Cot Valley

Cornwall Information & Accommodation Guide

Cot Valley leads from close to St Just town to the sea at Porth Nanven, or Penanwell as it is sometimes called, a tumbling stream rushes through a valley lush with vegetation.

The Cot Valley contains many relics of its former association with mining. It is believed that mining work was being carried on here as early as the Medieval period. The valley sides are dotted with mine shafts and other evidence of metal mining. The stream would have been dammed at one time to provide a stable source of water power for the tin dressing works which relied on it. A number of water mills operated in the valley.

One of the mills, at Wheal Bellan, was electrically powered. Wheal Bellan mill was built about 1914 and underwent modifications in the late 1940s. In the latter years of working, the electricity was produced using a Pelton wheel. The remains of this can be viewed on the south side of the stream.

Wheal Bellan (Bellon) was a tin mine which extracted cassiterite ore (tin oxide) from veins in the lower part of the valley.

Location:
Located in the Penwith district of Cornwall on the North coast of the Land's End peninsula. Accessed from St Just-in-Penwith.

IntoCornwall Area Map: Land's End Peninsula

Road directions to Cot Valley

Books online:
Click here to buy books online about Cot Valley

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