0:00:16 > 0:00:20Britain is a country that owes a great deal to its rail empire.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26For 100 years, the railways dominated the development of this
0:00:26 > 0:00:30country - the network that supported a global superpower.
0:00:33 > 0:00:39But today, our island is home to 10,000 miles of disused lines -
0:00:39 > 0:00:43a silent network of embankments, platforms and viaducts.
0:00:46 > 0:00:52For me and many others, they've become a perfect platform for exploring the country on foot.
0:01:15 > 0:01:20Welcome to the north Cornwall coast and the dramatic entrance to the harbour at Portreath.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22With all its rocks and cliffs, this has always been
0:01:22 > 0:01:25a notoriously difficult harbour for ships to enter.
0:01:25 > 0:01:31Which is why it's quite surprising that in 1820, it was described as Cornwall's most important port.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34Today, I'm going to get to the bottom of that comment
0:01:34 > 0:01:35and find out why.
0:01:37 > 0:01:43For a number of reasons, this railway walk promises to be quite an adventure.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46You could say that I'll be walking right across the country,
0:01:46 > 0:01:49from the north Cornwall coast to its counterpart in the south.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53There will also be, not one, but two railway lines,
0:01:53 > 0:01:56both of which date back further than anything I've explored so far.
0:01:58 > 0:02:02This railway walk is a journey into the complex history
0:02:02 > 0:02:03of Cornish mining.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18Now, the harbour is the true beginning of my walk,
0:02:18 > 0:02:21but unlike many railway walks, there's no station to start from.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25The reason for that is simple - this line didn't carry passengers.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29It was purely to transport materials to and from the mines.
0:02:29 > 0:02:34There were no railway locomotives here either because this was a tramway, with horses and wagons.
0:02:34 > 0:02:39Despite the horses, Cornwall was really important to the railway age
0:02:39 > 0:02:42because this is where the steam engine really took off.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46Now, it may surprise you,
0:02:46 > 0:02:49but the world's first steam locomotive was built by a Cornishman.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54But Richard Trevithick's greatest contribution to his home county
0:02:54 > 0:02:58was the building of high-pressure steam engines for local mines.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03It was this revolution that helped turn Portreath into such a bustling port.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07That, and the fact that it had the region's first railway.
0:03:12 > 0:03:17In 1800, the railway map of Great Britain was, well, blank.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19But in various mining parts of the country,
0:03:19 > 0:03:23there was a realization that a system of wagons on rails
0:03:23 > 0:03:28was far better than a bunch of horses when it came to transporting heavy materials.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32The Portreath Tramroad arrived in Cornwall in 1809, with a route from
0:03:32 > 0:03:36the north coast deep into the copper and tin mining territory.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38Other railways quickly followed,
0:03:38 > 0:03:41including the Redruth and Chasewater Railway,
0:03:41 > 0:03:44which soon ran from the mining areas to the South Coast.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50Today, the two lines form the backbone of Cornwall's Coast to Coast Trail.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55Now, railways, whether they are working or not, tend to get a lot
0:03:55 > 0:03:58of attention from authors and historians, but not here.
0:03:58 > 0:04:04These two railways have been really hard to research amongst all the facts about Cornish mining.
0:04:04 > 0:04:09I have managed to find this local book which covers the precise route that I want to follow.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13I am also hoping that it will negate any necessity for an archaeologist!
0:04:15 > 0:04:17I've not been the only person struggling!
0:04:17 > 0:04:22The helicopter team were here before me filming my journey from the air.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25They managed to choose a beautiful, clear Cornish day,
0:04:25 > 0:04:28except for the area over Portreath!
