Devoran, Cornwall – the Old Mining Port at the Head of Restronguet Creek

HOLIDAYS IN DEVORAN

Devoran is a quiet, attractive village at the head of Restronguet Creek, where the Carnon River meets the tidal waters of the Fal. Its terraces of cottages climb the hillside above the old quays, and the views down the creek, with boats on their moorings and wooded shores, are lovely at any state of the tide.

It is hard to believe now, but in the 19th century Devoran was one of the busiest ports in Cornwall. The Redruth and Chasewater Railway brought copper ore down the Carnon Valley from the great mines of Gwennap to the quays here, where ships loaded it for the smelters of South Wales and unloaded coal and timber for the mines. The village grew up as a planned new town for the railway and port workers.

The trains stopped running in 1915, and today the old railway is the Coast to Coast Trail, a traffic-free path for walkers and cyclists that runs from Devoran right across Cornwall to Portreath on the north coast. It is one of the most popular family cycle rides in the county.

Devoran makes a peaceful base for exploring the Fal and its creeks, with Truro, Falmouth, Feock and Mylor all close by. The village has a pub with views over the creek, a GP surgery and a primary school, and the shops of Carnon Downs are a short way up the hill.

For somewhere to stay, see Feock holiday cottages – Devoran lies in the parish of Feock – and holidays and short breaks in Feock.

Best Time to Visit Devoran

Spring and autumn are perfect for cycling and walking the Coast to Coast Trail, when it is quieter than in the school holidays. Summer brings the Devoran Regatta and gig racing on the creek, and long evenings at the Old Quay Inn. In winter the creek is peaceful, with wading birds on the mud at low tide.

The trail car park and the village lanes can be busy on fine summer weekends – arrive early, or come by bus.

THE PORT & THE RAILWAY

In the early 1800s a series of small quays developed at the head of Restronguet Creek to serve the mines of the Carnon Valley and Gwennap. The great step forward came with the Redruth and Chasewater Railway, authorised by Act of Parliament in 1824 and opened on 30 January 1826. Masterminded by the mining engineer John Taylor to serve his Consolidated Mines, it ran for about nine miles from Redruth down the Carnon Valley to Devoran, with an extension along the creek to Point Quay. It never carried passengers, and despite its name it never reached Chacewater.

At first the wagons were pulled by horses, but in 1854 the company bought two steam locomotives, Miner and Smelter, and a third, Spitfire, followed; the line to Point was still worked by horses. Devoran was the railway’s headquarters, with its engine sheds and workshops. In the mid-19th century as many as twenty cargo ships a week docked here, loading copper ore and tin for the smelters of South Wales and bringing in coal for the mine engines.

But the mud washed down from the mines was a constant problem, slowly silting up the channel. As the mines declined, so did the railway: the last train ran on 25 September 1915, when Miner made the final trip back to the engine sheds at Devoran, and the last coal ship sailed out of Restronguet in the summer of 1916. The quays and the shape of the old port can still be seen along the creekside today.

THE COAST TO COAST TRAIL

Devoran is the southern end of the Coast to Coast Trail, also known as the Bissoe Trail, part of the Mineral Tramways network and the National Cycle Network. It follows the routes of old mineral tramways right across Cornwall to the harbour at Portreath on the north coast – about 11 miles, almost all of it traffic-free and fairly level, so it is ideal for families and less experienced cyclists.

From Devoran the trail runs up the Carnon Valley beside the river, passing beneath the tall stone piers of the Carnon Viaduct on the main railway line, to Bissoe, about two miles away, where there is a café and bike hire. Beyond, it climbs gently through the Bissoe Valley Nature Reserve, a former mine site returned to nature with heathland, woods and ponds, and on past some of the best-preserved mine buildings in Cornwall to the sea at Portreath.

The landscape along the trail is part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site. Many people cycle from Portreath to Devoran and back in a day, or start at Bissoe for a shorter ride down to the creek and lunch in Devoran.

• The Mineral Tramways – Cornwall Council
• Mineral Tramways Coast to Coast route

ST JOHN & ST PETROC’S CHURCH

As the port grew, Devoran needed its own church. The church of St John the Evangelist and St Petroc was built in 1855–56 to designs by John Loughborough Pearson, the architect who later designed Truro Cathedral. It is a simple building of nave and chancel only, with a tall slender bellcote, and was renovated in 1879. Until 1873 Devoran was part of the parish of Feock; that year the parish was divided to create the new parish of Devoran.

