Kennal Vale in Cornwall nr Ponsonooth

Kennal Vale in Cornwall is a Nature Reserve near the village of Ponsonooth on the Redruth to Falmouth Road. A wonderful walk takes you through a beautiful wooded valley full of wildlife and history. Following the main track through the woods leads you past leats, a now flooded quarry and concrete bunkers, you’ll also see railway line set in the ground once in a while, it all seems very out of place amongst the nature. The beauty that surrounds you has reclaimed the valley from it’s industrial past when it was an explosive manufacturing site, tucked away in the valley for safety. On the far side of the valley the path takes you past a series of huge water mills, not on the valley bottom but part way up the valley side well above the river????? It does make sense, they are here to avoid damage from flooding, behind them a retaining wall feeds water from further upstream to the mills and sluices allow it to be controlled. The mills are derelict but some massive wheel structures and gear work still exist. An explosion in 1800’s blew 5 of the buildings apart, it was so powerful the roof of one building was found over a mile away! Kennall Vale is only 20 minutes from Tehidy Holiday Park in Cornwall.