WITC only had chance for a short stroll in the last few days.It was the first time in ages we've been on a walk where the box thief had evidently been at work, with at least 5 boxes off site. This meant we only had a measly 9 stamps to show for the day. It didn't even fill the page of our scrapbook.
Our route encompassed the area around Wheal Betsy, and we had never explored this National Trust property up close.
Its a fascinating mine, with a 71 year history from 1806 when it opened as a copper and lead mine, though it also yielded quantities of silver and arsenic from it's 900 metre deep shaft. 
Originally, Wheal Betsy was a water powered operation, with water provided by the Tavy below Ger Tor, via the Reddaford leat. Then in 1868 the building which remains today was built to house the Cornish Beam pumping engine, and steam power took over.
The mine closed in 1877, and the National Trust acquired and made the ruin safe in 1967.
2 comments:
Very evocative shot, WITC. Interesting how the spoil tips, which must have been there over 100 yrs, have very little vegetation growing on them.
Oh, terrible title pun, by the way ;-)
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