Mellanvrane mine, Mellanvrane, Angarrack

If you turn right at the Loggans Mill Roundabout into Guildford Road going towards the Fish and Chip Shop, and then left into Marsh Lane alongside the river, you will come to the Footbridge (10) which crosses the By-Pass. From the Footbridge you can see the raised Track-Bed (11) of the now re-routed Hayle to Redruth Railway Line running across the fields towards Angarrack. The wagons were hauled up the steep 1:10 gradient of the Angarrack Incline by a steam engine, hence the name Steamer's Hill. The line ran parallel to the road which climbs steadily after it passes the Angarrack Inn (12).

This incline can be seen from the Footbridge as a row of trees and shrubs, as can the magnificent Viaduct (13) which replaced the original wooden structure in 1886. This, in turn, had replaced the system of wagon-haulage when the line was re-routed by the West Cornwall Railway.

Between 1852 and 1853 Angarrack also had its own Rail- 64 way Station, located on the north side of the line at Mile-stone 318, but nothing remains of it today.

Angarrack, or “Vellan Vrahan”, means the “Mill by the Rookery”. It is a delightful village with its many fine 18th and 19th century buildings built alongside the Angarrack Stream. The village was built on the wealth of its Smelting Works, said to be the first to be established by Becher and Associates of Germany, on the site of the first local smelter, opened in 1704. It continued working until 1881, processing ore from the Wheal Alfred consols close by, and was the first one in the County to use reverbatory furnaces.

In the steep valley at the western end of the village is the site of Mellanvrane, one of the earliest mentioned of the Hayle mines. Recorded by Dr. John Woodwards, a geolo-gist, in 1726, it lay near the western approach of the present viaduct. Other local mines include Mellanoweth, Herland, Angarrack ViaductAngarrack Viaduct 65 Nanpusker, Prince George and Relistan, an ancient “Tynn Working”, open-cast site, exploiting the exposed veins of pure Cassiterite (Tin Ore), first listed in 1502. Tin Stamps are recorded at Hillside from 1670 onwards.

The Grist Mill and Forge, at the top of Grist Lane, date from 1703, but corn-milling on the Angarrack Stream began in about 1343. The village boasted a Bolitho Counting-House, a Wesleyan Chapel and a Pump by the mid-19th century, when its population was recorded as being 100 persons.

The Angarrack Stream follows the road back towards Hayle, past the Rugby Club (14) alongside Marsh Lane and, from there, flows back towards your starting point at the Penmare via the Caravan Park. This has a small section of one of the original Railway Bridges situated in it from the West Cornwall Line.

By following either the path through the Caravan Park or Guildford Road back up to the roundabout, you can return to your starting point at the Penmare Hotel.