Wheals of Clay

 WHEAL MARTYN
China Clay Country Park
 St Austell, Cornwall

Daytrip – Mid-October 2011

Ever wondered who made the ‘pyramids of Cornwall’?  Or what Cornish commodity could possibly be more lucrative than the pasty?  Stay tuned to find out…

For two days in October, members of the local Friends of Luxulyan Valley (like ourselves), were granted free entry to Wheal Martyn, just a few miles from St Austell in mid-Cornwall.  Thanks to them, I can pass on these insights into this China Clay site which is a combination of museum, showcase of past & present clay working, and nature park.

IT’S MINE – ALL MINE!

Barely had Steve & I crossed the threshold into the visitor centre than we were greeted by a kindly volunteer guide who told us a bit about Wheal Martyn – ‘wheal’ being a Cornish word meaning ‘mine’ or ‘pit’.  We were surprised to discover that the slopes surrounding the site are the result of waste materials being piled up over the years. 

Just in case you weren't sure... This is a dummy, not Steve! (Steve hasn't got a moustache.)

After walking through the gift shop reception, we were led through a series of inventive displays relating the story of Cornwall’s China Clay heritage…  A ‘talking portrait’ of William Cookworthy telling you how he first found local clay in 1746…  A Victorian ‘Kettle Boy’ at the door of a work shed painting a picture of his working day…  Videos showing how the clay was (and still is) taken from the opencast mines and processed before it heads off to various countries around the world…  And much, much more…

Before Cookworthy discovered that vast amounts of clay could be obtained from Cornwall, the British got their clay from China – hence the name given to crockery made from it.  However, it’s used in countless products (eg paper, paint & cosmetics) and Cornwall now exports clay to the rest of the world.  Unfortunately, the pasty hasn’t fared so well!

 

Spot the tiny Tonka truck! (Clue: it's yellow & it's somewhere in the bottom left-hand corner.)

WHAT A SITE!

The indoor exhibitions give you a great introduction as to what lies outdoors on the 26-acre site, where you get to explore the separation tanks, drying areas, etc used to process clay, as well as Cornwall’s largest working waterwheel.

 

Taking a walk through the forest nature trail, we eventually came to Pit View which overlooks a working quarry.  From here, work vehicles look like tiny Tonka trucks.  If you have kids, you can double-back to the play area or have lunch in the café – it certainly smelled good when we were there, though alas, we’d already made sandwiches to eat in the camper!

As we left the centre, we looked around.  It was quite something to get your head round the fact that all these hills were the result of years of clay mining.  Wherever there is Cornish clay mining, you’ll also see the huge ‘sky tips’.  These ‘pyramids of Cornwall’, made of waste from the mining process, no doubt gave the Egyptian tourist board something to worry about when they first appeared!

The Eden Project (also near St Austell), has turned another of the county’s legacies – an old quarry – into a thriving tourist attraction with its famous, iconic biomes housing tropical and Mediterranean plants.  And a whole network of Clay Trail routes has been created in the area – you can even walk or cycle from Wheal Martyn to St Austell and the Eden Project after your lunch if you fancy it.

We’d definitely recommend a visit to Wheal Martyn China Country Clay Park: Cornwall is about much more than scenic cliff-top views and beach resorts… although there’s no harm in checking all that out while you’re down here as well!

 

Again, a big thank you goes to Wheal Martyn and the Friends of Luxulyan Valley (click links for more info).  There are also a couple of articles on my website referring to the Luxulyan Valley, if interested.

 

TAKE A CHILL PILL!

Cluey readers among you will probably have noticed how shockingly long it’s taken me to post this blog.  All I can do is apologise to my faithful subscribers, who have no doubt been pulling their hair out waiting for it (not!).  Unfortunately, my blog entries have had to take a backseat to other things on my list lately…

 

COOKING THE BOOKS

I’m still plugging away at the Campervan Capers book as well as getting sets of photos ready to accompany it.  And as I’ve also been spending time publicising my other recently-released eBooks (click links for more info), I’ve put back the release date to around springtime next year.

