Visiting the Tin Coast

Surface building remains including engine houses and chimney stacks at Levant Mine and Beam Engine | © National Trust Images / David Noton

Visit the Tin Coast and discover Cornwall's newest destination for some of the oldest mines and mining landscapes in Cornwall. This cultural landscape has been given World Heritage Site status due to its heritage links to Cornish mining.

What is the Tin Coast?

The Tin Coast is a stretch of coastline that is forms part of the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site. The Tin Coast is a place defined by the Cornish mining industry. Human endeavour worked hard here to haul tin and copper from the earth for over 2000 years. Ruined engine houses and chimneys now frame the landscape creating a very special atmosphere.

There were once thousands of mine shafts and hundreds of steaming engine houses here. Some mines even stretched out for up to a mile under the sea. Now nature plays a leading role with peregrine falcons and Cornish choughs both nesting in the cliffs and many other species finding a habitat here.

A view of the coast and ruined engine houses, Wheal Edward and Wheal Owles at Botallack, Cornwall | © National Trust Images/John Miller

Where is the Tin Coast?

The Tin Coast is located between Pendeen and St. Just in the area of West Penwith. The seven-mile route runs from the Pendeen lighthouse to Cape Cornwall and the valleys to the south.

Places to see on the Tin Coast

The three National Trust places on the Tin Coast are Botallack, Cape Cornwall and Levant Mine and Beam Engine. These sites contain the best concentration of combined tin and arsenic processing sites in the world. You can also see the only working steam powered beam engine still in its original site. These places make great bases to explore the Tin Coast.

Botallack: The famed Crowns engine houses cling to the foot of the cliffs in a landscape transformed by its industrial past.More about Botallack
Cape Cornwall: The distinctive headland of Cape Cornwall juts out into the ocean where two great bodies of water meet.More about Cape Cornwall
Levant Mine and Beam Engine: High-up on the exposed cliffs of the Tin Coast, at its heart: the restored 1840s beam engine running on steam.More about Levant Mine and Beam Engine

The Tin Coast partnership

The partnership is made up of local businesses, charities and community groups who all work together with an aim to develop more sustainable and responsible tourism that will benefit those who live here, those who visit and the local economy. The National Trust is proud to be part of this partnership, which also includes Geevor Tin Mine, St. Just Town Council, Visit Cornwall and Cornwall Council, amongst others.

Find out more about the Tin Coast Visitor Charter available on the Tin Coast website.

A visitor hiring a Tramper at Pentire, Cornwall | © National Trust Images/Paul Harris

Accessibility at the Tin Coast

The Tin Coast has two all terrain Trampers available to hire from Botallack. They've been supplied by Heritage Ability, a Heritage Lottery funded project to make heritage sites more accessible.

Trampers are electric all terrain mobility scooters designed specifically to cover rough ground safely. They can go up and down slopes, over bumps, through shallow puddles, mud and soft ground. With a top speed of four miles per hour they can keep pace with even the briskest walking companion.

The Tramper can be used by anyone who needs it as part of the Countryside Mobility initiative. You'll need to become a member of Countryside Mobility with two-week or single use trial options available. You don't need to be registered disabled or be part of the Blue Badge parking scheme.

Countryside Mobility Membership

Membership costs £15 per year, £5 for a two-week 'taster membership' or £3 for a single use. We can sign you up for membership on site and give you training on how to use the Tramper which takes around 10-15 minutes.

Once you've signed up for Countryside Mobility membership this then allows you to access nearly 40 Countryside Mobility sites around South West England - and they're hoping to add even more.

Find out more about Countryside Mobility membership

We recommend that you read the medical and health information and terms of use before getting here as this will help you to assess whether you'll be able to use the Tramper and will save you time when registering for membership.

Booking one of the Trampers

We strongly advise that you telephone us in advance to make a booking by calling 01736 786156 or please email botallack@nationaltrust.org.uk . There's no charge for hiring the Tramper.

Please be aware that all Tramper users must be accompanied by another person over the age over 18 who will not be using a Tramper themselves, and one of you must be in possession of a working mobile phone in case of any difficulties.

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