Gwennap between mining history and ancient paths

Gwennap combines an impressive mining history with a network of paths and routes. The focal points are Poldice Valley, the mining remains of Wheal Maid and the Coast to Coast Trail. Added to this is St Wenappa, with a listed parish church, Celtic traces and remarkable details in the churchyard. Anyone planning a trip combining culture, landscape and activity will find various points of reference here when choosing a suitable holiday apartment or holiday home.

Mining landscape around Wheal Maid and Poldice

Wheal Maid is part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site and features significant mining remains from the 19th century. Today, the site is popular with hikers, mountain bikers and horse riders. Wheal Maid is therefore particularly suitable for inclusion in your travel plans if you want to combine historic landscapes not just with sightseeing, but also with an active day trip.

The Poldice Valley also tells of Gwennap’s mining past. Poldice was the richest mine in Gwennap; the valley is dotted with the remains of former mining buildings. The Poldice chimney is still preserved. These individual traces bring the character of the landscape to life: along the paths, you encounter not abstract dates, but visible relics of an earlier use.

Paths for hikers, cyclists and horse riders

The Coast to Coast Trail runs through the parish of Gwennap and crosses Poldice Valley from the parish boundary near Zimapan to Twelveheads. The trail is 11 miles or 17.5 kilometres long in total, is mostly level and runs largely away from paved roads.

The Coast to Coast Trail is connected to the Wheal Busy Loop and the Redruth and Chacewater Railway Trail. A cycle route also runs through the parish of Gwennap along the Redruth and Chasewater Railway from near Twelveheads to the Crofthandy junction. In total, the parish has 61 paths classified as footpaths, bridleways and byways. The Mineral Tramways routes are part of a walking and cycling project whose paths are designed for hikers, cyclists and horse riders. Depending on your preferred travel pace, you can therefore choose between a well-known 17.5-kilometre route, shorter connections and additional paths.

St Wenappa: church, churchyard and Celtic traces

Church of Saint Wenappa is a Grade I listed parish church in Gwennap Churchtown. The church building of Gwennap St Weneppa lies within the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site. The parish church dates from the 15th century, was built in three phases and incorporates older masonry dating from approximately the 13th to 14th centuries. St Weneppa in Gwennap was founded on a Celtic monastery that probably dates from the late 5th century.

Several details invite you to explore the church grounds at your leisure. An ancient Celtic cross stands beside the north porch of St Wenappa. The churchyard also contains a wayside cross classified as a Scheduled Monument. The oldest funerary monument at St Wenappa is a carved slate tablet from 1691 commemorating John Pearrowe. The freestanding bell tower of Church of Saint Wenappa contains six bells that were hung in the late 18th century. For a trip with an interest in regional history, this provides several concrete points of reference in one place.

Nature and peaceful discoveries

St Wenappa is home to a maternity roost of brown long-eared bats. This feature adds a natural-history aspect to the historical perspective. Together with the paths through the mining landscape, it creates an itinerary that can combine sightseeing, longer routes and smaller discoveries. Holy Communion at St Wenappa takes place at 11 a.m. every first and third Sunday of the month.

Compare other destinations

If you would like to compare other places with Gwennap when planning your trip, you can also view Chacewater, Porthallow, Padstow, Saint Cleer, Bodinnick, Marhamchurch, Lostwithiel and St Winnow. Gwennap is particularly notable for its combination of mining history, varied paths and the historic St Wenappa.

For the overarching travel overview: Cornwall.