0:04:28 > 0:04:33But this is where my walk starts. So, let's take a look at the route.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40Heading east from the coast, there's an area of farmland before you reach
0:04:40 > 0:04:43the villages of Wheal Rose and Scorrier.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53From here, I head south into the heart of mining country.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58Past old industrial communities like Todpool
0:04:58 > 0:05:01and the unmistakeable Poldice Valley.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08This was the end of the line for the Portreath Tramroad.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12But, as I head towards the south coast, I pick up my second railway -
0:05:12 > 0:05:13the Redruth and Chasewater,
0:05:13 > 0:05:16which followed the valley of the Carnon River
0:05:16 > 0:05:19and passed underneath the amazing viaduct
0:05:19 > 0:05:21of the active rail line to Falmouth.
0:05:23 > 0:05:28The village of Devoran, sitting at the top of a long estuary, is the first sign of the end of my walk.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35But I'll be following the water's edge
0:05:35 > 0:05:39all the way to the mooring point at the old railway terminus.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51You know me, I like a bit of insider knowledge before I start a walk,
0:05:51 > 0:05:53and Dave Cuffwright is a man who knows this trail
0:05:53 > 0:05:56better than the back of his hand. Hello, Dave!
0:05:56 > 0:05:59You love this trail so much that you lead cycle tours along it?
0:05:59 > 0:06:03I do, for people's health. It's great family entertainment without a computer,
0:06:03 > 0:06:05unless it's on the bike telling you how well you've done.
0:06:05 > 0:06:10We know about the health benefits of walking, but along my route here today, what kind of things
0:06:10 > 0:06:14can I expect to see? What am I looking forward to, to excite me?
0:06:14 > 0:06:18This whole trail, right across Cornwall,
0:06:18 > 0:06:22100-odd years ago used to be the richest place in Britain, believe it or not.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24It's hard to believe when you look around now.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27Now we're left with the rich infrastructure of the trails
0:06:27 > 0:06:30that have been left behind after these tramways.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33There's one thing that this has got - diversity.
0:06:33 > 0:06:38Here we are on the north coast. The Atlantic pounds in and batters everything.
0:06:38 > 0:06:44As you move to the South Coast, it gets more deciduous, with woods and flowing greenery.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48I, obviously, know a little bit about the history of the tramway here and how
0:06:48 > 0:06:51it serviced the mines, but how did it all gather such momentum?
0:06:53 > 0:06:58Obviously, Cornwall is out on a limb on its own and there is a lot of ore that had to be transported -
0:06:58 > 0:07:02coal that has to go into feeding the steam engines to pump the water out.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07Taking it by road or country would not have been feasible.
0:07:07 > 0:07:12So, really, it's the straightest line from where all the mines were to the sea, which is Portreath.
0:07:12 > 0:07:18I know it's difficult to be precise, but what sort of date are we talking about? When did it slowly ebb away?
0:07:18 > 0:07:23About 1860 is when it started to wane on this side.
0:07:23 > 0:07:281860 seems like such an early age for a forward-thinking industry to be dying.
0:07:28 > 0:07:35People think of railways and nobody thinks about railways disappearing until the 1960s,
0:07:35 > 0:07:41but 100 years previous, it has already happening here on one of the first railways in Cornwall.
0:07:43 > 0:07:44Back in the day,
0:07:44 > 0:07:48the route of the tramroad was a key feature of this seaside village,
0:07:48 > 0:07:54but 150 years has been more than enough time to obscure its route entirely.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57My walk starts with a stroll through the backstreets of Portreath.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04After a quarter of a mile, the coast to coast trail does leave
0:08:04 > 0:08:08the modern tarmac though, and begins to take on a more expected feel.
0:08:12 > 0:08:17This isn't a walk where you'll find overgrown platforms and crumbling engines sheds.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20The remains of Cornwall's first railway are subtle to say the least,
0:08:20 > 0:08:23but they are there if you look out for them.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29Ah-ha! Now, these are the original granite sets
0:08:29 > 0:08:31that the tramway used to run on.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34Sort of like early railway sleepers, if you like.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43If you look down from here, you can just about make out the outskirts of Redruth.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46That was the main mining town in the area.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48That thimble of a monument straight ahead
0:08:48 > 0:08:50was built to honour Baron Basset.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53He was head of the most powerful mining family in the area.
