AN HISTORIC mining site in the Tamar Valley is once again open for the public to enjoy.
A viewing platform, boardwalks and steps at Okel Tor Mine have been extensively refurbished or replaced, and were declared open by Calstock Parish Councillor Alastair Tinto at a celebratory reception.
Okel Tor Mine is a scheduled monument lying in the heart of The Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site.
It is also an SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) and part of the Tamar Valley National Landscape. The paths around the former mine buildings and along the riverside are hugely popular with walkers, bird watchers and naturalists.
Owners of Okel Tor Mine, Jon and Jenny Tully, thanked members of the local community who have helped with the project and acknowledged the generous funding of the FiPL (Farming in Protected Landscape) programme.
“It’s a privilege to have stewardship of this special place, which we are delighted to share with the Calstock community and visitors from further afield. The new boardwalks, viewing platform and interpretation boards are a substantial improvement and will benefit everyone who enjoys visiting Okel Tor Mine.”
At its peak during the mining era of the mid 19th century, the Okel Tor Silver, Lead and Copper Mining Company employed some 200 people. This included women and children, although it was only the older boys who were allowed to work underground.
When prices for tin and copper fell, the mine was eventually closed and lay abandoned for more than 100 years. It was some years before all the machinery was removed, and then over the decades, nature reclaimed the site. It was purchased as a complete ruin in around the year 2000 by two men who turned two buildings into a home, and two more into holiday accommodation.
Fast forward to 2023: Jon Tully had spent ten years working as housemaster at the Charter House boarding school and he and wife Jenny were looking for a place to find tranquility. After long years of searching for something that would be very special – not only a project but a place to put down roots forever – they found Okel Tor.
“We were looking for the opportunity to live somewhere unique, somewhere that had history and archaeology, somewhere beautiful, and the chance to put something back,” Jon explains.
“What we’ve bought is the privilege to look after this place.
“It’s not like buying a house with a garden. It’s 16 acres of National Landscape, and scheduled monuments.”
Over the year since they moved in, the couple has faced various challenges. With so much woodland, and much of it clinging to steep banks, tree management is a big thing, says Jon.
“We’ve had trees down in the winter storms, which is alarming. We’ve had Cornish walls collapse during the terrible weather, and we had the choice of leaving them, replacing them with breeze blocks or doing what we thought was the right thing, and getting in a Cornish dry stone waller to do the job.”
The Tully’s home is striking for the 80 foot mining chimney that dominates the kitchen. But birds don’t discriminate about where they drop seeds, and so chimney management – including removing a sycamore growing out from the structure – is also an ongoing task.
Jon and Jenny have loved welcoming guests to the two holiday cottages throughout the year. A worrying moment came when a wood pellet boiler sprung a leak on Boxing Day, but the couple was able to locate a mobile welder who was prepared to come out and help!
Looking back over the past 12 months, Jon says they’re proud to have made the site more user-friendly for as many people as possible to enjoy, whether that be ramblers interested in the history of Okel Tor, nature lovers who come hoping to catch a glimpse of the birds, small mammals, and abundant insects and butterflies, or boaters and kayakers on the water who appreciate a different view as they come down the Tamar.
There’s a lot of footfall, as Okel Tor lies on the Tamara Way, an 87-mile route along the borders of the River Tamar connecting Plymouth in the south to Bude in the north.
“The locals have really embraced what we’re doing,” says Jenny.
“We get a few photographers. It’s a lovely, thriving natural environment with lots of biodiversity. We see foxes, deer, badgers, woodpeckers and kingfishers, and there are barn and tawny owls and otters, as well as a wealth of other birds, small mammals, lizards, moths and caterpillars.”
The Tullys have forged connections with Exeter University and students plan to come and do field work at Okel Tor. There’s also a partnership with the Tavistock Task Force, whose volunteers will be doing some site management.
“The stewardship is ongoing,” says Jon, “and we’re keen to encourage groups to use the site.”
