Walk Caradon - Discover the Workplaces and Stories of Liskeard Miners

As part of Liskeard Unlocked Brian Oldham is leading  a guided walk around Caradon, discover more about the lives of the copper miners that lived in Liskeard and walked the seven miles return journey to work. Approx 3 miles, 2 hours with stops at several sites. Maximum 25 people.

Places are limited and booking is ESSENTIAL – email Liskeard Tourist Information Centre at [email protected], call 01579 349148. Registration opens 19^th August at 10am, and closes 12^th September at 1pm. Sunday 15th September, Meet at Tokenbury Corner, 2pm.

When miners first arrived from West and Mid Cornwall to work in the newly discovered copper mines around Caradon Hill they lived in Liskeard and walked the seven miles return journey to work. The walk will visit the remains of their workplaces and hear some of their stories.

News of the discovery of copper around Caradon Hill in the 1830s attracted miners from the parts of Cornwall where mines were closing and workers were being laid off. A move to Liskeard was less daunting than emigration to the Americas, South Africa and Australiasia, as many other Cornishmen did. The tiny rural villages around Caradon Hill, such as St Cleer and Pensilva, had no accommodation to offer them. Rather than live in tents on Bodmin Moor, the newcomers initially lived in quickly erected basic rows of small cottages, called Courts, in Liskeard such as Cook’s Court in Barn Street and Martin’s Court in West Street. Until house building started in the closer to work villages, miners had to walk three and a half miles before and after their ten hour shift. The walk will centre round South Caradon Mine, their main employer, and hear something of their lives.