Poldark Mine

Alan Jewell was officiating as mine guide today. We had lots of visitors from all over the globe, Hungary, Australia, California, New York New York, Florida, Venice, Buckinghamshire, Northampton, Devon, Bristol, Plymouth, Wiltshire and other interesting places.
Kingsley Rickard and Phil Porter of the Trevithick Society popped in to see us, and later our electrical contractor Richard Johns and Ed were here replacing light fittings and looking at the deep mine pumps. A pipe... needs to be replaced and that is due to be done first thing tomorrow morning.
Nina Fenner kindly came in to do some volunteering in the new woodland area and was soon busy planting and sowing seeds, followed by some watering. It's really wonderful having some expert assistance in the gardens.
At the end of the day, Luke came along and pumped out 2000 gallons of sewage from our tanks. This happens every couple of weeks at this time of the year as we are not on main drains and have three massive storage tanks.
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The 1844 Ting Tang Mine bell on the cliffs at Botallack - on loan from Poldark Tin Mine Museum - one of our greatest treasures. We have kept the BBC rope provided by Mammoth Films.

Ross the Rabbit is back again... not a sign of Demelza the bunny....
A little trip down to Penzance today was on the cards. Here is a shot of St Michael's Mount and in the lanes near Truthall Halt our nearest railway station.
The clumps of Hostas are well advanced on their little island - this is our secret defence against slugs & snails... they cannot swim! These were planted around 30 years years ago by the late Maurice Lewry.

An early evening ramble around the gardens. It was drizzling and a little overcast - the new plants placed in by volunteer Nina Fenner were being given a most welcome drink.
The copper beech tree by the tea lawn is now in its full magnificent livery and looks much more stately being nicely balanced since we took down the laburnum that was alongside,
The laburnum had produced some new growth before we took the main tree down and this has been allowed to grow and perhaps ma...y with pruning become a lower version of its former self
The Purple or Copper Beech is also known as Fagus sylvatica purpurea but for now we are unsure of the precise variety.
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South Crofty Mine from the camera of Simon Jones... amazing images always. Good news is that South Crofty are making progress - all the footings for the new mill & treatment plant have been in for some time. The new pumps are either on their way or may be delivered by now. The massive pump control equipment arrived some months ago and special steelwork has been made for the top of the shaft. There are many flanged pipes on site for the rising main getting ready for the pumps - all very interesting work and it is striding steadily ahead.

Volunteer GRAHAM WILLIAMS was walking the leat today all the way up to Porkellis Moor as we seek to find ways to get the mile and a half long canal or leat into water once again. This was a massive challenge through thickets of brambles and bushes. There is a spot where the leat crossed over the river by a concrete aqueduct. Repairs are needed to sluices, the aqueduct, a small lagoon and a dam.
The lane to Porkellis past the moor is a riot of colour and the rhododendrons are full of buds just getting ready to open. Almost all of these photos were taken around noon on what was a glorious sunny day. There are a few pictures taken at the riverside near the entrance to the car park.
Some images are by Graham Williams

TAKE A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE ... http://www.poldarkmine.org.uk/opening-tim es-and-prices.php DAYS & times OPEN - [see below or better still use link above] Thursday 9th May, Friday 10th May, Saturday 11th May, Wednesday 15th May, Thursday 16th May, Friday 17th May, Saturday 18th May, ...
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Wonderfully atmospheric and satisfyingly authentic, brought alive by a deeply knowledgable and equally entertaining guide. The rest of the staff were kindly and thoughtful; they even delayed the final tour of the day trusting that we were en route. One of the best experiences of the holiday. Sad to read the negativity below.

This is our second time back at Poldark mine. We loved it. Our guide, Wayne was excellent who knew lots of info and answered so many of our questions we made him late for his next your, for this we apologise, but you know so much and we needed to know. The staff in shop and café were superb too, so friendly. We would definitely recommend it to other emmits visiting Cornwall. We will see you again, thanks. X

The Centre is really worth a visit. We really enjoyed every minute of it. We arrived in time for the first tour of the mine itself. The Guide was so informative and freindly. We learnt so much during the tour which lasted over an hour. In the grounds are restored pieces of machinary and a Cornish Boiler for you to look and are all in great condition. The museum is small but packed with interesting items. Thankyou to all at the mine for a wonderful morning!! ��

Our second tour of the amazing Poldark mine yesterday and this time with our holiday guests.

Wayne was our tour guide and boy does he know his stuff! His cheery persona is a delight and kept us fully engaged throughout the tour. Disappointingly the longer, deep mine, tour (a further 80 feet deeper into the mine down to level 4) is not being run at the moment but the standard tour still takes you to an impressive point 160 feet beneath the surface and clocks in at just over the hour which passes by far too quickly!

Once again we were very impressed, more so this second time around having first visited 2 years ago. Our guests were equally in awe and were still talking over dinner that evening about the exceptionally hard life of those brave miners.

Please visit Poldark Mine and take the mine tour - you won't be disappointed!

On a very wet day, we spent a lovely few hours at the Poldark mine. We were made so welcome and the tour underground was truly memorable and great fun. The staff have much to do to upgrade the large site and we feel they really deserve supporting. Do visit. You will not be disappointed.

Nichole and I had such an amazing time here with the boys in the summer we came again (without the boys this time!).



All the staff have a very high standard of professionalism and are very knowledgeable with towards the mine industry.



A credit to also the volunteers whom help with upkeep and running of the site.... we raise a glass to you.



