Long before I K Brunel’s broad gauge main line railway reached the west of Cornwall the tin and copper mines of the area around Redruth ahd Camborne were linked with harbours on the coast by early railways.
The routes of some of these lines have been adapted so that they can be used by walkers, cyclists and horse riders, and the networks is focussed on the discovery centre at the King Edward Mine. The 10 km Great Flat Lode Trail guides visitors through the mining area that is dominated by the de Dunstanville monument on Carn Brea Hill. The Coast-to-Coast Trail extends some 17 km from the north coast at Portreath to the English Channel at Devoran. A 1.6 km trail povies guidance to the tramways that served the Tresavean Mine, whose surviving engine house has the highest chimney of any Cornish mine.
The centre is located in the former calciner at the King Edward Mine which is managed as a museum on behalf of the Trevithick Society and the Carn Brea Mining Society.
Mineral Tramways Discovery Centre
King Edward Mine
Troon
TR16 3SE Camborne
United Kingdom
Homepage