farming practices) to now being classified as Vulnerable. The Southwest is now one if its last strongholds.
If there are sheep in the field and you have a dog, make sure it's securely on its lead (sheep are prone to panic and injuring themselves even if a dog is just being inquisitive). If the sheep start bleating, this means they are scared and they are liable to panic.
If there are pregnant sheep in the field, be particularly sensitive as a scare can cause a miscarriage. If there are sheep in the field with lambs, avoid approaching them closely, making loud noises or walking between a lamb and its mother, as you may provoke the mother to defend her young.
Sheep may look cute but if provoked they can cause serious injury (hence the verb "to ram"). Generally, the best plan is to walk quietly along the hedges and they will move away or ignore you.
Skylarks are the most common member of the lark family in Britain and are often known simply as "larks".
In late spring and summer, listen out for the characteristic song of skylarks hovering high above the ground. The rapid song takes place in quite a narrow frequency range but can contain more than 450 syllables used in highly variable patterns. This is the reason it sounds a bit like the "modem" devices used to transfer digital data as an audio signal.
The ancient field boundaries of West Penwith are thought to be older than the Pyramids. The Environmental Stewardship Scheme has allowed traditional farming methods to be sustained, preserving the network of hedgerows in the tiny Celtic fields that would otherwise be uneconomical to farm with industrial-scale machinery. The scheme has also facilitated coastal grazing which helps prevent the coast becoming overgrown with gorse and bracken, allowing species such as the chough and potentially the large blue butterfly to recolonise.
In Celtic times, fields were small and surrounded by banks or stone walls. The fields were used both for growing crops such as oats, wheat or rye, and for keeping livestock. The field shape was round or square, rather than rectangular, so that the stones didn't have to be carried further than necessary. The small size was because they needed to be weeded by hand, in many ways similar to a modern-day allotment.
In late summer the marshy grassland is covered in tiny yellow moorland flowers.
The little yellow flowers with four petals all over the moor in July are tormentil (Potentilla erecta). Its common names include Bloodroot and Flesh and Blood because roots yield a red dye which is still used as an ingredient for artists' colours (tormentil red). The roots also have very a high tannin content and have even been used to tan leather. Extracts from the plant have been widely used in folk medicine and is it still used as a remedy for diarrhoea and as a lotion for skin sores.
During Victorian times and earlier, small amounts of land in Cornwall were measured by the goad - a unit of nine feet in length, derived from the name of the staff used to drive oxen.
An area of two goads square (18ft x 18ft) was known as a "yard of ground" or "land-yard". This is confusingly not the same as a "square yard" (3ft x 3ft). In fact one land-yard was 36 square yards!.
Larger areas of land were measured by the Cornish Acre defined as 160 land-yards (or 5,760 square yards). A unit of land consisting of 4 Cornish Acres was known as a "Knight's fee".
The hill to the left with the rock outcrops is Carn Galver.
The name Carn Galver (sometimes written Carn Galva) is from the Cornish words karn (rock pile or tor) and gwelva (view-point), referring to the rocky crags at the top of the moor that overlook the coast.
If you still have energy left after the walk, a path leads up to the top from the small lay-by on the opposite side of the road from the engine houses. As the name implies, the view is truly excellent. It's roughly a 10-15 minute walk to the top.
The hill beyond Carn Galver is Watch Croft, the highest point in Penwith at 252 metres (827 feet).
Mines were worked in shifts. Particularly in winter, miners would often have to walk to and from work in the dark. Candles were used in the mine but since Cornwall is a windy place, on the surface, some form of lantern was required to stop the candle being blown out. One of the most common was made using an old boot!
The settlement of Rosemergy was recorded in 1327 when it was possibly also known as "Tremergy". The name Rosemergy is likely to be from the Cornish words ros which can either mean "moorland" or "promontory" and merghik, meaning "pony". The latter might have been used in a compound word such as mergh-jy, meaning "stable".
The white flowers along the coast in July and August which resemble a more compact version of cow parsley are the delightfully-named sea carrot. Unlike cow parsley, the flowers start off pink and become white as they open and sometimes have a single dark red flower in the centre. It's best to avoid touching the leaves of the sea carrot as they can make skin hypersensitive to ultraviolet light which can result in blistering caused by extreme sunburn.
The sea carrot is technically the same species as a wild carrot, from which the carrot was domesticated, but is shorter, stouter and more splayed-out than a wild carrot. The two converge the further north and east that you go in Britain: West Cornwall is therefore the pinnacle of sea carrot evolution.
Gurnards are a family of spiny fish that live on the sea bed. The rays of their pectoral fins have evolved into something approximating fingers which they use to feel their way along the sea bed and find any worms or shrimps. Plymouth aquarium have some gurnards as they are quite entertaining to watch trundling along.
Gurnards have quite a large head and thin body. The relatively small amount of edible flesh and small bones meant they were not popular to eat, and consequently it was one of the most widely discarded fish from trawlers seeking more lucrative bottom-dwelling species.
Gurnard has been rediscovered recently as a culinary fish as the flavour and texture of the flesh are both nice and has been championed by a number of celebrity chefs. It is quite a fast-growing fish which bodes well for a sustainable fishery.
In April 1912, the Mildred was sailing from Newport to London with a cargo of slag from the welsh furnaces. The ship ran into dense fog off West Penwith, hit the rocks at Gurnard's Head at midnight and began to take on water. The captain and his five crew rowed for six hours to safety at St Ives. They returned later in the morning with a pilot gig to pull the Mildred free but it was too late - she was already breaking into pieces. The wreck was photographed with its set sails protruding above the water by the Gibson family from the Scilly Isles who have been photographing shipwrecks for 4 generations.
During the 19th century, Trinity House became increasingly concerned at the number of ships being lost along the West Penwith coast and in 1891 decided that both a lighthouse and foghorn was needed here. The construction was a large-scale engineering project that involved levelling the top of the headland by creating a huge retaining sea wall, and consequently took a number of years. Pendeen Lighthouse was finally lit in 1900 and was manned until 1995. As well as the 17 metre tower to support the lamp, residential accommodation was built for the lighthouse keepers which even included enclosed gardens, although in the harsh maritime climate these didn’t turn out to be a huge success. Drinking water was collected on the flat roof of the accommodation block and stored in an underground tank. The original oil-fired lamp is on display in the Trinity House National Lighthouse Centre in Penzance. Although the optic weighed 2.5 tonnes, it was floated on a bath of mercury so it could be set in motion by the slightest touch.
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