Botallack Mine, Cornwall

Thank-you very much John, tin and copper mining is so much a part of Cornish history, you can’t buy a house in Cornwall with out a full survey to ensure there is not a mine shaft under it that might collapse,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Raphael, much appreciated,
Regards, Rod.

It was a bit windy that afternoon and I was getting nervous on the cliff edge but it was the composition I had hoped for, thanks so much Richard,
Regards, Rod.

Hi Rob, many thanks my friend, this must be one of the most photographed scenes in Western Cornwall but I couldn’t resist a few more photos of it,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Lori, so kind of you my friend,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Sean,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Bela, the light was perfect at the time but it was quite windy on the edge of the cliff when I was there,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Ann,
Regards, Rod.

Thanks so much David, I too watch Coast whenever I can but must have missed that one, what a bummer, hope they repeat it soon, I’d love to hear what they had to say about it,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Peter, first time I’d been here in a few years but it is always well worth visiting, I left Chris in the car at Levant Tin mine a couple of miles along the coast and the walk was so beautiful and refreshing,
Regards, Rod.

Thanks so much Catherine,a bit windy at the time on the top of the cliffs but it was wonderful to visit this very important part of Cornwall’s industrial past again,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Pauline, if you are ever down that part of Cornwall it’s well worth a visit,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Liz, our forefathers certainly had a harder industrial life than anyone does today,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Lynda, and all without the book of instructions, LOL., seriously though, I was amazed at the detail in this one when viewed full size, the old D100 was good for it’s time but not a patch on the D300,
Regards, Rod.

Hi Tom, many thanks my friend, the first time I’d been here in a few years and it was so bracing on the clifftops with a strong wind off the sea, didn’t realize how strong the sunlight was till the evening by which time I was red as a lobster,
Regards, Rod.

Hi Tina, thank-you very much indeed my friend, there are many more engine pump houses directly behind where I was standing but this one makes a better composition being so close to the Atlantic,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much for the wonderful comment Barb, much appreciated,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much for the visit and kind comment David, much appreciated,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Cheryl, I took quite a number of different compositions and exposures and was happy with the way this one turned out,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Deb, much of the North coast of Cornwall is rugged like this and can be spectacular with heavy waves crashing on the cliffs at times,
Regards, Rod.

Hi Rosie, thank-you so much for your wonderful comment my friend, much appreciated as always,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Luda, this is about 100 miles from where I live, I took it on my recent holiday in Cornwall,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Scott,
Regards, Rod.

Hi Barbara, thank-you so much for the wonderful comment my friend, many famous photographers have taken this scene before and it has also been the subject of many artists over the years but it’s always a pleasure to go there anf get your own image of it.
I parked the car at another old tin mine a couple of miles along the coast and spent most of the afternoon there taking quite a number of coastal scenes along the way,
Regards, Rod.

I don’t watch a lot of television Diane but Coast is one program I always enjoy, it goes round the UK coasline giving spectacular views and interesting history on each place.
Yes you can get down to the higher of the two buildings and there is a viewings spot at the end of it, I didn;t go down on this occasion and regretted it almost right away, many thanks Diane,
Regards, Rod.

I had the time of my life that afternoon Keith, scrambling up and down the coastline with more photo opportunities than I could manage in the time, so much of the industrial history of Cornwall is concentrated along this part of the coast, many thanks as always my friend,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Krys, I have seen much the same view in many of Cornwall’s tourist’s brochures and Net sites, always better to have your own image of it though,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Kathy, you might think that the heavy mining industry of the past would have spoiled the scenery but somehow I feel they add that vital historical link with the past without too much damage to the landscape,
Regards, Rod.

I’m not that confident with heights either recently Robin, I got a little closer to the cliff edge than a person of my age really ought to, many thanks my friend,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Alex,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Gabby,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Felicity, sometimes a photo can tell a story but I always feel it’s helpful to describe it for people who are not familiar with the UK.,
Regards, Rod.

Many thanks again Violetta, much appreciated as always,
Regards, Rod.

Good morning Tai, so pleased you liked it my friend, it was my first visit there for a number of years and the wind was bracing on the clifftops even though it was sunny.
I parked the car at Levant Tine Mine a couple of miles along the coast and so enjoyed every inch of the walk to Botallack and back,
Regards, Rod.

Hi Kim, thank-you very much indeed my friend,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you so much for the wonderful positive comment Anne, much appreciated,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Nick, the pleasure is all mine,
Regards, Rod.

Hi John, the engineers of the past did know quite a bit more than we might give them credit for, I had a tour down the nearby Geevor Tin mine a few years ago and went right down under the sea, also a good demonstration of the automated shuffle boards that sorted out and separated the different ores and was so impressed with the whole set up, of course, life was a lot harder for the working man in those days,many thanks my friend,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much indeed James, much appreciated my friend,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you so much for the wonderful comment Karen, it’s the first time I’ve photographed this scene since I got the Nikon D300 and it beats the older ones with the D100 hands down for detail,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Evita, I’d love to see this when the Atlantic waves are crashing up close to the mine buildings but don’t think I’d get so close to the cliff edge as I did this time,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much indeed,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much PA.,
Regards, Rod.

