Sun and chimneys

I’m typing this in Camborne, home of the celebrated Richard Threvithick, having had a much better day than yesterday. No rain for one thing, an interesting route for another and improving eyesight for the third.

The start was mixed. I had hoped to wake up to find my eyes more or less cured of their infection but they weren’t. Instead they were still painful, very tearful and over-sensitive to light. On the plus side, however, I was still the giest of Chris, Mark and family in Truro, with memories of a very satisfying evening that mixed good food, interesting people and stimulating conversation. This morning they were going off on a beach breakfast so I was photographed and then despatched first.

I did struggle with my sight for the first few miles but it soon became clear that things were gradually improving to the point where, as I type, things are almost normal. The day became progressively brighter and sunnier and some of the direct sunlight was too much but even my reaction to that was almost normal by the time I arrived in Camborne.

My route out of Truro took me past County Hall and into country lanes then footpaths across fields. There was one frustrating episode with a field of maize that involved me in climbing two heavily overgrown walls and getting scratched and stung for my pains. There was definitely not a navigation error on my part and I hope that this will be my last brush with bad land ownership.

Through Frogpool and Gwennap and I was into the area where, in the mid 19th century, enormous wealth was created through the mining of copper and then, later on, through tin mining at greater depths, thanks to developments in engineering and mining techniques. I had hoped that I’d see Gwennap Pit where John Wesley preached in the mid to late 18th cenury but hadn’t realised that it is some way from the village of Gwennap. Something for another day.

The route eventually took in the trackbed of the Tresavean Railway opened in 1837 to serve local quarries and mines. It was the western end of the Hayle Railway that took the ore and stone to Portreath or to Hayle via Redruth and Camborne. A good section of the railway was incorporated into the main line railway through west Cornwall; the rest is now dimantled. Like the railways on south Bodmin Moor, the rails were fastened to granite blocks set in the trackbed, rather than to wooden sleepers laid on top. This produced a rigid and durable track that was, however, unsuitable for fast and heavy trains but adequate for slow goods. There are sections where the granite blocks can still be seen, as there are on the Moor.

The route took me past many disused mines, their chimneys and buildings, all now part of Cornwall’s own World Heritage Site. Part of my route followed a heritage trail but, without explanatory literature, it was difficult to interpret the area. Some of the display boards were far too complex for the occasional visitor, some were in a poor state and all were set far too high to be comfortable to read (and consequently quite inaccessible to children). The supporting frame for one had also been used to support a dog poo bin, making reading on a hot day fairly unpleasant. A big lack of imagination all round, I think.

Redruth and Camborne are interesting places but the poorest in Cornwall. Some years ago Viv and I were forced to spend a day in Redruth while a repair was done on our motorhome. We walked into the town centre and discovered a heritage trail, so we got a leaflet and followed it. Suddenly, what at first sight looked simply a run-down place became very interesting and I’m pretty sure that Camborne will have something similar. But these are still poor areas, lacking employment opportunities and by-passed by most tourists, anxious to find bucket-and-spade land. Let’s hope that the World Heritage Site status will have some impact on this.

Tomorrow is the penultimate day of the walk, from here to Zennor. I hope that it, and the day afer, will be as gloriously sunny as today.