0:08:53 > 0:08:58Their status was so great that Portreath was often referred to as Basset's Cove.
0:09:02 > 0:09:07This photo from 1893, with the new monument on its hilltop, clearly
0:09:07 > 0:09:11shows the vast mining infrastructure that the Bassets looked after.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15If there was ever any doubt of the impact
0:09:15 > 0:09:19of tin and copper on this area, images like this quickly dispel it.
0:09:21 > 0:09:26Baron Basset himself hardly fits the image of a brutal mine-owner either.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30His monument was built with donations from a grateful public.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34In his time, the Baron helped build defences around Plymouth
0:09:34 > 0:09:36and campaigned against slavery.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39He also left behind him the bustling town of Redruth.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42A town that exploded into prominence
0:09:42 > 0:09:45once the neighbouring seams of tin and copper had been found.
0:09:50 > 0:09:55Ah! There is my first glimpse of some Cornish engine houses.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59Those three chimneys stacked on the horizon there must be Wheal Peevor.
0:09:59 > 0:10:05That is reputedly the best preserved engine house in the area and well worth a little visit later.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17Engine houses are very much a symbol of this part of Cornwall.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22Remains of over 200 are left intact today.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26But, as we've already seen around Redruth,
0:10:26 > 0:10:30these fields were once littered with industrial chimneys
0:10:30 > 0:10:32and there would have been hundreds more.
0:10:33 > 0:10:38Many were dismantled and rebuilt elsewhere as mines opened and closed.
0:10:47 > 0:10:52Two miles out of Portreath, my historic walking route disappears entirely,
0:10:52 > 0:10:57stolen by the modern tarmac, but the clues are still there.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01The local populous is clearly keen to keep a hold of its past.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27I have read that "wheal" in Cornish means "place of work".
0:11:27 > 0:11:30When you look at the map, there are wheals all over the place.
0:11:30 > 0:11:35We have Wheal Rose, Wheal Plenty and Wheal Busy - I like that one!
0:11:35 > 0:11:38But for now, this is the only one I'm interested in.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45The approach to Wheal Peevor is dramatic.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49For those that know little of Cornwall other than its coastline,
0:11:49 > 0:11:51this would be a good place to come.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55The grace and stature of the engine houses is striking,
0:11:55 > 0:11:59particularly set on such a hill-top as here.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05For me, it's an opportunity to understand the industry behind my railway walk.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11Hello, Kingsley! Nice to see you.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15Kingsley Rickard is an industrial historian.
0:12:15 > 0:12:21Specifically, he is a leading light of the group dedicated to Cornwall's very own Richard Trevithick.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27Here's my question for you, Kingsley - why three chimneys?
0:12:27 > 0:12:29Well, three engine houses
0:12:29 > 0:12:33because they were used for three different purposes.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37Usually out of three, the bigger of the three would've been the pumping engine.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40Then you had a winding engine, to wind the materials up and down.
0:12:40 > 0:12:45Also, a stamps engine, which was a type of crushing machine.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48The mining game was a speculation game, wasn't it?
0:12:48 > 0:12:52It was whatever you hit first - whatever seam you came across!
0:12:52 > 0:12:56Very much so. In modern mining, it's possible to drill down and tell what's there.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00In the old days, you didn't know what you were going to find.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04That was exactly the case at Wheal Peevor.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08In the mid-1700s, it started as a copper mine.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11But as the digging got deeper, it was tin that took over,
0:13:11 > 0:13:15reaching a peak in 1880 - the era when the present pumping house
0:13:15 > 0:13:19and its mineshaft were in full operation.
0:13:19 > 0:13:24This was the main pumping shaft of the mine. It is 660 feet deep.
