Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
DON'T MISS
THE CORNISH ALPS
Alongside mining and fishing, Cornwall's other great industry in the 18th and 19th centuries was the extraction of
'white gold', otherwise known as china clay - a key component in everything from porcelain manufacture to
medicines and paper coatings.
The heartland of the industry was the St Austell claypits, where a weird landscape of spoil heaps, mica dams
and turquoise pools still looms on the horizon, earning them the local nickname of the 'Cornish Alps'.
The best way to explore is along the
Clay Trails
(
www.claytrails.co.uk
), a network of off-road routes suitable
for pedestrians, horse riders and cyclists. One route starts at
Wheal Martyn
(
01726-850362;
www.wheal-
martyn.com
;
adult/child £7.50/4.50;
10am-5pm) country park and runs on to the Eden Project; another travels
north from Eden to Bugle.
The park is about 2 miles from St Austell on the B3274; look out for signs for the China Clay Country Park.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Mevagissey & Gorran Haven
Eight miles from St Austell, Mevagissey is another of Cornwall's quintessential fishing
ports, with the essential combination alleys, flower-fronted cottages and salty pubs. You'll
still find second-hand bookshops and local galleries dotted round, and thankfully there's
not a multi-national coffee shop in sight.
The town's impressive double-walled harbour still shelters a small fishing fleet, and it's
one of the best places on the south coast for crab-lining: you'll be able to buy all the gear
you need in the nearby shops. In summer,
ferries
(
www.mevagissey-ferries.co.uk
; adult/child single £7/4,
return £12/6; May-Sep)
run along the coast from Mevagissey Harbour to Fowey.
There's little sand to speak of in Mevagissey, but there's a large holiday beach in nearby
Pentewan
, and several more coves around the village of
Gorran Haven
and
Dodman Point
. First
comes the grand shingle-sandy arc of
Vault
, which unfurls towards the headland west of
Gorran, and has a small National Trust car park; the beach itself is a 15-minute walk
downhill. Tiny
Hemmick
lies half a mile west around Dodman Point, between Penare and
Boswinger; again, you have to park at the top of the hill and walk down.
Sleeping
Treveague Farm
CAMPSITE
£