Will recommend a company visit maybe in the future �

My Wife & I decided very last minute to visit this Mine, we both come from coal mining stock, but know very little about tin mines and Cornish mines in general.

I have previously visited other mines and been on cave tours, especially in my native Peak District. It is very easy to be critical over admission prices, but with so much of our collective national heritage being eroded through time or lack of interest, I believe sites like this are worth every penny and more. I loved the visit and the guided tour, so thank you Poldark Mine.

My 9 and 10 year old are hard to impress. But Wayne's tour was awesome and really engaged them. They both loved it and can't wait to take their tin into school on Monday. It's good for them to know more about the history of their local area as well. We were lucky to get Wayne all to ourselves but not so great for funding this historical gem. Don't listen to Days out with the kids. They open more frequently that said on there. Would recommend the mine contact them as I was very nearly put off xx

I spent a wonderful afternoon at Poldark Mine yesterday taking the deep mine tour. My thanks to all of you and especially our guide Robert for making the tour so entertaining and informative but above all so much fun! Thank you!!

Had a great visit, learned so much about Cornish mining and the influence it had on the rest of the world for hard rock mining and steam power. Also learned about how Cornish miners emigrated to the four corners of the globe to spread their knowledge of mining to all other countries. The and lastly having cream tea I the garden was simply lovely.

Had a fantastic visit with our family yesterday, had a very enjoyable time having a cream tea in the gardens (thank you very much to the young lady in the cafe with the beach/pastie shop recommendation!) listening to a brass band and our tour guide Dave was fantastic, we found it very interesting and brought back memories of visiting various mines as a child with my parents 😊 My children enjoyed it very much and we will visit again in the future!

Great to see this gem in the Cornish countryside is being restored and renovated! Well worth the visit and entry fee. So nice to know your moneys going to a good cause. Its just a shame some people need to be constantly entertained like a theme park (and so give a bad review) rather than take in the "atmosphere" of the mine which is the attraction. Amazing museum pieces and Wayne is a superb guide!

First time we have visited the mine but it won't be the last!!!

The tour guide (Alan i think) was very good, funny but informative.

Looks like a lot of renovation is taking place so a bit upside down inside the shop area but still very enjoyable.

We were lucky enough to be able to chat to a gentleman who i think is David, the mines owner, who passed comment that the mine found him and hasn't let him go yet...long may that relationship continue!!!

Carl & Gill (the Sheffield sparky)

Fantastic morning spent here. We went on the 11:00 tour with Wayne has our guide. He was very knowledgeable and answered any questions you had at the time. He also made sure that everyone had chance to look and hear what was being said. Even though it meant in some of the small spaces he was saying the same thing three times �. It was a shame the deep mine tour wasn't available, but it is reason to come back. If you watch Poldark on TV, you can see where the filming takes place. After the tour we had our picnic in the gardens and had a look round the museum.

Back off home to Buxton, Derbyshire tomorrow and had to visit this place before I left! Only just caught the 11am tour after arriving slightly late and the pleasant chap on the ticket counter was more than welcoming! The tour guide, Robert, was a top man, informative, funny and really went the extra mile to get to know and entertain his audience. The mine itself was fascinating and was worth every penny of the admission fee! Would love to return at some point in time and do the deep mine tour. Top job Poldark Mine keep up the good work!👍👍👍

Awesome time it was our 10th wedding anniversary so had to do the mine to mark the occasion the guide was amazing really enjoyed the tour and cnt wait for our postcard to arrive

Date visited 29th Sept 2017

Would recommend anyone to go we will definitely go again 1 day x

My husband and I enjoyed visiting the Poldark mine yesterday before our return trip home. I found it interesting and appreciated that the people who were running the place were dedicated and proud of their heritage and were managing to keep the mines open with funds raised by their visitors. I didn't mind paying the entry price, when I go on holiday I expect to pay out and always take adequate funds for this purpose and I didn't think it was too expensive especially when you know it's for a good cause. They were very safety conscious and as a lady in my 50's I was confident throughout the tour. I am reading book 7 of the Poldark series and can actually understand and picture the scenes described a bit better! I would recommend a visit and would like to say thank you to Alan for his very interesting talk.

I came to specifically go down the mine. At first I thought the site had closed down but on entering was given the most amazing welcome at the ticket desk. I was even offered a freshly brewed tea and cake when I found the coffee shop was closed. The staff are passionate and will answer any questions you have. The museum was eclectic but fascinating. The site a little worn but I understand under ongoing refurbishment. The mine tour was superb. Our guide Robert was entertaining and informative. The underground mine was an experience worth every penny of the entrance fee. My feedback would be that some attention to the entrance would make the site more welcoming. I was not sure the site was open for visitors. Other than that I hope the refurb continues. This is a gem that should not be lost.

We really looked forward to this visit. Rang ahead to ensure ok for my husband with a lung disease. Got there and the man taking the money was very unhelpful. Contradicted what the lady on the phone said and while trying to put us off never mentioned the easy route available, we could take if needed!! As it was we managed the full route.



Made us feel bad for asking for the less able concession for my husband. And I did not get the carer's fee I would usually.



To top it off for the two of us cost £35 for a museum in disarray and only one working toilet. One lady who had been before mentioned it had gone seriously downhill lots of things that used to be there for the children gone.



Alan our tour guide was the saving grace. Funny, knowledgeable, and made light of waiting three minute wait for my husband on the final ascent.



We cannot recommend it. A world away from our other experiences in Cornwall and the help we have had so my husband can access as much as possible. Would have been even more disappointed if we'd taken our sons with us too.