06/09/2026
A lovely walk to day High on the cliffs of Cornwall’s wild Tin Coast were lies Botallack, a landscape shaped by both nature and the determination of generations of miners.
Here, the story of mining stretches hundreds of metres beneath the seabed and reaches back thousands of years. Today, nature has reclaimed much of the old industrial landscape, leaving behind the dramatic engine houses, mine workings and rugged cliffs that make Botallack such an iconic part of Cornwall.
The mineral wealth beneath these cliffs was plentiful — copper, tin and arsenic, along with cobalt, lead, iron, silver and even botallackite, a mineral named after Botallack following its discovery here in the 19th century.
Archaeological evidence suggests that minerals were being worked here as far back as the mid-Roman period, around AD 200, with possible evidence of even earlier Bronze Age workings.
By the 16th century, Botallack was being mined with simple, shallow shafts, carefully kept above the seawater. But as technology advanced, so did the miners’ ambitions. By 1774, improved pumping technology allowed men to venture beneath the seabed itself, working deep below the waves from Tolvan Shaft.
Standing here today, looking out across the wild Atlantic, it’s hard not to imagine the courage, hardship and determination of those who once worked beneath these cliffs.
A truly remarkable landscape where Cornwall’s industrial past meets the raw beauty of nature. 🌊⛏️🌿
Love a bit if history have a great eve all 😊