COMING SOON…?

I’ll keep you all informed as things progress…  We’re still popping out in our camper occasionally, but nothing significant enough to write about at the moment.  In the meantime, have a fantastic Christmas break and we look forward to more CC blogging in the new year!

PS  Do you remember our Underground, Overground trip where Castle Drogo needed a decent wedge of money to fix its leaky roof?  Well, the good news, according to the National Trust, is that they’ve had a cash injection now of just over half a million.  The bad news?  They are still a few million down.  Luckily, lottery funding may able to help to ‘plug the gap’ – err… both literally and metaphorically!  Click for more info about the appeal.

The Land of Arthurian Legend

Journey Date

Daytrip – 30^th Sept 2011

Destination

Tintagel, Cornwall

When it comes to holidaying, people are renowned for neglecting their own locale in favour of somewhere farther afield.  Over more recent times, however, we’ve been making a point of sucking the marrow out of the local tourist destinations (as it were).  And, as we had a visitor over from Down Under who was keen to visit Tintagel Castle, we fired up the campervan for another daytrip.

MONEY FOR MYTH…?

The site of Tintagel Castle, set on Cornwall’s north coast, is now owned by English Heritage and, as most of you will know, it’s the birthplace of King Arthur – or, should I say, the legendary King Arthur…?

Having paid our entrance fee, we were treated to a short video about the site, which made it clear that the story of King Arthur is not necessarily fact, but may actually fall into the realm of myth.

Hmm…, I thought, we fork out good money to see King Arthur’s birthplace, and then we find out the guy might never have existed!?  Well, we were here now, so I guess we’d have to make the most of our day – King Arthur or no King Arthur.

ARTHURIAN ATMOSPHERE

Now, I could have regaled you with tales about having visited a bleak, windswept coastline and it might have sounded quite atmospheric, what with romantic monarchic legends haunting the landscape.  Unfortunately, it was a beautiful day which showed off the last of the summer sunshine, so much so that our Ozzie visitor probably thought he was back home.  I apologised for the good weather, promising that it actually was normally much more overcast and gloomy here in England.  Better luck next time, eh?

Apparently, Tintagel Castle was built about 500 years ago (some time after the not-sure-he-even-existed King Arthur was supposed to have lived).  However, before we were to see any of the ruins, we would have to scale a heckuva lot of steps.  And I don’t use the word ‘scale’ here lightly.  The steps were so steep that one lady had to lift her dog up them.  And don’t get me started on wheelchair access – which would have been impossible unless you had a winch.

At the top of the first flight of steps were the remains of a fortification, now home to a solitary seagull.  Looking over the walls, it was clear that the sheer cliffs and lashing seas would have afforded strong protection against marauders – and, if nothing else, the steep incline would have wheedled out the unfit ones.

DOORWAY TO THE PAST

Descending the steps was almost as hairy as the ascent, and we moved on to another set of slightly-less-steep steps which led, through a medieval-looking doorway, to the main headland.  Here were the ruins of a stronghold built by Richard, Earl of Cornwall, in the early 13^th Century.

Over the years, the headland has apparently seen many constructions come and go; and outlines of old buildings can be seen dotted about.  Thousands of pieces of pottery have been found in the area, which have led archaeologists to believe that Tintagel was the centre of a luxury goods trade, the likes of which are unknown in the rest of Cornwall.

On such a sunny day, the views from the cliffs were glorious; and I had to wonder what it must have been like living on the headland all those years ago, especially when it was cold, wet and windy.  Squalling winter days might make an atmospheric backdrop to films and TV shows about King Arthur and the (also legendary) wizard, Merlin (whose dwelling cave is said to have been somewhere down below the cliffs), but they can’t have been that pleasant to endure.

