can't really think where this belongs, so here it is.

just had my long-delayed trip to Cornwall.

first off, Cornwall Institute of Engineers at Pool, for Hydrock's presentation on the Combe Down project. Arrived late after a long drive in filthy weather, followed by getting completely lost on the campus.. satnavs don't work too well finding unlisted entrances in the middle of roadworks :blink: and my 30-odd year old recollections not so good!

Interesting video ( although I've seen it before ) with much background detail of the 'oral heritage' sort from the miners. I've heard of good deal of this on the site, the miners have generally been very conscious of being the last generation to work that way, in their industry at least, and most tell you they have been glad to come back to it from whatever they have been doing since mass redundancies in the 90s. This is a side you won't get from pipestems etc, their view of what mining means to them.

saw Tony from Rosevale at a few other faces there, didn't get time to speak to some because of prompt chucking-out

pint and a night's sleep at Tyacks, apart from the uproar outside at about 2am anyway.



driving round Camborne and surrounding area next morning. Interested in the Great Flat Lode Trail, haven't seen this before. Places like Wheal Frances which were pretty jungly when I last saw them, like Sleeping Beauty's castle, now have carparks and a footpath. Mind you, this is probably why they are relatively complete, quite monastic in a way, rather than being robbed for stone long ago.



catch up with agricola and others at end of day for long interesting conversation, interesting to surveyors anyway. Various chit-chat and comparing notes regarding integrating historic and current survey data plus state-of-the-art laser scanning, 3D modelling of underground shapes, distortion monitoring, surveying down drifts, data capture and booking, more in the same line.

More discussion of heritage, Cornish heritage as centre of current industry technique vs tourist 're-enactors' in Poldark hats; headframe as iconic emblem or decaying obstruction, take your pick. From various comments and personal knowledge of corrosion management on large steel structures offshore, there's an expensive long-term problem there for someone



off for beer with some old mates, kip on sofa, wake up feeling like, well, someone who has had a skinfull of Jubilee.. heritage an issue again. Old mate's son has done a Lottery-funded course to learn Cornish hedging, sounds like hard work to me, good luck to anyone working in building trade sez I. Has a job taking down collapsing hedge and rebuilding it, more work later it seems. Discussion about costs of hedging, viability or otherwise




drive to Pendeen in lashing rain, to meet Bill at Geevor. Set off down cliff 'path', cissy townie ideas about paths as recognisable routes between places quite useless. Caving chit-chat and old names produced and recognised, usual 'small-world' coincidences involving people I haven't seen for years. Various discussions of caves in Ireland, Kingsdale Roadside Nudists and other speleological matters. Interesting splosh about in adit and up shaft.




weather still absolutely vile, so seafood broth plus rum-and-shrub with a spot of hot water in it at Queens Arms. Sit there glowing like kid in Readybrek ad.



weather picks up a bit so stroll about on cliffs above Crowns, take no end of photos of Allen's headframe and Crowns engine houses, most later discarded due to variable lighting. Drive back to Camborne for dinnner and beer.

early night ::) midnight more like it, then early up an Ho! for the open road.....

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Liked it.... your summary was very realistic... sounds familiar for some reason!! :lol:

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there are quite a few things I haven't mentioned.

Carnkie and others have described the post-industrial landscape of Camborne in much detail, so I will simply say that I didn't feel the need to linger there. 😢

I always viewed Camborne as a bit of a tip in my student days, but it was a dynamic tip which served as the economic engine for the Western peninsula.

curious to see the half-hearted conservation efforts at Botallack, Allen's headframe re-erected to no purpose but not accessible or properly labelled. No viewboards or other signs on the old works - if this was the Peaks there would be a stone table with a cast viewtable, we have one in Ferry Meadows which only shoes a flooded gravel pit and some indecipherable Roman remains which even Tony Robinson would struggle to make anything of, and that's saying quite a bit :lol:

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You must have come across that other major Cornish industry - roadworks.
Tyacks at 2am? Must have brought back memories of the bottom of Wellington road on a Saturday night when the CSM bar chucked out. I was one of those occasionally invited in by a member.
I used to think Camborne was bad, but then visited some old mining towns in Yorkshire and realised we are not too badly off. There are still many places awaiting regeneration after the massive industrial closures seen in the 1980's and early 90's.

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CSM 'new' club at Wellington Road was after my time, I don't know about that. The Club I knew, was the house at Gustavus Road, not much used apart from after rugby matches, and occasional 'smokers'.

It was in a transitional stage when the newer generation of school leavers were coming in ( I noticed big changes in the make-up of the school during my time ), things were moving to Trevenson, and the Club was in a bit of a limbo

the N Mids mining towns are truly grim in parts. At least Camborne doesn't have the rows and rows of derelict terraces, blighted by subsidence and not worth clearing and rebuilding, seen in Mansfield a few years ago. Some areas of Sheffield were like that, too

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Sounds like you had a good weekend, better than mine clearing out the garage and packing boxes ready for the much anticipated "move". :confused:

Only the one underground trip in the end?

spent a lot of time on general 'stuff' which scuppered a couple of provisional arrangements .. thought better of walking down to beach level at Botallack, given the sea state 😮

didn't go to Cligga, that was 'sort-of' on the list but time and weather didn't permit

didn't manage to speak to Tony at Pool so i didn't find out if Rosevale was 'open' that weekend

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curious to see the half-hearted conservation efforts at Botallack, Allen's headframe re-erected to no purpose but not accessible or properly labelled.

Allen's Shaft is exactly as left by Geevor, so genuine industrial heritage.

I have it in mind that the headframe was dismantled and subsequently re-erected, but I wouldn't be 100% on that. I seem to recall it being stacked there in the mid 90s?

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Good to meet up with you - sorry about the weather! I think the land round Allens Shaft is still owned by the Tregothnan Estate [aka Lord Falmouth] and not the National Trust who would have some interest in 'interpretation'.

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I have to admit that I always think of Pendeen as 'blowing a hoolie' .. was interested to hear about Sam, too. When I first knew him he was involved at Crich.

interesting how some people have travelled widely while others have pretty much stayed in one place.

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I have it in mind that the headframe was dismantled and subsequently re-erected, but I wouldn't be 100% on that. I seem to recall it being stacked there in the mid 90s?

No there was halt in the Botallack project around 1980? when the price of tin fell for a while, the head frame was probably sat on the ground for a couple of years after that which is probably what you can remember. Once the tin price recovered work started again and the headframe was erected then abandoned following the price collapse mid 80's.

that sounds right for dates. I qualified in 1977 and spent the next year or so doing various short-lived jobs before joining Foraky. I joined them as a roughneck and subsequently derrickman, but it was generally known that I had a mining qualification and I would occasionally do odd jobs related to the rump of their once-substantial mining division.

I did make several visits to Cornwall for them - they had among other things, a cactus grab which I believe was variously on hire to Pendarves and Geevor at one time or other - and they also did a series of augerbores for some kind of utility work, probably crossings for the bypass building programme

I was in East Cornwall for about 6 months in the mid 90s and did make a couple of flying visits to the Western end of the county, but I have no particular recollection of details

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I have it in mind that the headframe was dismantled and subsequently re-erected, but I wouldn't be 100% on that. I seem to recall it being stacked there in the mid 90s?

No there was halt in the Botallack project around 1980? when the price of tin fell for a while, the head frame was probably sat on the ground for a couple of years after that which is probably what you can remember. Once the tin price recovered work started again and the headframe was erected then abandoned following the price collapse mid 80's.

IA's Map Notes for map 203 refer to 'headframe girders laid on ground' at Allen's Shaft in 1983

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