This view is taken from the same viewpoint as in the 19th century photograph .  More views  North view Mid view South view The Stamp engine Sump Shaft Pearce's Shaft

This is one of the  finest viewpoints in Cornwall to see the impact  of the passage of time on a closed mine. South Caradon’s main features lay spread out across the Seaton Valley with the scars its burrows scarring the hillside behind. The  multiple levels of the site can still identified although most of the revetment walling has collapsed. Apart from a few remaining  stumps all of the wooden structures have long rotted away and the heaps of waste rock that neatly covered the valley floor have been removed. 

Grazing is light on Caradon hill and this has allowed vegetation to invading some of the site. Gorse, bracken, and thorn trees now hide many of the buildings and although the tree roots are damaging walls the cover has provided some protection from vandalism and stone robbing. Minerals within the waste has kept the burrows almost vegetation free although and these provide goof reference points to compare the new and old views. 

Post closure reworking of the burrows and extraction of building stone has had a  impact on the site. Of the buildings only the engine houses higher up on the hill now have walls standing to any height. The  company extracting the material built new tracks, added a loading structure and also possibly covered some of the valley floor with waste, hiding many features. (ref CAU). Some of the material covering the valley floor could have also have been dumped there as landfill from builders rubble. River water flowing across the floor has hidden features by depositing silt and in some places cut erosion gullies into the original floor levels.  
  
In recent years damage has is been caused by  unofficial recreational use of the mine by motorbikes, quads and occasional car parking. This activity is causing new tracks and to cut formed and rutting through some of the earthworks.  

Whilst many changes have occurred since the 1880’s the mines landscape still offers the opportunity to visualise the scale and complexity of operations supporting the mining of copper in a typical Cornish copper mine. 

On many mine sites in Cornwall dangers may still exist, many hidden.   This web site is published as a resource to those using the public rights of way.

TeamManley