Carne Stents Pit Lake

The water here is an uncanny turquoise - proper brilliant on a sunny day, almost unnatural in how vivid it is. Carne Stents Pit Lake, just outside Polgooth, is a flooded china clay pit that's become an unlikely focal point for the area. You can walk round it easily enough, and there's something oddly compelling about the contrast between the steep white clay walls and that impossibly blue water below.

It's worth a detour if you're already exploring the mining heritage of mid-Cornwall, though I'd be honest - you don't need more than 45 minutes here. The walk itself is straightforward, fine for families with older kids, though younger ones might find it a bit samey after the first lap. The real appeal is that it's free and requires zero planning. Turn up, have a wander, take a photo if the light's right.

If you're staying at Tregarton Park - just six miles away - this makes a decent leg-stretcher between the campsite and the bigger attractions inland. It's the sort of place locals know about but tourists miss, which is precisely why it's worth knowing about. The pit walls tell you everything about what built this landscape, even if the lake itself is just water and stone.