Gunnislake Clitters Mine

The tin mines around Gunnislake tell the story of Cornwall's industrial guts, and Clitters Mine is one of the best-preserved examples you can actually poke around. What you get is a genuine 19th-century tin workings - wooden shafts, stone-built engine houses, and the kind of landscape that makes you properly understand how Cornish miners kept this county afloat for centuries.

It's a walking site, essentially. There's no visitor centre or tea room, just the remains themselves scattered across moorland near Tavistock. You're free to wander the ruins, peer into the shafts (sensibly fenced), and read what industrial archaeology looks like when nature starts reclaiming it. The engine house is the showstopper - that red stone structure silhouetted against the skyline is the sort of thing that makes photographers linger.

History buffs and walkers will get the most from it. Kids aged eight upwards might find it interesting for twenty minutes, though it's not thrilling without context. Best to read up beforehand or grab a geology guide from Tavistock's tourist office. There's no admission charge - it's all quite refreshingly low-key.

If you're staying at Woodovis Holiday Park or Sunnyside Eco Glamping nearby, this is worth a morning ramble. Pair it with a proper walk across the moors or a trip into Tavistock itself for lunch. Allow an hour or so, longer if you're taking photographs. Go when the light's low - morning or late afternoon.