Cornwall is known for their pasties so on this day we learned how to make them....  They are bits of beef, potato, onion, and rutabaga wrapped in a dough and baked until golden.  Yum.  The owner of the Portreath Bakery told her story of coming from a modest background with a series of tragedies to build a business that is well known, big, and profitable.  An inspiring woman and we made our own lunch to eat by the ocean.  We had to be careful not to let the gulls swoop in and grab them from our hands while we watched the sea.

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For centuries tin mining was a big source of jobs and income for the people of Cornwall but they have now all closed.  Abandoned tin mines dot the landscape in this peninsula and we stopped briefly at the haunting ruins of the Carn Galver Mine along the coast.  Our final destination was the Geevor Tin Mine which had been shut down in the 1980s and has reopened as a museum.  Our guide had worked the mine and was an interesting fellow in his own right.  The mine was left as it would have been the day it closed, complete with dirty boots and a tin jug for tea.  Above ground we had a demonstration of how the ore was drilled and then a tour of the mill where the stone was crushed to extract the tin.  The people who chose to do so (about half of our group) went through a bit of the underground tunnels.  I did and it was very cramped, low, and damp.  Not a place I would want to spend my days.  

Our last day in Cornwall dawned foggy again but cleared as the day progressed.  We took a quick bus ride and then an even quicker boat ride to St Michael's Mount.  This is a very small island with what was once an abbey perched on top.  There is a stone causeway for access at low tide but was under water when we were there.  Now the island has a private residence at the top with a very steep, rocky, path upwards.  I just took the walk slowly and it was worth it to explore the medieval buildings and see the views.