Why this ride
92 km from Penzance to Penzance, about 1 h 55 of riding. On the way it passes Camborne and Redruth Mining District, Pool village and East Pool Mine, Portreath Branch of the Hayle Railway and Wendron Mining District.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Penzance afternoon · Wendron Mining District
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 92 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 55
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Penzance
Penzance sits at the end of the line, at the far western tip of Cornwall, in Mount's Bay, and it feels like it. The railway ends here, the ferry to the Isles of Scilly leaves from the harbour, and the climate is so mild that palms and exotic gardens grow outdoors. Looking east across the bay you can see St Michael's Mount, a tidal island topped with a castle and linked to Marazion by a cobbled causeway that is covered at high tide. The Jubilee Pool, a triangular sea-water lido from the 1930s, is a delight on a warm day.
Read the complete Penzance write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Penzance is where the day begins. Next is Camborne and Redruth Mining District.
2. Camborne and Redruth Mining District
Cornwall's mining history is told by its engine houses, and around Camborne and Redruth there are more of them than anywhere else. This was the richest square of country in the whole mining world in the nineteenth century, producing copper and then tin on a scale that made the district a global centre of mining technology. Engineers, pumps and steam engines were built here and exported to mines on every continent, and Cornish miners themselves, known as Cousin Jacks, emigrated to Australia, South Africa, Mexico and North America and took their skills with them.
Read the complete Camborne and Redruth Mining District write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Camborne and Redruth Mining District comes up about 28 km into the recorded legs. Next is Pool village and East Pool Mine.
3. Pool village and East Pool Mine
Pool is the place where Cornwall's mining past is easiest to see, because it lies along the main road between Camborne and Redruth, and the engine houses are right beside it. East Pool Mine, now cared for by the National Trust, was one of the richest tin mines in the county, and it kept working until 1945. Two huge beam engines still stand under their roofs, and the big granite engine house, with its tall chimney and arched openings, dominates the village. It is one of the sites that make up the Cornish Mining Landscape, inscribed by UNESCO in 2006.
Read the complete Pool village and East Pool Mine write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 30 km into the recorded legs you reach Pool village and East Pool Mine. Next is Portreath Branch of the Hayle Railway.
4. Portreath Branch of the Hayle Railway
Cornwall's first railways were built to carry copper ore down to the sea and coal back up, and the Portreath branch of the Hayle Railway was one of the busiest. It opened in 1837, joining the mines around Redruth to the small harbour at Portreath on the north coast, where ore was loaded onto ships bound for the smelters of south Wales, and coal came in to feed the pumping engines. A tramroad had already done the same job here since the early nineteenth century, and the railway replaced it with steam power and heavier loads.
Read the complete Portreath Branch of the Hayle Railway write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Portreath Branch of the Hayle Railway, about halfway. Next is Wendron Mining District.
5. Wendron Mining District
The first thing to know about Wendron is that the ground beneath it was once worked as hard as any in Europe. West Cornwall's tin and copper made the county rich, and the district around Wendron, a few kilometres north of Helston, was one of the places where it happened. The old mines, the stream works in the valleys and the engine houses on the hillsides are part of the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site, listed in 2006. Many of the ruins are hidden in woods or fields, so you will have to look for them.
Read the complete Wendron Mining District write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Wendron Mining District sits at 46 km, about halfway. Next is back through Portreath Branch of the Hayle Railway.
6. back through Portreath Branch of the Hayle Railway
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Portreath Branch of the Hayle Railway write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Portreath Branch of the Hayle Railway comes up about 62 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Pool village and East Pool Mine.
7. back through Pool village and East Pool Mine
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Pool village and East Pool Mine write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 64 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Pool village and East Pool Mine. Next is back through Camborne and Redruth Mining District.
8. back through Camborne and Redruth Mining District
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Camborne and Redruth Mining District write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Camborne and Redruth Mining District, late in the day. Next is Penzance.
9. Penzance
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Penzance write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 92 km.
Leg by leg
Penzance to Camborne and Redruth Mining District
Penzance → Camborne and Redruth Mining District is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Portreath Branch of the Hayle Railway to Wendron Mining District
Portreath Branch of the Hayle Railway → Wendron Mining District is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Wendron Mining District to back through Portreath Branch of the Hayle Railway
Wendron Mining District → back through Portreath Branch of the Hayle Railway is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Camborne and Redruth Mining District to Penzance
back through Camborne and Redruth Mining District → Penzance is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.