Although the mines are no longer active, their history lives on in the BBC epic drama, Poldark, which offers a historically accurate portrayal of the lives of the miners at the time. Fans of Poldark will immediately recognize the Botallack mines, which feature prominently in the show.
The abandoned buildings of Botallack provide a perfect stand-in for the Poldark family mines of Wheal Leisure, owned by Ross Poldark, and Grambler, owned by his cousin Francis Poldark. The buildings give a captivating insight into Cornish mining history. During the 19th century, there were more than 100 engine houses in the St Just district in Penwith, but in 1895 the entire Botallack mine was shut due to fast falling copper and tin prices.
Minack
Sub-tropical plants and turquoise water await people at the Minack Theater, a magnificent open-air theater, lovingly built by Cornwall native Rowena Cade.
The Minack's story began in 1929, when Cade got involved with a production of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. It was such a success that the company repeated the production the following year. They then wanted to stage The Tempest and Cade offered them the use of her cliff garden for the performance.
With the help of her gardener, she mixed and poured her own concrete (made with sand from the beach below) to create seating and used a mass of granite boulders to build a stage on the water.
Building the Minack took Cade the rest of her life. The site is extremely popular with international visitors, especially Chinese, who love to take photos among the colorful plants and against the Minack headland, which looks like it could be straight out of Hawaii.
Other places
Falmouth-San Francisco meets Brighton in this quirky seaside town-feels like a distant cousin to St Ives. It has a much more local population and vibe, although there are still plenty of reasons to visit.
For a meal that serves as a grand finale to a trip to Cornwall, The Alverton Hotel in the county's capital city Truro, is the place to go. A restored nunnery built in 1830, it now serves up high-end cuisine prepared using the finest Cornish ingredients foraged, fished and farmed. Although the savory dishes are spectacular, the restaurant is best known for desserts like the tipped over "spring flowerpot" with elderflower mousse, fresh berries and chocolate soil.
From county houses and castles to mines and museums, gardens and galleries to theme parks and railways, Cornwall has a wealth of attractions to choose from, and as the locals would advise, you just need to visit often and visit "dreckly".