0:13:24 > 0:13:28660 feet, is that particularly deep, as far as mine shafts go?
0:13:28 > 0:13:31Not particularly in Cornwall. We went down to over 3,000 feet.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35The mountains of the Lake District go that far upwards.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39Wheel Peevor wasn't a big operation by local standards,
0:13:39 > 0:13:42but it did produce a particularly rich variety of tin ore.
0:13:44 > 0:13:50Good news for the mine owner, John Williams, who controlled nine out of ten mines in the immediate vicinity.
0:13:51 > 0:13:55Finally, we get to the stamp house.
0:13:55 > 0:14:01That's right. This was the stamping engine and the huge crushing heads
0:14:01 > 0:14:03for the stamps were just along here.
0:14:03 > 0:14:08They worked 24 hours a day and you could have heard them from two and a half to three miles away.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11Of course, none of this would've been possible without one man,
0:14:11 > 0:14:15who I know you think is a bit of a hero - and many people do as well -
0:14:15 > 0:14:16Richard Trevithick.
0:14:16 > 0:14:20Yes, Richard Trevithick, or as we know him in Cornwall, Captain Dick.
0:14:20 > 0:14:21Great name!
0:14:23 > 0:14:26He was a phenomenal engineer.
0:14:26 > 0:14:30He has gone down in history as being the inventor of high-pressure steam,
0:14:30 > 0:14:33which really kick-started the Industrial Revolution.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37Certainly, the whole steam locomotive business.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41Yes, he produced the world's first self-propelled
0:14:41 > 0:14:43vehicle, road vehicle in 1801,
0:14:43 > 0:14:49then moved on in 1804 to produce the world's first railway engine.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52In your opinion, do you think he was overlooked as an engineer?
0:14:52 > 0:14:56Yes, I don't think he really got the recognition that he deserved.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58But, not being a businessman,
0:14:58 > 0:15:02I don't think self-promotion was in his mind at all.
0:15:02 > 0:15:07He just loved solving engineering and mechanical problems.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09Coal is something that Cornwall doesn't have.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13We had to import it all. It was a pretty expensive thing to import.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17So, Trevithick worked on high-pressure steam knowing
0:15:17 > 0:15:23it was going to be more efficient and would save Cornwall thousands of tonnes of coal in a year.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26So, he wasn't just vital to the steam locomotion future industry,
0:15:26 > 0:15:29he was vital to Cornwall and its mining industry as well?
0:15:29 > 0:15:32Yes, to mining and engineering in general.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37I tell you what, you get a great view of my walk so far from here.
0:15:37 > 0:15:42Wonderful, yes! You are looking from the north coast there and Portreath down in the valley.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44You can see how we are much higher than Portreath.
0:15:44 > 0:15:49The tramroad has had to climb considerably to get up to this sort of height.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52- And I still have quite a long way to go, as well!- Oh, yes, you have!
0:15:52 > 0:15:55I might head off like a pack horse! Thank you, Kingsley.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57- Nice to meet you.- Thanks!
0:16:05 > 0:16:08Ah-ha! Here is Dave on his tour! Hi, Dave!
0:16:08 > 0:16:11Small world! Enjoy!
0:16:11 > 0:16:12Thank you. Hello!
0:16:16 > 0:16:18Hiya!
0:16:19 > 0:16:23Back on the tramroad, the industrial communities come thick and fast
0:16:23 > 0:16:26as I head from Wheal Peevor to Wheal Rose.
0:16:29 > 0:16:34Mmm, look at this - a pint-sized image of Cornish mining.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37If you put that together with the sign over there,
0:16:37 > 0:16:40I think we can hazard a guess and say that an enthusiast lives here.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44To be honest, it is quite nice to have some clues that the tramroad
0:16:44 > 0:16:47ever existed because modern industry has just taken over.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54Cornish clotted cream is one local industry that has never involved any mining.
