China Clay Workings (South Dartmoor), Shaugh Prior, Dartmoor National Park
If you want to discover more about the Westcountry's china clay mining industry then head for Wheal Martyn Museum and Country Park in Cornwall. It's the only visitor attraction in the world focused on the china clay mining industry. Situated near St Austell and the Eden Project, it's a great place. Displays take you through the mining process. They also describe the formation of china clay:
'Hard granite is altered by various geological processes over millions of years. Minerals such as feldspar in the original granite break down to form kaolin (china clay), rendering the granite unstable and crumbly. The clay can be extracted from the stony granite by the use of high-pressure water jets. A short walk to the pit view is recommended to see china clay production in progress.'
Roughly speaking, it takes about an hour and a half (depends on traffic etc) to get from the China Clay Workings on the south western border of Dartmoor National Park to Wheal Martyn Museum and Country Park. We'd recommend going.
If you can't make the trip, it's still a great experience to see the China Clay Workings on Dartmoor. Go to the area on a sunny day if possible as good light makes a big difference.
We've positioned the China Clay Workings on Google maps so zoom in on the 'Satellite' setting to see its location. We use the description China Clay Workings but on the ground they're split into smaller works. These include Shaugh Lake China Clay Works, Lee Moor China Clay Works, Whitehill Yeo China Clay Works and Cholwichtown China Clay Works.
Paths are marked on the Ordnance Survey Explorer OL28 'Dartmoor' map. We'd recommend heading for the car parking area by Blackaton Cross down the road from Cadover Bridge. Skirt Whitehill Yeo China Clay Works and head up to Penn Beacon and Shell Top for great views over the China Clay Workings to Plymouth and the South Devon/Cornwall coast.
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