Kennall Vale - Derelict Gunpowder Mill and Woodland Walk

Kennall Vale Nature Reserve was once a thriving industrial landscape.  From 1812 to 1910 it was the site of the Kennall Vale Gunpowder Company.

The gunpowder works used the River Kennall that formed the valley and still flows today as the power source for it's many water wheels.  The gunpowder made here was used in the Gwennap area mines as well as being exported oversees.

The area was also used for granite quarrying as evidenced by the now flooded quarry just off the main path as you enter the circular walk around the site.

In total, there were around 56 buildings within this small wooded valley.  Most are now in such a poor state that they are difficult to identify if they leave any evidence of their existence at all.

The works suffered a number of accidents over the years it operated and was responsible for many deaths, including the decapitation of one poor worker whose head was reported to be found half a mile away!  The West Briton Newspaper at the time reported 'he was seen to go into the glossing mill to bring out some more powder, and presently afterwards the mill was blown up in the air with a tremendous explosion which was heard many miles around, and shook the houses a considerable distance off…The head of the deceased was discovered about a quarter of a mile from the spot, and other parts of his body were afterwards collected from different places.’ 

For this reason many people consider these woods to be amongst the most haunted in the country.

The site is now protected under the Cornish Mining World Heritage group of sites for it's archaeology as well the Wildlife Trust for it's new inhabitants.

It is free to enter although there is no car parking for the site and you have to use the public streets by the entrance to woodland.

Cornish Mining produce a short but informative leaflet about the area available from HERE