Interesting information
Around 25km of brand new trails have been created as part of the Tamar Valley Mining Heritage Project. There are eight trails in total, each one is available to a variety of users, including walkers, cyclists and horse riders. The Trails have opened up parts of the Tamar Valley that were previously not accessible to the public. Along the trails you will find a series of numbered markers relating to features of interest.
Wheal Anna Maria Arsenic Tailings – the red sand tips are waste from the arsenic recovery phase of the mine. In the 1870s, a handful of mines in the Tamar Valley were producing over half the world’s arsenic.
Blanchdown Adit – a good place to see the orange-coloured waters discharging, particularly after heavy rains. The water is coloured by ochre, the pigment which usually comes from iron ore in the earth.
Wheal Anna Maria Copper Tailings – these are dumps containing the copper slimes (the residue left over after the processing of the copper ore) and date from an earlier phase of the mine’s life.
