Wheal Coates — Attraction in St. Agnes

As part of a longer coastal walk, the Wheal Coates site is beautiful. The walk gives amazing views along the coast and down to the beach. And nestled in amongst it all are the old mining buildings.

These are all open to explore but it is worth being a little careful when going into certain parts of the buildings if you like to dig a little deeper as some of the terrain is unsteady and the drops enough to cause an injury. Some of the old mine shafts are still 'open' but luckily covered and these can drop down to below sea level! Drop a stone in the one next to this site and wait for the splash at the bottom - it takes a while!

The coastal path is easy to walk as long as you stick to the main path but there are smaller and narrower paths to choose if you are feeling adventurous. These would definitely not be suitable for dogs, children or people who struggle to walk unaided.

We spent a good hour exploring this area of the coast and intend to explore more in the coming days.

Be aware, there is a NT car park for Wheal Coates but is quite hidden from the road depending on the direction you approach from so keep your eyes peeled when...

Wheal Coates is a large sprawling remains of a very busy tin mine with a car park close by. Towanroath Engine House, below the Wheal Coates Mine must be the most photographed of all engine houses in Cornwall. You will see pictures of it everywhere, for instance on the St Agnes Hotel pub sign in nearby St Agnes, some businesses use images of it on their van signage, any art display in the region has pictures of it and there is even a wine on sale in Tesco with it on the label. The silhouette of the engine house is used as a car sticker with no need to state what it represents. When you are at the engine house you can see that it epitomizes Cornwall as can be seen in the photographs added here on Google Maps by visitors. There is this good example of Cornwall's tin mining history, there is the dramatic cliffs, there is the surrounding countryside which is beautiful when in flower, there are the golden sand beaches below which stretch for miles, the blue seas and of course there is the tranquillity of the...

Wheal Coates is a former tin mine on the north Cornish coast between St Agnes and Porthtowan. Records show a mine has been on the site since 1692, most mining occured between 1802 and 1889 but most of the current structures date from the deep mining operations of the 1870s. The key difficulties of flooding and bring ore to the surface were eased by the installation of three steam engines. This new technology allowed the mine to extend well below sea level and out under the water. The deepest shaft reached a depth of 600ft. The mine was bought and sold a few times in the 19th century and closed in 1889 when the price of tin fell too low. It was reopened in 1906 and closed again for good in 1914 after limited success. The site is now in the care of the National Trust. Our visit coincided with the sunset and the views were stunning, even better in real life than on the photos. If not for the gale threatening to blow us into the sea, it'd have been a...