Charlestown, Cornwall

Charlestown harbour with ship The harbour at Charlestown, on the outskirts of St Austell, was built in the 1790’s for the export of copper ore, but was later used for the export of china clay. Remains of the chutes and tunnel used for loading china clay can still be seen. The harbour, now Grade II listed, is a popular location for films and TV, and is also a port for visiting tall ships.
You can walk around the harbour and look at the old buildings free of charge.
Street parking is limited, and you will probably have to use one of the pay car parks. Fortunately the charges are not excessive.

Charlestown Shipwreck and Heritage Centre. I’m adding this here as it’s at the top of the harbour. Contains displays about various local wrecks, with photographs, and artifacts salvaged from wrecks. There are one or two videos, and displays about the Mary Rose, Titanic and Lusitania, which will be of interest if you haven’t seen similar elsewhere. It takes a couple of hours to go round and look at everything.

Outer harbour and lock
Outer harbour
Above inner harbour, C'town
Above inner harbour

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