Pendeen, Trewellard,
St Just

The village of Pendeen consists of a Church, a Post Office, a general stores, two pubs, a Gem and Jewellery Workshop, a pottery, a general stores and a fish and chip shop. On entering the village on the right hand side is The Radjel (meaning a pile of stones where a fox makes its home) which provides accommodation, a varied menu and a separate room with a pool table. A little further down on the left is the Gem and Jewellery Workshop, opposite which can be found The Old Counthouse (an ex tin-mining accounting house, as the name suggests) offering B & B accommodation amid lovely grounds in a quiet location and where the traveller can also rest and enjoy a Cornish cream tea in this lovely old house. Almost next door is Boscaswell Stores, offering all the provisions needed for the holiday cottage and hot and cold refreshments for the traveller.

The village Post Office leading to The North Inn, a traditional Cornish Inn offering good, home-cooked food and B&B accommodation and with the added bonus of a large, attractive garden at the rear looking out towards the Atlantic Ocean. Opposite the car park is a road leading to Pendeen lighthouse (now open to the public) which on a foggy day issues a mournful warning to ships that evokes all the emotions wrought by past tragedies and mysterious happenings off the treacherous, rocky coast but which, on a sunny day, is a beauty spot well worth seeing. The active may like to take a relatively short walk down to Boat Cove from the lighthouse and swim in the sun-warmed rock pool (deep, only for swimmers) and, if fortunate, spot a seal playing in the sheltered cove or watch a working boat come in with its catch. Alternatively, follow the coastal path across the top to Portheras beach. Either way, the scenery and colours are spectacular. On the way back the road passes Pendeen Manor Farm, beside which can be found the Pendeen Fougou. The word 'fougou' is an old Cornish word once used to describe both man-made and natural caves that are believed to date back to the early Iron Age. Their function, however, remains an archeological enigma on which there is as yet no universal agreement, which gives their exploration an added tinge of speculative interest.

Beside the car park in the village is a walk up to Carn Eanes, about which abound numerous tales of UFO sightings and strange goings-on that are open to individual interpretation. There is no doubt, however, that its summit does have a weird and mystical quality that defies explanation, and it most certainly provides a wonderful panoramic view of the horizon from Lands End to The Gurnard's Head and beyond.

Back on the road toward St Just, and if the weary traveller would like to stay awhile to enjoy the village hospitality and a few entertaining yarns. Geevor Mine, one of the last working tin mines in Cornwall to close, is now open for guided tours which take from one and a half to two hours to complete and sometimes need to be booked in advance during the height of the season, for which a stopover is well worthwhile and will provide a valuable insight into the history of the area.