We awoke to wet and grey weather in our first morning in Penzance but were rewarded with a quintessential English hot breakfast, including multiple choices of eggs, toast, bacon (distinct from “streaky bacon”), tomatoes, mushrooms, porridge, and even “hogs pudding”, a type of sausage.

Some of us stayed comfortably in the B&B, but a few others explored the stalls of food and crafts for “Quay Day”, the last day of the midsummer festival, which were just starting to open.

The clouds started to clear by mid-day as we boarded the #10A bus – a double decker! – to take us to the Geevor Tin Mine.  The views from the top deck were lovely, including a patchwork of rolling fields and hedgerows, flocks of sheep and cows, and very narrow lanes edged with trees that the top of bus kept scraping as we passed.

The Geevor Tin Mine represents an important part of Cornish history – the mine complex includes over a hundred miles of underground tunnels, some extending out under the ocean up to half a mile deep.  When the mine ultimately closed for good in 1997 (a result of crashing tin prices worldwide) the surrounding community rallied to keep the equipment from being sold and to preserve their mining heritage in the form of an interactive museum.  

One can still travel through the works and see the machines that processed the ore – including ball grinders, conveyors, shaker tables, and other separation units.  We also enjoyed seeing the massive machinery that kept the mine working.  We had a chance to pan for “gold” (a mix of colorful minerals in beds of sand) and to take a guided tour in the mine tunnels themselves, complete with hard hats and mining jackets.  We ended our visit with some proper Cornish ice cream in the museum’s cafe with a view.