Wheal Coates is a Cornish icon, its ruined engine houses clinging to the cliffs between St Agnes Head and Chapel Porth, some of the most photographed mine buildings in the country. The remains stand among heather and gorse within the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site. The Towanroath engine house sits on the cliff edge, and Tubby's Head is a scheduled ancient monument with bank-and-ditch ramparts and traces of nineteenth-century Wheal Bungay. A short circular tin-mining walk links the ruins with the South West Coast Path, about 30 minutes on foot from St Agnes village, and a clear evening brings sunsets and stargazing. Reviewers find the buildings fascinating and single out the views along the coast. Tips from visitors: the paths down to Towanroath are steep, narrow and rocky, dogs must be under close control, and mobile signal is patchy so set up the JustPark app before arriving; members park free.
