Cornwall Sightseeing

The first records of settlement in Cornwall date back to around 10,000 BC. In fact, the River Tamar is argued to be the oldest drawn border in the western world. As a peninsula jutting out into the Atlantic, our maritime history was foremost; traders from far and wide would make landfall on our shores. Our remarkably productive waters meant our early communities could thrive. The mineral-rich lands allowed for immense wealth and industry to explode. Lastly, tourism is not only a recent phenomenon; our beaches have been well-trodden since the Victorian days. On our trips, we inform our guests on how these industries have shaped our coast and how we can use the lessons of our past to help preserve and, in some cases, rejuvenate our environment. 

Trade Routes and Skulduggery:

Smack in the middle of France, Ireland, and Wales, we became central traders in the Celtic era. Later, as ships grew in size, we set sail across the oceans. Trading boats from all over the world would reach our shores, making our harbors instrumental in the expansion of the British Empire. All the way up to the early 1900s, travel over water was the most efficient mode of transport, especially when transporting goods. Falmouth, Marizion, and Penzance became trading centers long before Cornwall became part of England in 1066. 

With trade came smuggling and wrecking, making up as much as a third of the UK’s economy during the 17th and 18th centuries. Skulduggery was in its heyday. Indeed, more illicit spirits came across Cornish beaches than the London docks. The Carter family, perhaps the most famous of Cornish smugglers, had their own secret harbour just east of Penzance in Prussia Cove. When trading ships made a wrong move as they approached the English Channel, John Carter, better known as the Prince of Prussia, used the rugged cliffs and treacherous lee shores off Land’s End to his advantage by collecting the goods washing up on his shores.

To counter the dangers of our coast, lighthouses were erected throughout the 17th 18th  and 19th centuries. These incredible structures are a feat of engineering that have saved countless numbers of lives. You will learn more as our skilled skippers take you out to the cape, headlands, small bays and inlets that claimed so many ships. 

Tin Within:

Although precious metals were first mined in the early Bronze Age, Cornwall’s tin industry exploded in the mid-17th century and was instrumental in the Industrial Revolution. All kinds of metals and minerals were dug out of ancient and rich fault lines. Tin, most famously, but also copper, arsenic, silver, and even gold, brought huge wealth to our area. 

Although tin is still widely used, there are only remnants of the old tin mines scattered around nowadays. The last mine, South Crofty, closed in the mid-1990s. The scale of this industry is hard to picture, but vast areas of our coast have been shaped by mining. On our cliff tops, our engine houses seem intrinsic to our landscapes, but an incredible network of mineshafts beneath the ground is largely forgotten. The early shafts were dug by hand through the Cornish granite, some stretching up to 2 kilometers out under the sea. 

It’s not only the metals being dug that made Cornwall’s mines so instrumental to the Industrial Revolution, but many groundbreaking innovations and technologies that originated in the mines sent shockwaves through wider life. Such as the Cornish engine, making the power of steam much more efficient, leading to pump stations, then later to steam ships and locomotives, which, alongside others, reshaped the world. Knowledge also spread across the world as the “Jacks,” as they were known, took their knowledge far from our shores to make fortunes elsewhere. Indeed, you can find identical engine houses all across the world, from India to Mexico. 

Quite the legacy! And we have not even mentioned the Cornish pasty. 

Pilchard Fishing:

It was the humble Cornish pilchard, now better known as a sardine, that made up the share of the local fisherman’s catch. Initially, to ensure locals would not starve during harsh winter months, it later became its own industry with our salted pilchards being consumed all across Europe. 

Before the industrialisation of fishing, massive shoals were so large they could be spotted from the cliff tops as they migrated south in search of plankton. Fishermen would row huge cotton seine nets out around the fish. Then, to close and tighten the trap, lines would go ashore to capstans and horses. Once the nets were hauled into bays, such as Penberth, the fish had nowhere to go; folk would use buckets to scoop up the fish for market or preservation. The biggest catch ever recorded was in 1834 in Mounts Bay, where 30 million fish were landed, still holding the world’s largest haul record. However, this industry declined in the 19th century, which in turn left many small fishing villages struggling to make ends meet. Get the full story on our trips as we enter the historic fishing ports.