Trewavas Head is a short stretch of Cornish cliff, between Porthleven and Marazion, where the old engine houses of Wheal Trewavas cling to the rocks above the sea. The mine, which worked tin and copper in the nineteenth century, was dug from the cliff face and went out under the sea bed, and its engine houses were built in a precarious position on ledges with the Atlantic breaking below. The sight is one of the most dramatic in the Cornish mining landscape, which UNESCO listed in 2006, and the story of the miners who worked there, hanging on the cliffs and tunnelling under the waves, is told in the old photographs.
The coast is rocky and wild, with granite and greenstone cliffs, small coves and a view along the bay to St Michael's Mount, the tidal island with its castle and chapel on a rock. The Cornish names, Trewavas, Praa Sands, Porthleven, speak of an older language. Gorse and heather flower on the clifftops, and in spring the banks are full of sea pinks and bluebells. Grey seals can be seen from the cliffs, and the sea has a green and violet colour on a bright day.
Cornish lanes are narrow, hedged and often sunken, and a motorcycle is a good way to get through them, though they demand care. Corners are blind, the surface is rough, and tractors and holiday traffic are common in July and August. Porthleven, a small harbour town on the coast, has a fine harbour with a clock tower, and Helston, a bigger market town, hosts the Flora Day each May, when the streets are filled with dancing. Fuel is available in Helston, the nearest large town, and in Porthleven.
For the best experience, come in spring or early autumn, when the weather is mild, and the crowds are thin. Storms in winter can be violent, with waves breaking over the cliffs, and the paths may be closed. Take care near the cliff edge, and keep to the paths, because old mine shafts are hidden in the gorse.