Mount Wellington Mine was the Plan B: a badly researched, poorly located alternative picked on a whim if busted at Plan A.
We were busted at Plan A.
We were pleasantly surprised after eventually finding the mine. We were in Cornwall after all, and whilst the Victorian stone chimneys and pumping houses litter the landscape, it was an interesting diversion to find a more recently built mine, although little minutiae remained.
Slopping northwards, the site commands dramatic vistas of neighbouring Twelveheads village and the hills around. Small, badly vandalised and stripped workshops and office rooms hold little interest, although a decapitated Vauxhall Astra in one of the buildings caused some comment. However, the truncated headgear (recently lopped by the previous owner), settlement tank, sloping conveyor and the huge processing building looked far more interesting.
Largely stripped, the processing building offers one huge cavernous room with doors opening into empty space, and a dark four-storey section full of twisted metal, concrete blocks, smashed offices and processing equipment. The more adventurous urban explorer can only see the last two; the barely functional stairs lead to a twilight zone of bulky mill machinery, missing floor pieces and treacherous falls.
Watch out for booby traps left by the local “apologetic” children.
Mount Wellington was an interesting introduction to the surface buildings of an Cornish Tin Mine, but considering its stripped and neglected state, it had was a sorry reminder of what it once was. Just sold, the site is earmarked for redevelopment.
So, worth a quick look if you're in the area. But don't spend long; Wheal Jane is about five miles away and far more interesting (and I'll try and get that write up done soon).
Full report with more pictures and text on my website.
Many thanks to Griffin (of 28dl) who prompted this tour..
All the best,
Simon
www.simoncornwell.com/urbex
For those who enjoy a bit of climbing, your skills will prove useful getting into the various floors of this part of the building.
These are the stairs we took to the third floor.
Watch out for "booby traps". Kids eh?
We were busted at Plan A.
We were pleasantly surprised after eventually finding the mine. We were in Cornwall after all, and whilst the Victorian stone chimneys and pumping houses litter the landscape, it was an interesting diversion to find a more recently built mine, although little minutiae remained.
Slopping northwards, the site commands dramatic vistas of neighbouring Twelveheads village and the hills around. Small, badly vandalised and stripped workshops and office rooms hold little interest, although a decapitated Vauxhall Astra in one of the buildings caused some comment. However, the truncated headgear (recently lopped by the previous owner), settlement tank, sloping conveyor and the huge processing building looked far more interesting.
Largely stripped, the processing building offers one huge cavernous room with doors opening into empty space, and a dark four-storey section full of twisted metal, concrete blocks, smashed offices and processing equipment. The more adventurous urban explorer can only see the last two; the barely functional stairs lead to a twilight zone of bulky mill machinery, missing floor pieces and treacherous falls.
Watch out for booby traps left by the local “apologetic” children.
Mount Wellington was an interesting introduction to the surface buildings of an Cornish Tin Mine, but considering its stripped and neglected state, it had was a sorry reminder of what it once was. Just sold, the site is earmarked for redevelopment.
So, worth a quick look if you're in the area. But don't spend long; Wheal Jane is about five miles away and far more interesting (and I'll try and get that write up done soon).
Full report with more pictures and text on my website.
Many thanks to Griffin (of 28dl) who prompted this tour..
All the best,
Simon
www.simoncornwell.com/urbex
For those who enjoy a bit of climbing, your skills will prove useful getting into the various floors of this part of the building.
These are the stairs we took to the third floor.
Watch out for "booby traps". Kids eh?
