Copper Mine National Park

The cliff-top ruins of a 19th-century Cornish copper mine, now a small national park

The Copper Mine National Park preserves the ruins of a Cornish-built copper mine on the south-east tip of Virgin Gorda. The mine operated for about 30 years in the middle of the 19th century, producing copper for shipping back to Wales and South West England. The buildings that survive — the stone engine house, the chimney stack, and the foundations of associated workshops — sit dramatically on the cliffs above the sea, in a setting that is striking even without the historical interest.

The site is small and self-guided, with interpretation panels at the main ruins explaining the buildings and the working of the mine. The cliff edge is unfenced — keep children and large dogs close. The walk around the perimeter takes about 30 minutes, and the views across to Round Rock and Fallen Jerusalem are excellent.

The park is at the end of a dirt road about a mile and a half south-east of Spanish Town. There is no admission charge and no facilities. Bring water and sun protection.

things to do sight
A story
The mine was worked from the 1830s to about 1862 by Cornish miners brought across the Atlantic by the Virgin Gorda Mining Company. Several of them are buried in unmarked graves on the cliff above the workings. Conditions were brutal — the miners died of yellow fever, dysentery and accidents at a much higher rate than they would have at home — and the operation was never as profitable as the company had hoped. Production peaked in the 1840s and then dwindled as the easily-worked surface ore ran out. The remaining ruins were declared a national park in 1992.