Ding Dong mines

The tin workings at Ding Dong are properly ancient - we're talking Bronze Age mining here, though what you see today is mostly the industrial scarring of the 18th and 19th centuries when Cornwall was still wringing tin out of the ground. It's a strange, haunting landscape: engine houses in various states of decay, deep shafts you definitely won't be descending into, and those distinctive stone stacks that punctuate the moors around Bosulval.

Walking round takes about an hour if you're keen on the archaeology side, less if you just want the photos. The ruins themselves won't blow your mind - they're ruins, after all - but the setting gets under your skin. This is what happens when an entire region's economy depends on one mineral and the work runs out. Kids might find it eerie rather than fun, to be honest. Better for teenagers who actually care about industrial history or adults looking for something quieter than the coastal spots.

It's free to wander, though there's not much in the way of interpretation on site so you'll want to do your homework beforehand. Spring or autumn is best - summer can feel bleak and overexposed, winter just cold and miserable. If you're camped at Roselands or Polmanter, it makes a decent half-day addition to a park holiday, though it's really more of a detour than a destination. Pair it with a walk across the open moorland and you've got something worth the trip.