CAR FREE DAYS OUT ... how to enjoy St Austell without the car! CL09 Luxulyan Valley A World Heritage Status Site. Grid Ref The Luxulyan Valley is approximately 140 acres in size and is situated 6 kilometres northeast of St Austell. It extends for over 2 kilometres and consists of a 100m deep wooded valley at F:1 the bottom of which runs the River Par and the Par to Newquay Railway line. Gifted by English China Clays (now Imerys) to Cornwall County Council in 1992, the Luxulyan Valley is managed by them in conjunction with other interested parties. In recognition of the Luxulyan Luxulyan Valley’s historic importance to ‘Cornish Mining’ it was given World Heritage status in July 2006. Valley The ‘management’, and exploitation, of the Luxulyan Valley has been evident in one form Luxulyan or another for many 100’s if not 1000’s of years. 50 years ago it was an industrial corridor for the drying of China Clay on its way to Par Harbour, 150 years ago as a source for high The Village is served by quality granite, and as a transportation corridor with the construction of the tramway, and 300 rail from Par and Newquay and by bus from St Austell station. The Valley lies 1 mile from the village - Alternatively alight from the bus at Tywardreath Highway level crossing and walk along the footpath by canal to Ponts Mill, ½ mile. See grid ref ‘F:1’ on the St Austell Discovery Map years ago for tin streaming. Prior to this there is evidence of timber management, coppicing and charcoal burning taking place 500 years ago, and with Prideaux Hill Fort close by it would seem that habitation and use of the valley for hunting, fishing, timber, etc would have probably taken place over 1000 years ago. Today the Luxulyan Valley still holds an incredible concentration of early 19th century industrial remains highlighted by the magnificentT reffry Viaduct, now a Scheduled Monument. There are many other manmade features still evident in the valley. The 3 mile Fowey Consols Leat was built in the 1820’s by Treffry to supply water from Gatty’s Bridge to his copper mine the other side of Penpillick Hill. His cleverly engineered viaduct completed in 1842 served two purposes, one to carry a horse drawn tramway that linked Treffry’s granite and clay quarries to his new harbour at Par, and secondly to include an aqueduct that supplied water to drive a 30 feet diameter water wheel, which it turn supplied the power to haul wagons up the 1 in 7 WWW.STAUSTELLMAP.CO.UKWWW.STAUSTELLMAP.CO.UK incline plane that is today referred to as Carmears Incline. When the tramway was replaced by the Cornwall Minerals Railway the water wheel was changed to a 40 foot diameter one and used to power a China Stone Mill. CL09 The coal-fired Trevanney China Clay Kiln, built in the 1920’s processed the piped clay from Hensbarrow Moor until the 1960’s. At Ponts Mill (originally the lowest crossing point of the Par Estuary) there are still many signs of it being an important focal point of the Valley’s Luxulyan entire tramway system, as well as its links to Par Harbour. Valley Today, close to the old China Stone Dry, there is a small insignificant building that holds a Hydro-Electric turbine. Abandoned by Imerys some years ago it is once again working as a For more information Community project, supplying electricity into the National Grid it brings much needed funds www.luxulyanvalley.co.uk to the Valley and surrounding communities. Once again there is industry back in the Valley, but this time in a very ‘Green’ way thanks to the pioneering work by Joseph Austen Treffry. The Village is served by rail from Par and Newquay and by bus from St Austell station. The Valley lies 1 mile from the village - Alternatively alight from the bus at Tywardreath Highway level crossing and walk along the footpath by canal to Ponts Mill, ½ mile. Open access all year The biodiversity within the Luxulyan Valley today is immense. The various habitats found in the valley – dense woodland, wetland, running water, steep cliffs, scrubland, meadow, as well as mans involvement in quarrying and construction, has created home to many See grid ref ‘F:1’ on the species, some rare, of flora and fauna. The bluebells, Red Campian, ferns and other wild St Austell Discovery Map flowers have to be seen to be believed. Huge varieties of fungi, insects, fish and amphibians provide an ideal environment for bats, birds, foxes, badgers, otters, and roe deer to thrive. For more information about the Luxulyan Valley please see www.luxulyanvalley.co.uk Discover St Austell “Today the Luxulyan Valley still holds without the magnificent Treffry Viaduct, the car! now a Scheduled Monument!”.