A walk, long ago, around Ding Dong Tin Mine with my Dad..........

This photo was taken just before he was taken ill
He loved fishing, especially off the rocks at Tregiffian, and picking blackberries down the country lanes

I remember one walk in particular.

One Sunday afternoon, Dad wanted to walk around the small spring close to Ding Dong Mine, because, he said, "Seen goldfish there, Johnny, stacks of them."
"And," he added, with a grin, "there's a kestrel, nesting on top of Ding Dong. Saw it last week when me and your mum were up there."

Ding Dong Mine

Ding Dong is pretty close to Penzance, so we were there within a quarter of an hour. It is, to my eye, along with Botallack, one of the most beautiful sights imaginable.

Botallack Mine, near St. Just

Some background detail about Ding Dong Tin Mine, taken from Wikipedia:

The Ding Dong mines lie in an old and extensive mining area situated in the parish of Madron, in Land's End,Cornwall. They are about two miles south of the St Just to Penzance road. They look out over Mount's Bay and St Michael's Mount to the south west.

The name may refer to the 'head of the lode' or the outcrop of tin on the hill.
In Madron church there is a 'Ding Dong Bell' that was rung to mark the end of the last shift of the miners.

The Merry Maidens

Men an Tol

Lanyon Quoit

Near the mine ruins can be found the Bronze Age Nine Maidens Stone Circle, the Men-an-Tol and Lanyon Quoit, and the Ding Dong mines themselves. These are reported to be the oldest in the West of England, dating back to prehistoric times.

The earliest record of Ding Dong is given by John Norden at the beginning of the 17th century. In 1714, three separate mines were operating: Good Fortune, Wheal Malkin and Hard Shafts Bounds. By the middle of the 18th century at least seven small concerns had sprung up although the name Ding Dong did not become the usual name until after the turn of the 19th century. By 1782 sixteen working mines were to be found in the area and the present sett include Ding Dong in the middle, Providence, Tredinneck and Ishmael’s to the east and Wheal Malkin and Wheal Boys to the West.

Ding Dong obtained notoriety during the 18th century because of an infringement lawsuit. A 28 inch cylinder inverted engine designed by Edward Bull, chief designer for Boulton and Watt, was put into Ding Dong in 1796; James Watt saw this as an infringement of his 'condenser patent'. One of these engines was erected at Ding Dong in 1797, when a conventional Boulton and Watt engine was inverted by Richard Trevithick and William West. Trevithick worked with his father at Wheal Treasury mine and, after making improvements which increased the operating pressure of the Bull Steam Engine, Trevithick was promoted to engineer of the Ding Dong mine in 1796. 

Today the ruined Count (Account) House is the only remaining structure from Richard Trevithick's time at Dong Dong.

Legends

In 1814 it was reopened and worked until 1878. But during the 1870s the price of tin dropped due to the opening of tin deposits in Queensland and other parts of the British Empire. Due to this, and exhaustion of the local deposits, Ding Dong finally ceased production in 1879. Attempts were made in 1912 and 1928 to reopen it but these failed.

There is a legend that Joseph of Arimathea visited the area, and that he brought the young Jesus to address the miners, although there is no evidence to support this. An old miner told A. K. Hamilton Jenkin "Why, they do say there's only one mine in Cornwall older than Dolcoath, and that's Ding Dong, which was worked before the time of Jesus Christ."

So, back to our walk.........
Sure enough, there were goldfish in the pool........we wondered where they had come from.
They looked happy to be there :)

Staring left and right and down at the gorse bushes,  we walked up to Ding Dong Tin Mine.

Isn't it so beautiful?

As always, I was taken by the beauty of its structure, set against the grass, bushes and blue sky.

And, just as Dad said, there, circling overhead, was the most beautiful kestrel.
"See? Told you..............think its young are hatched. Wish we could climb up and see the nest."

We stood and watched, enraptured by the noiseless, gliding flight of the hawk.

As we walked away from the mine, towards the car, Dad heard a noise. Looking to his right, he pointed.
"Look, Johnny, a fox! There! See it?"

There it was, hiding beneath the gorse, waiting for a rabbit to appear.

Hey, what a great afternoon........walking with my dad..........his soft voice telling his stories of Cornish history, seeing the Cornish beauty, the Cornish wildlife. My dad, bless his cotton socks,  never missed a trick. When he picked up a dead dragon fly...........I put it into a Pocket Museum and have it to this day.

Ever since, every time I see a fox, a kestrel, a dragon fly,  my head is filled with memories of Sunday walks with my long gone Dad.