Many thanks Wanda, much appreciated as always,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Trudi, they could well have been immigrants from this part of Cornwall, there was quite a mass exodus of mining families from Cornwall after the mining boom ended, those who remained struggled to make a living between farming and fishing,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Dave, I am sure I could spend every available moment in Cornwall and never run out of subject matter, the big bonus being the special light Cornwall enjoys in the Summer,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Jacqi, there are many old remains of the tin mining pump houses all along this part of the coast, they do look like a ruined castle though,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Linda, I just love the Cornish coast,
Regards, Rod.

Hello Catherine, thank-you very much indeed, how I wish I was still down there,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Kate, on reflection, I may have gotten a bit too close to the cliff edge for my own good to get this one, I tried a few wider views from further back with foreground showing but the pump houses became too small a part of the scene,
Regards, Rod.

Hi Sandra, thanks so much my friend, much appreciated as always,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Carol,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Bevan, a few years ago we visited the nearby Geevor tin mine, it was the last major mine in the area to close, they are now open as a visitor centre, we had a most interesting tour of the working plant on the surface then went down the mine with a guide and out under the ocean, it was a wonderful day and a most interesting insight into how the mines used to work,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Carol, sometimes a particular subject needs more detailed documentation, I’m just glad that more serious photographers like yourself appreciate a proper description,
Regards, Rod.

Artists started flocking to Newlyn and St.Ives years ago because of that special light, it’s taken us photographers much longer to appreciate it, many thanks Mike,
Regards, Rod

Thank-you very much Don, I have quite a few old film images of it and a few with the old D100, the D300 really shows so much more detail when viewed full size, it was great to walk along this part of the coast again when I was down there, so rugged,
Regards, Rod.

Hello Vadim. thank-you very much indeed my friend,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Howard, tin mining is so much a part of Cornwall’s history,
Regards, Rod.

Good morning Lyn, many thanks my friend, I can recommend the walk I enjoyed the afternoon I took this one, I parked the car in the car park at Levant tin mine, lots of photo opportunities there alone, then slowly walked along the coastal path Westwards less than 2 miles to Botallack mine, breathtaking coastal scenes all the way along, just a suggestion for later in the Summer,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Shaun, I’m sure you’d enjoy the Cornish coast,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Daffo, this scene has been painted by many famous artists over the years, it was good to go there again and get some newer photos of it, it’s so beautiful on this part of the coast,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Sharon, Western Cornwall enjoys a quality of light that is perfect for photography and painting, many artists work in this part of the UK for that very reason, you are never more than a few miles from the Atlantic coast,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Adri,
Regards, Rod.

Hi Fino, thanks so much my friend,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Malcolm, it was the first time I’d been here in years and thoroughly enjoyed the walk from Levant mine and back, for me, this mine captures the essence of Cornish mining history more than any other,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Ron, it was wonderful to be there on such a fine early Summer’s day, the wave action can be truly spectacular here at times,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Chris, if you are down this way, I’m sure you’d enjoy visiting this part of the coast,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much indeed my friend,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Kathy, the wave action is normally a lot more dramatic at this point, makes you wonder what life might have been like for the miners who worked there years ago,
Regards, Rod.

Hello Ken, thank-you so much for the wonderful comment my friend, tin mining is so much a part of the Cornish industrial history and I hoped this scene would portray much of my feelings for the area and the people who worked so hard there in the past,
Regards, Rod.

When we think of how hard life was for people like the tin miners of Cornwall, it really does put things in perspective, makes me smile when I here people complaining about silly little things at work today, thanks for the wonderful comment Rob,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you so much Jens, very kind of you,
Regards, Rod.

Now this is a scene I’d love to see you paint Cynthia, I know you’d be in your element if you could spend some quality time on your art along this part of the coast, many thanks again my friend,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Dorothy, I do take a few images of my home town Torquay but Cornwall has a magic allure for me,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you so much dear Lois, you are too kind my friend,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Hillie, I had a most enjoyable week walking the rugged coast of Cornwall, just love it down there,
Regards, Rod.

I an not familiar with the books Hillie but Cornwall has long been an inspiration for authors and artists alike, I often watch the Doc Martin TV series purely because of it being based in Port Isaac in Cornwall,
Regards, Rod.

Thanks so much again Steve, I just love the rugged Cornish coast, I just wish I could spend a bit more time there,
Regards, Rod.

It was the first time I’d been there for a few years Kala and it was a wonderful afternoon’s walk along this part of the coast, this scene has been painted by many artists over the years and for me, typifies the scenery that attracts so many visitors to the county, thanks so much,
Regards, Rod.

Thank-you very much Richard,
Regards, Rod.