Can YOU spot the clot?

CLOTTED CORNISH…?

After we’d had enough exploration, it was time to head off to town so our friend from Down Under could experience a traditional Cornish Cream Tea.  Now, some say that Cornish folk aren’t that bright, but Steve & I have always thought that anyone who can charge a fiver for a bit of hot water, a couple of teabags plus scones, cream & jam – all of which are pretty cheap and left to the customer to look after – has got to be pretty canny!

Fully refreshed, we made our way home and our Ozzie friend spotted a sign for ‘Arthur’s Stone’, so we turned off to investigate.  No doubt, he was keen to see if this would lead us to the stone from which King Arthur pulled out his legendary (and possibly non-existent) sword, Excalibur.

Unfortunately, time was getting on and the entrance gates were locked.  We turned round and drove off.  My friend might not have shown it, but deep down I think he was disappointed at not having had a chance at trying to pull the sword from the stone.  Oh, well…  At least he’d been to see Tintagel Castle… even if Arthur was the stuff of legends and might not even have existed in the first place!

 

TIPS & CONCLUSIONS

• Since there is no parking at Tintagel Castle, you need to find alternative parking.  We found a spot just before the town which was cheap at only £1.50 a day.  The Pay & Displays in town would probably cost a bit more.
• Rather than take extended holidays, why not go for shorter local breaks and learn something about your area.  The money you’d normally spend on fuel can either be saved or spent on a treat and you avoid the hassle of having to load up the campervan.

For the foreseeable future, we’ll be taking our own advice and getting the most out of the campervan by making daytrips.  It’s a great way of exploring the local area whilst letting the van stretch its wheels every now and then.

COMING SOON…

We recently made a short trip out in the camper to undertake what would no doubt have looked to some like ‘strange goings-on’ off the A30 – all of which will be the focal point of another Steve’s Cycle Shorts soon.

Advice to Cycling Widows: To avoid disappointment, never ask your fanatical cycling spouse if he loves you more than his bike! You may not like the answer you get.

If you enjoy reading the Campervan Capers blog but don’t want to be bothered checking for new posts, then why not become a subscriber and get it sent to you by email?  Just enter your details under ‘Subscribe Here’ (on the right) and let our ‘virtual secretary’ post one out to you automatically.

WHAT?…  THERE’S MORE?…

If you noticed the date of our trip to Tintagel, you’ll probably be wondering why it’s taken me so long to post.  What have I been doing all this time?…  Sitting on my backside?  Err…  Well, the answer is YES, actually, I have!

As it happens, I’ve been beavering away on my other writing projects so I can finally get round to working up a first draft for my Campervan Capers book.

I know some of my readers are interested in my projects, so here’s a quick run-down of  the stuff I’ve now published, along with links so you can check out free samples.  These are all available in digital format – to download for eReaders or for home printing:

 

CYCLING WIDOWS

Lifting the Veil on Living with an Obsessive Cyclist (I think you can guess who that is!?)

Click to read a free sample or buy with Smashwords.

 

 SHADES

A Collection of Short Fictional Works

Click to read a free sample or buy with Smashwords.  You can also read some free short stories from the book on the Short Stories page of my Foley’s Forum website.

 

THE JACARANDA TRAIL

A Journey of Discovery Down Under

Click to read a free sample or buy with Smashwords.

 

FANCY A FREEBIE?

There are also occasional free and discounted offers on The Foley’s Forum Blog, plus lots more.  So if you’re interested in my work, why not subscribe to receive posts via email?  If you’re quick, you might even catch this week’s offer of a free download of The Jacaranda Trail on the blog.

If you belong to an organisation and would like to raffle off a copy of any of these books, please get in touch by email via the Contact/Links page of my website.  Similarly, if you have a blog about cycling, family history or fiction and would like to post a review or do an author interview, I look forward to hearing from you.

Hope you enjoy reading!