Greyson
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Today I went for a walk around another forest with ruins; the Kennall Vale south of Truro. I just thought I'd post for those of you interested in the outdoors.
I love ruins, but these are a lot more recent than the pictures I have posted before. These date from the 1600's until about 1910. The Kennall Vale became the largest manufacturer of gunpowder in Cornwall in the 1800s, however it was beset by several gruesome accidents and frequent fatalities of its workers. In the 1850's a series of accidents destroyed many of the buildings there: in one instance, five factory buildings exploded together, and they found the roof of one 2 miles distant! On that day, one of the killed workers was noted to have left behind a wife and ten children. It doesn't bear thinking about. Anyhow, it's an interesting place, now being reclaimed by the wood, and I think the ruined buildings are worth a look.
I found some really vibrantly green moss covered rocks, figured it would be a nice contrast against the pipe I was carrying, and make for a unusual entry in the 'what are you smoking' thread
Heavy stoneworks are scattered about, some were co-opted into manufacturing use
The limestone quarry has now become a small lake
It's difficult to have a bad day when you're faced with that kind of expression
There are rickety bridges in place, but crossing some of the streams and rivers is not for the faint hearted!
Many of the buildings still have the remains of their working equipment, these cogs were huge. Also, in this room I stupidly stepped on / in a mine shaft that I thought was solid mud, turned out... not so much, nearly went in to my waist. Good times.
Lots of channelled streams are diverted between buildings to power what would have been water wheels
Large millstones lie by many of the buildings in this part of the vale, my map tells me this was one of the gunpowder refining houses
I lost track of the number of small streams I passed, most of them had been directed near the buildings
The last two buildings merging into the wood. I stopped here to smoke a pipe, it was very peaceful. The Vale is now a nature reserve, and there is constant birdsong as you pass through it. With that and the sound of streams and waterfalls along the way, this is definitely a good place to take a pipe and enjoy a little nature.
Speaking of which, I was trying to get a good picture of Mishka, but she was too intent on finding a small creature to murder. You can never get them to look at you when you want!
Anyhow, that's where I spent my day, if you got this far I hope you found the pictures interesting.
I love ruins, but these are a lot more recent than the pictures I have posted before. These date from the 1600's until about 1910. The Kennall Vale became the largest manufacturer of gunpowder in Cornwall in the 1800s, however it was beset by several gruesome accidents and frequent fatalities of its workers. In the 1850's a series of accidents destroyed many of the buildings there: in one instance, five factory buildings exploded together, and they found the roof of one 2 miles distant! On that day, one of the killed workers was noted to have left behind a wife and ten children. It doesn't bear thinking about. Anyhow, it's an interesting place, now being reclaimed by the wood, and I think the ruined buildings are worth a look.
I found some really vibrantly green moss covered rocks, figured it would be a nice contrast against the pipe I was carrying, and make for a unusual entry in the 'what are you smoking' thread
Heavy stoneworks are scattered about, some were co-opted into manufacturing use
The limestone quarry has now become a small lake
It's difficult to have a bad day when you're faced with that kind of expression
There are rickety bridges in place, but crossing some of the streams and rivers is not for the faint hearted!
Many of the buildings still have the remains of their working equipment, these cogs were huge. Also, in this room I stupidly stepped on / in a mine shaft that I thought was solid mud, turned out... not so much, nearly went in to my waist. Good times.
Lots of channelled streams are diverted between buildings to power what would have been water wheels
Large millstones lie by many of the buildings in this part of the vale, my map tells me this was one of the gunpowder refining houses
I lost track of the number of small streams I passed, most of them had been directed near the buildings
The last two buildings merging into the wood. I stopped here to smoke a pipe, it was very peaceful. The Vale is now a nature reserve, and there is constant birdsong as you pass through it. With that and the sound of streams and waterfalls along the way, this is definitely a good place to take a pipe and enjoy a little nature.
Speaking of which, I was trying to get a good picture of Mishka, but she was too intent on finding a small creature to murder. You can never get them to look at you when you want!
