Tin - the powerhouse of Cornwall's industrial past. Oak wooded, heather topped valleys with crystal streams once throbbed with the racket of tin streaming - winning precious metals. Engine houses and stacks bear stark, romantic testament to a heritage borne of the bravery and determination of generations of miners and Bal maidens.
A short distance inland from Perranporth, St. Agnes and Chapel Porth are the Victorian towns of Camborne and Redruth - both produced world-class inventors and engineers. Camborne's Richard Trevithick created the world's first steam-powered road engine in 1801. His achievements are celebrated at Camborne's annual Trevithick Day celebrations in April. Redruth was an astonishing crucible of industry, the Scottish engineer William Murdoch lived here in the late 18th century and developed domestic gas lighting. Today, Camborne and Redruth are busy shopping and commercial centres that share a legacy of handsome 19th-century buildings and a remarkable industrial archaeology.
Further inland is Stithians Lake, for fishing, sailing, sailboarding and recently the stunning wake-boarding championships. For views of the whole region take the roads to Carn Brea or Carn Marth above Camborne. From here you can see St Ives, St Michael's Mount, Falmouth and east to Clay Country. Near here is the Great Flat Lode Trail through the mines and high moors.