0:16:54 > 0:17:01But the Rodda's creamery now stands where the tramroad once ended.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03When the great experimentation with rail began,
0:17:03 > 0:17:06this was as far as they dare go.
0:17:06 > 0:17:10But by 1819, the line was extended further inland,
0:17:10 > 0:17:13through the estate of the man who paid for it.
0:17:13 > 0:17:18Scorrier House is still owned by the descendants of John Williams.
0:17:18 > 0:17:24He was a mine-owner, a shipping and a smelting magnate and a chief investor in the Portreath Tramroad.
0:17:24 > 0:17:30A true entrepreneur, who could charge his fellow mine-owners for using his revolutionary railway.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34With his land still being private, I have to leave the tramroad
0:17:34 > 0:17:38and make my own way to the massive mining valley of Poldice.
0:17:46 > 0:17:50Cornwall's Coast to Coast Trail has developed around the spines
0:17:50 > 0:17:52of the two main mining railways,
0:17:52 > 0:17:55but even here in the depth of Unity Wood,
0:17:55 > 0:17:58you're only ever metres from industrial heritage.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09But in this walk of contrasts, the wood doesn't last for long,
0:18:09 > 0:18:12giving way to the collection of mining cottages at Todpool -
0:18:12 > 0:18:16a very quiet place today, but once a village that sat precariously
0:18:16 > 0:18:20on the edge of the vast and varied operations of the Poldice Valley.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29Poldice does a good impression of a lunar surface.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32Since medieval times, the valley has been carved up by mankind,
0:18:32 > 0:18:38producing tin, copper and Cornwall's less heralded resource of arsenic.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44God, look at that landscape!
0:18:44 > 0:18:48It is hardly beautiful, but it is certainly dramatic.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56If it wasn't for the ruinous state of the buildings,
0:18:56 > 0:19:00you'd think that mining was still going on here.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05And it's one of Cornwall's very last miners that I've arranged to meet,
0:19:05 > 0:19:09amongst the remains of Poldice arsenic works.
0:19:09 > 0:19:10Mark, I am excited because
0:19:10 > 0:19:13I'm sitting here with a genuine, bona fide miner!
0:19:13 > 0:19:15You were mining until quite recently?
0:19:15 > 0:19:17Yes, I mined until 1998.
0:19:17 > 0:19:19I started mining in 1981.
0:19:19 > 0:19:21I followed in my father's footsteps.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24- He started mining in 1948. - Two family beers.
0:19:24 > 0:19:29Mining in the days that we're going to talk about now was a very different prospect, wasn't it?
0:19:29 > 0:19:31A whole different line of work?
0:19:31 > 0:19:36Yes, when miners were working in this valley 200 years ago, it was completely different.
0:19:36 > 0:19:41In its heyday, there were over 50,000 people working in this valley.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44So great were the tin prospects here at the mine,
0:19:44 > 0:19:47that a poem was written about it.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50The poem went something like this -
0:19:50 > 0:19:52At Poldice men are mice
0:19:52 > 0:19:54Tin is aplenty
0:19:54 > 0:19:58Captain Teague he's from Brie He'll give you ten for 20.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01That meant that for every 20 shillings-worth of tin
0:20:01 > 0:20:02that came to the surface,
0:20:02 > 0:20:06that team of men would get ten shillings.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10So, it was quite a lot of money for the work they did.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14They did it because they knew this mine had lots and lots of tin.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17and how good these tin mines were.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20So, not a bad job to have had then, apart from the danger!
0:20:20 > 0:20:21Near death experiences!
0:20:21 > 0:20:28Apart from the danger. Even though the money was good in real terms in those days,
0:20:28 > 0:20:32those miners were not expected to live much beyond 35-years-old.
0:20:32 > 0:20:34They had to climb down shafts.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37They climbed down ropes and chains and ladders.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40The conditions underground, there was not much air.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42There was waste water in some places.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45It was very, very difficult and very dangerous.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48The mines here, the water was very acidic.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51It was the arsenic in the water.
