Why this ride
110 km from St Austell to St Austell, about 2 h 13 of riding. It goes by way of Devoran and Perran, Portreath Branch of the Hayle Railway and back through Devoran and Perran.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Charlestown and Portreath Branch of the Hayle Railway
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 110 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 13
- 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. Charlestown
Charlestown is a harbour carved out of a beach. In the 1790s, a local landowner called Charles Rashleigh built a port here, cutting a dock into the rock to ship copper ore and, above all, china clay from the pits around St Austell, and the village took his name. Little has changed since: the stone harbour walls, the lock gates, the Georgian cottages and the old warehouses survive almost intact, which is why the harbour is part of the UNESCO Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape and why film and TV crews love it. Tall ships often moor in the dock, and you may have seen it as a backdrop in more than one period drama.
Read the complete Charlestown write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Charlestown is where the day begins. Next is Devoran and Perran.
2. Devoran and Perran
Devoran is a quiet village at the head of Restronguet Creek, a tidal arm of the Fal estuary south of Truro, and it takes a little imagination to see it as the busy industrial port it once was. In the nineteenth century, the Redruth and Chasewater Railway brought copper ore down from the mines to quays here, where ships loaded it for smelters in South Wales and returned with coal. The remains of the quays, ore hoppers and old warehouses are still visible along the shore, and the village is part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape, listed by UNESCO in 2006.
Read the complete Devoran and Perran write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Devoran and Perran comes up about 38 km into the recorded legs. Next is Portreath Branch of the Hayle Railway.
3. 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
about 55 km into the recorded legs you reach Portreath Branch of the Hayle Railway. Next is back through Devoran and Perran.
4. back through Devoran and Perran
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Devoran and Perran write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Devoran and Perran, late in the day. Next is Charlestown.
5. Charlestown
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Charlestown write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Charlestown. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Charlestown to Devoran and Perran
Charlestown → Devoran and Perran is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Devoran and Perran to Portreath Branch of the Hayle Railway
Devoran and Perran → Portreath Branch of the Hayle Railway is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Portreath Branch of the Hayle Railway to back through Devoran and Perran
Portreath Branch of the Hayle Railway → back through Devoran and Perran is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Devoran and Perran to Charlestown
back through Devoran and Perran → Charlestown is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.