Inside caves beneath iconic Cornwall engine house

Submerged caves lie beneath one of Cornwall's most famous engine houses, writes explorer Ben Dunstan. YouTuber Ben o Cam and his team of underground explorers explored the underground mine workings of Wheal Coates Tin Mine, near St Agnes on the north Cornish coast.

The mine, which is one of the most photographed engine houses in the county, stands on a network of tunnels which are partly underwater. Wheal Coates was established in 1802 and, despite being a famous Cornish landmark, was not actually a very successful mine, opening and closing several times until finally shutting for good in 1914.

Records show that the mine produced 335 tons of copper ore in 1836 and 700 tons of tin in 1861. The most famous engine house here is the much-loved Towanroath pumping house, which reached a depth of over 600ft and whose workings even extended deep under the sea.

READ MORE: UFO sightings in Cornwall as some seen by 'multiple witnesses'

READ MORE: Thug who smashed hospital equipment among criminals sentenced by magistrates

The majority of the mine is now fully submerged, but Ben and his team were still able to enter some of the mine workings via the giant sea cave on the beach only accessible at low tide for a few hours, directly below the engine house. You can watch the full video above.

Mine exploring can be extremely dangerous and is best left to the professionals. There are many other similar trips on Ben's YouTube Channel - Ben o Cam. Ben said: "You can watch without putting yourself in any danger, we would always advise that no one attempts to repeat these trips." You can watch more of Ben o Cam's videos here.

Join CornwallLive on WhatsApp and be first to hear what's happening near you - Cornwall Live

This article was first published in 2022