Redruth

This market town was once, along with much of the surrounding area, at the centre of the county’s mining industry and, as such, was a prosperous town. Some pockets of Victorian, Georgian and earlier buildings still remain and, particularly at Churchtown, there are some attractive old cottages and St Uny’s Parish Church, mainly Georgian with a 15th century tower. The lychgate has an unusually long coffin rest that was built to deal with the aftermath of mining disasters. Redruth was also the home of the Scottish inventor William Murdoch (1754-1839) who was responsible for such innovations as coal-gas lighting and the vacuum powered tubes that were once a common feature in department stores. His house, the first in Britain to use gas lighting, can still be seen, marked with a plaque.

The landscape surrounding Redruth is dominated by the dramatic Carn Brea - pronounced ‘Bray’- where there are remains of Iron Age hill forts, Carn Brea Castle and also a 90 feet monument to the mine owner Francis Basset, a benevolent Georgian land and mine owner who did much to improve the lot of poor labourers. There are spectacular views from here, which reach to St Ives in the west and the Lizard Peninsula in the south.

Another attraction south of Redruth, at Treskillard, is the Shire Horse & Carriage Museum. To many, a heavy horse toiling to pull a plough across a muddy field conjures up an image of true rural tranquillity sacrificed to the tyranny of tractors. But according to one expert, traditional breeds of the magnificent beasts are on the brink of extinction. Here you can see the shire horses at rest, play and work, along with the biggest collection of horse drawn buses in Britain. The museum opens from Easter to the end of September, although the horses can often be seen every Friday at Portreath Beach where, weather permitting, they are taken for a run along the sand.