Liskeard & Caradon Railway – Tokenbury Corner

From this open land on the side of Caradon Hill you get an idea of the wider landscape which gave birth to the District’s industrial history.

To the north the granite hill rises beyond 1000ft above sea level making a convenient site for 20th Century communication masts. To the south and east the killas bedrock has been eroded to wide valleys where the fault lines have created settlements. Here veins of galena were mined for lead and silver.

The distant River Tamar cut through the granite spine to provide a border between Devon and Cornwall. On a clear day you can see the granite tors of Dartmoor where Devon’s hard rock mines are found. Heading east from the car park, the railway’s granite sleepers can be followed on foot around the contour to Minions.

The remains of discarded mines can be seen along the way. Heading north west the contoured track leads through the many ruined buildings of South Caradon mine to Gonamena where another branch of the railway came up to collect the ore.

The project to support the creation of the leaflets and podcasts was made possible by a grant from the East Cornwall Local Action Group