0:20:51 > 0:20:56When most people think about arsenic, they think about the poison and the dangers.
0:20:56 > 0:21:02Initially, it was annoying for the miners because it didn't give you pure tin or pure copper.
0:21:02 > 0:21:07They found by roasting it out, the arsenic powder could be used as a pesticide.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11Apart from being a nuisance,
0:21:11 > 0:21:14it became a product from the mine.
0:21:14 > 0:21:19There are areas now which still haven't recovered from the arsenic poisoning of the ground.
0:21:19 > 0:21:25There are absolutely barren pieces of ground 200 years after the arsenic has been refined in the areas.
0:21:25 > 0:21:26So, when you think about it,
0:21:26 > 0:21:30the money that they got paid and everything wasn't worth it.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33Not just for the people, but for the people who owned the mines!
0:21:33 > 0:21:36The mine-owners controlled how people spent their money.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40The Williams family actually produced their own currency.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42Ta-da! This little fella.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45That is one penny, known as a Cornish token.
0:21:45 > 0:21:50All people associated with the mine would be paid in pennies.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54Those pennies could only be spent in the mine-owner's shop.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57So, on the one hand, they'd say we are going to pay you really well
0:21:57 > 0:22:00for this dangerous work and you're the experts.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02On the other hand, you can only spend it with us!
0:22:02 > 0:22:04Yeah, that's what they did.
0:22:04 > 0:22:08It produced approximately £50 million profit for the mine-owners.
0:22:08 > 0:22:10That's a lot of money 200 years ago.
0:22:11 > 0:22:17A lot of money, but as we started finding new countries in the British Empire,
0:22:17 > 0:22:21they could find copper and tin in those other countries.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24There was a crash in the copper price and the tin price.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28The mines ceased overnight, Cornish miners went all over the place.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31There is a saying - wherever there is a hole in the ground,
0:22:31 > 0:22:34there is a Cornish miner. That is very, very true.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38Would you go back down the mines now, Mark?
0:22:38 > 0:22:41I had a serious accident just before the mine closed,
0:22:41 > 0:22:45where I had a rock come down and it nearly killed me. I have a huge scar
0:22:45 > 0:22:48across the back of my neck. It damaged some nerve endings on this side.
0:22:48 > 0:22:53So, to do any long-term mining, I wouldn't be able to do it.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55Is it something that you miss?
0:22:55 > 0:22:57- I miss it every day.- Really?
0:22:57 > 0:23:01Working down a dark, dangerous mine, thousands of feet underground?
0:23:01 > 0:23:05A lovely job! No hassle, no cars, no people!
0:23:05 > 0:23:09Mark, thank you very much. It has been really interesting.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12I'm going to a second railway as well, aren't I?
0:23:12 > 0:23:16Yes, what you're going to find is the Redruth to Chasewater railway line.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19It never went to Chasewater, but it went down to Devoran.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22- I'll look out for it, thank you! - You're going in to the age of steam!
0:23:22 > 0:23:25- Thanks, Mark. Bye-bye!- Bye!
0:23:28 > 0:23:31Before I reach my second railway of the day,
0:23:31 > 0:23:36there's a footpath heading south down the length of Poldice Valley.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39It's a hotch-potch world of mining detritus.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42The white piles of dust, known simply as The Sands,
0:23:42 > 0:23:47are the barren remains of the arsenic works that operated until 1929.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52A unique section of railway walk.
