Botallack: Wheal Owles and the Crowns

On screen

How Botallack: Wheal Owles and the Crowns appears

Whenever Ross rides out to check on his mine, the chances are he is at Botallack. The production filmed Wheal Leisure, Grambler and Wheal Grace among the engine houses here, chiefly Wheal Owles, a short walk south, and the Crowns, the two engine houses on a ledge just above the sea. Set builders added temporary mine buildings and machinery that have since gone, so the ruins you see today look starker than they do on screen. The story places these mines on the north coast near Nampara, in the fictional parish of Sawle; the real site is in the far west near St Just. The underground scenes were not filmed here: they came from Redcliffe Caves in Bristol and studio sets.

The real place

What you can visit

Botallack is part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site and is cared for by the National Trust. A network of paths runs from the Count House, the old mine office that now holds a small National Trust café and information point, out across the spoil heaps to the cliff edge. You can look down on the Crowns from the coast path and walk south to Wheal Owles. There is no entry to the engine houses or any underground workings, and the ground is uneven throughout. Check the National Trust page for current facilities and café opening before you travel.

Stay on the marked paths: old mine shafts, open adits and crumbling walls are scattered across this coast, cliff edges are unfenced and can be undercut, and dogs and children need keeping close.