Gomm Engine House

The engine house at Gomm is one of those places that stops you dead. Built to pump water out of the tin mines that once made this corner of Cornwall rich, it's a squat stone tower with industrial muscle - the sort of building that looks the same now as it did two centuries ago, when engines thundered inside it day and night.

You'll find it near Penwithick, where the mining landscape still bears the scars of all that extraction. The engine house itself is best appreciated from the outside - the stonework tells the story of engineers who knew their trade, and on a grey Cornish afternoon, it's genuinely atmospheric. History buffs will spend a good twenty minutes photographing details and imagining the roar of the machinery. Children under ten might find it a bit dull unless they're already obsessed with industrial archaeology.

It's free to visit and takes perhaps half an hour of your time, though there's not much signage to tell you what you're looking at. The nearest proper base for a park holiday is Pentewan Sands, about five miles away - a solid four-star site if you're planning a week in the area and want to string together a few old mining sites.

Worth the diversion if you're already exploring this part of mid-Cornwall. Don't expect visitor facilities or interpretation boards. Bring your own context, or the building becomes just another old ruin.