In the churchyard lies Thomas Lobb, the Victorian plant hunter who, like his brother William, collected plants in Asia for the famous Veitch nurseries, and a memorial garden near his headstone remembers the two brothers. The church is now one of the Waterside Churches, a group of parishes around the Fal.

HISTORY OF DEVORAN

The Carnon Valley above Devoran had been worked for tin since prehistoric times, and the tin streamers followed the tin-rich gravels down into the creek itself. In the 18th century the copper mines of Gwennap, then among the richest in the world, needed a way to ship their ore, and quays at Point, Pill and Roundwood in Feock parish handled the trade. In the early 1800s local businessmen saw the potential for a new, improved port at the head of the creek, and the opening of the Redruth and Chasewater Railway in 1826 gave it a great boost.

Devoran grew rapidly, and a new town was laid out for the railway and port workers. The full plan was never completed, but parts of the village still keep the character of the original layout. The village hall was built around 1854 as a workshop for the railway company, using granite railway blocks in its walls. On the bank of the estuary nearby stands the ruined engine house of Carnon Mine.

The railway closed in 1915 and the port soon followed. Today Devoran is a peaceful residential village, the home of Feock Parish Council at the Old Market Hall, of the Devoran Gig Club and an annual regatta, and of countless walkers and cyclists setting out on the Coast to Coast Trail.

Key Buildings

• Church of St John and St Petroc – the church of 1855–56 by John Loughborough Pearson. See the church above.
• The quays – the old wharves of the railway port along the creekside, some still with their original bollards.
• The village hall – built around 1854 as a workshop for the Redruth and Chasewater Railway.
• The Old Market Hall, Market Street – now the offices of Feock Parish Council.
• The Old Quay Inn, St John’s Terrace – the village pub, with views over the creek.

NOTABLE PEOPLE

• John Taylor (1779–1863) – the mining engineer behind the Gwennap Consolidated Mines and the Redruth and Chasewater Railway, which created the port of Devoran.
• John Loughborough Pearson (1817–1897) – the architect of Devoran’s church of 1855–56, who went on to design Truro Cathedral.
• Thomas Lobb – the Victorian plant hunter, who collected plants in Asia for the Veitch nurseries, is buried in Devoran churchyard, with a memorial garden to him and his brother William.

WALKS FROM DEVORAN

Feock Parish Council’s Feock Trails include a walk around Devoran – “a railway, a port and a new town” – starting from the village hall, with its account of the village’s industrial history, and following the quay edges around the creek. Another trail follows the Old Tram Road, the horse-worked extension of the railway, along the creek to Point Quay, returning past the remains of Carnon Mine and through the woods.

For a longer outing, walk or cycle the Coast to Coast Trail up the Carnon Valley to Bissoe and its nature reserve, or all the way to Portreath on the north coast.

• Feock Parish Council – Feock Trails
• Restronguet Creek – Cornwall Online
• Walking in Cornwall – Cornwall Online walks

THINGS TO DO IN AND AROUND DEVORAN

1. Cycle the Coast to Coast Trail to Bissoe or all the way to Portreath.
2. Explore the old quays and the story of the railway port.
3. Walk the Old Tram Road to Point Quay – Restronguet Creek.
4. Visit the church by J. L. Pearson, then see his masterpiece, Truro Cathedral.
5. Have lunch at the Pandora Inn across the creek, or at the Old Quay Inn in the village.
6. Swim or paddle at Loe Beach – Feock.
7. Visit Trelissick, the National Trust garden on the Fal – Trelissick.
8. Spend a day in Truro or Falmouth – Truro, Falmouth.

LOCAL EVENTS

• Devoran Regatta (summer) – the village’s annual regatta on Restronguet Creek, with gig racing, sailing and fun on the quay, hosted with the Devoran Gig Club.
• Feock Regatta (summer) – working boats and sailing races off Feock – see Feock.
• Truro events – the Truro Food Festival in late September and the Christmas market from late November – see Truro.

Dates change from year to year – check Feock Parish Council and local noticeboards for this year’s events.

PLACES NEAR DEVORAN

• Restronguet Creek – Point Quay, Restronguet Point and the Pandora Inn.
• Feock – Loe Beach, St Feock’s church, Trelissick and the King Harry Ferry.
• Mylor – Mylor Bridge and the yacht harbour at Mylor Churchtown.
• Truro – Cornwall’s cathedral city, about five miles north-east.
• Falmouth – about seven miles south along the A39.
• Portreath – on the north coast, at the other end of the Coast to Coast Trail – Portreath beach.