Time Tunnel Artist Brief (Tamar Valley Mining Heritage Project)

The Tamar Valley Mining Heritage Project (TVMHP) is installing a network of trails on the Devon side of the Tamar Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The TVMHP aims to conserve and link a number of mining and heritage sites on the Devon side of the Tamar Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The TVMHP will open up access to sites not previously open to the public and create approximately 20km of new or improved trails for people to explore the historic landscape. Through its activities, the project will promote a better understanding of the Tamar Valley’s heritage, through community, interpretation, education and arts activities.
In July this year the first phase of the trails network were officially opened including circuits around the Devon Great Consols, once the biggest copper mine in Europe. Copper ore from the complex of mines was transported by a mineral railway to Morwellham Quay four and half miles away where it was graded and transported first by river, then by sea to Swansea for smelting. Part of the new trail network follows the line of this railway and links trail users to Morwellham Quay.

A major landmark for the project was the completion of the A390 underpass at Gulworthy in May 2008. This vital link will enable walker, cyclists, and horseriders to continue their journey without negotiating the busy road. The underpass joins up the old mineral railway, the course of which has remained wholly intact to this day.

In preparation for its impending opening, and to celebrate the heritage associated with the area it opens up access to, the TVMHP would like to hear proposals from community artists who feel they can lead and implement a scheme to enhance the character of this blank canvas.
For more information about the area please visit these web-sites
www.tamarvalley.org.uk, www.cornish-mining.org.uk, www.morwellham-quay.co.uk
http://www.tamarvalley.org.uk/themesec.asp?pid=3&sid=38 where you will find a trail map showing the location of the underpass and downloads guides for various sections of the routes.

For a full brief please contact fwalker@tamarvalley.org.uk or download it from www.tamarvalley.org.uk

For more information visit http://www.tamarvalley.org.uk/