0:24:04 > 0:24:06This is what Mark was talking about -
0:24:06 > 0:24:09the Redruth and Chasewater railway, coming in from Redruth.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12I am now firmly back on the track bed.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17The Redruth and Chasewater was the creation of John Taylor,
0:24:17 > 0:24:20controller of the massive Consolidated Mines.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26Taylor's business was so large that it warranted the building of a new railway,
0:24:26 > 0:24:29which opened in 1824.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32It carried 50,000 tonnes of ore in its first year.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38According to my invaluable guide, the Redruth and Chasewater railway
0:24:38 > 0:24:42managed to achieve something that the Portreath Tramroad never did.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45That was to swap horse-drawn carriages for steam engines.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47In 1854 they introduced two.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50One was called Miner, the other was called Smelter -
0:24:50 > 0:24:53do you see what they did there? Mining, yeah, you get it!
0:25:06 > 0:25:11A third engine called Spitfire joined the line in 1859,
0:25:11 > 0:25:12but within 15 years,
0:25:12 > 0:25:16Taylor's railway was already going into decline -
0:25:16 > 0:25:20another victim of the global slump in copper prices.
0:25:20 > 0:25:25The Redruth and Chasewater eventually ground to a complete halt in 1918.
0:25:28 > 0:25:30Much like the railway itself,
0:25:30 > 0:25:33the last part of my walk follows the Carnon River
0:25:33 > 0:25:36as it heads towards the all-important coastline at Devoran.
0:25:39 > 0:25:44A much later railway line connecting Plymouth with Falmouth had to cross this wide valley,
0:25:44 > 0:25:49a challenge that was handed to none other than Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56It seems that poor old Brunel didn't have the budget to do this job properly.
0:25:56 > 0:26:01Reluctantly, to save money, he used timber fans to prop up the tracks.
0:26:01 > 0:26:06But as he predicted, just 70 years later, the entire viaduct had to be replaced.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10Not up to his usual standards at all! That's the original -
0:26:10 > 0:26:12that's the replacement.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18When work started on Brunel's viaduct, builders found they had to
0:26:18 > 0:26:21dig through 30 feet of silt and mining spoils
0:26:21 > 0:26:23to reach the solid floor of the valley.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28This path here would have once been part of the estuary,
0:26:28 > 0:26:32before centuries of mining pushed the open water further and further towards the sea.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38Devoran, too, used to be a major port -
0:26:38 > 0:26:40a busy interchange between the steam locomotives
0:26:40 > 0:26:43and the waiting boats in the estuary's deep waters.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49The village hall today is actually the old maintenance shed
0:26:49 > 0:26:51for the likes of Miner and Smelter,
0:26:51 > 0:26:54for this is as far as the locomotives got.
0:26:57 > 0:27:01The end of my walk, much like the beginning, is along a simple tramroad.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04An extra mile used to transfer coal and metal ore
0:27:04 > 0:27:06to ships further down the estuary.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13In 1900, this was where the railway ended -
0:27:13 > 0:27:15a quayside known simply as Point.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19A classic Cornish beauty spot...
0:27:21 > 0:27:24..but the end to a very industrial walk.
0:27:26 > 0:27:28Just look at the difference between here
0:27:28 > 0:27:30and the sea-battered cliffs of Portreath.
0:27:30 > 0:27:36Even this picture-perfect Cornish estuary can't escape the presence of the mining industry.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39Just around that corner would have been the tin smelting works.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42Long before that, before the railway even,
0:27:42 > 0:27:45teams would have been working in and under the estuary,
0:27:45 > 0:27:48sifting through the sand and gravel looking for bits of tin ore.
0:27:48 > 0:27:53This really was a world devoted to extracting as much from the ground as possible.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01Of all the old railways I've explored so far,
0:28:01 > 0:28:05none has been so entirely linked to a single purpose.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08This has been a fascinating walk
0:28:08 > 0:28:11through a varied and often man-made landscape,
0:28:11 > 0:28:16but, most of all, it has been a walk through the changing fortunes
0:28:16 > 0:28:18of a vast local industry.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21But, let's not forget that today I have also seen
0:28:21 > 0:28:24where the steam engine first showed its true potential.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28And for that, all my other railway walks should be truly grateful.
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