Gunpowder Mill at Kennall Vale — kennall vale

Ruins of Cornish gunpowder mills, slowly being reclaimed by the undergrowth make this a wonderfully unique woodland photography location.

What Is It

Hidden deep in the lush secluded gorge of Kennall Vale, lie the ruins of several Gunpowder Mills. All slowly being reclaimed by the woodland undergrowth these make for great landscape photography subjects.

These charming relics of Cornwall’s mining heritage are flanked by the waterfalls and cascades of the Kennall River. Man made channels cross-cross the woodland in front of the mills full of verdant green mossy boulders creating ample foreground opportunities.

What to Shoot

Without a doubt, the ruins, lush woodland and river all combine to make Kennall Vale such a special photography location.

Despite the mills all serving the same purpose, namely mixing gunpowder, they offer countless opportunities for compositions, although the dense woodland can be challenging as there are a lot of elements to work with and simplify to create a pleasing composition. In several areas, the dense woodland has almost totally swallowed the mills, so selecting your vantage point is crucial so that their form can still be made out.

Starting from the bridge, heading down river, here’s an overview of each one of the mills;

Mill #1

Right beside the wooden bridge, the first mill stands off from the forest, making it much easier to isolate than the others.

A sweeping curve in the river beneath the mill leads to a small waterfall. Several groups of mossy large boulders line the river’s verge, providing great framing devices for the mill and falls.

There are almost endless combinations here, making this one of my favourite mills in the entire Vale.

Mill #2

Visible slightly downstream to the right of Mill #1 this powder mill is lost to the undergrowth and the vantage points from the river mean the mill is very hard to extract from the surrounding woodland and gets seemingly lost.

Mill #3

This mill is very much intact, but it suffers from it’s aspect. The mill faces the river square on, limiting options for a composition and the deep brick leat running in front of it prevents river access.

Mill #4

This saltpeter mill is another regular favourite of mine, it’s weir zig-zags across the river to the ruin’s mouth making a great leading line. It be accessed via hopping across several leats to a small river in the middle of the Kennall.

Further downriver, there is a small waterfall, which can be positioned in the the frame below the mill.

Powder Mill #1 at Kennall Vale in the peak of Autumn

Powder Mill #4 at Kennal Vale, the rusting wier making for a great curving lead in

Mill #5

This gunpowder mill is another firm personal favourite. It sits atop a brick leat that’s been cut into the woodland landscape and channels the entire Kennall River through its moss drenched walls. Through the leat the river works its way over and around a series of cascades.

The view up the gorge is a great shot, with the large moss drenched boulders making great foreground fodder and a wide angle lens giving a sense of the forest swallowing up the saltpetre mills.

Mill #6

The penultimate mill before hitting the bridge, which is where the ruins end.

More challenging to compose around, there is a bend in the river here, with a tall section of waterfall. It’s worth a look, being mere meters from the previous mill, although the riverbank here is somewhat precarious.

Quarry

A great alternative if fancy a need a change from photographing the mills and waterscapes is the quarry at the far end of Kennall Vale.

Here there is a very compact flooded quarry, it doesn’t have many vantage points to work from, but it does give opportunity for abstracts and intimate landscapes and is especially appealing when the water’s still giving mirror like reflections.

When To Shoot

Best Season

Autumn is undoubtedly the standout season for landscape photography in the Kennall Vale as the russet and gold of the trees give visual richness and colour to the woodland.

With the trees still bearing leaves, this also prevents troublesome white spots from appearing in your images where the sky leaks through the canopy creating highlights and increased chances of blooming in your exposure.

Late Spring is also another great time to visit, with the new growth on the trees bringing in vibrant yellows and a variety of greens to the woodland backdrop and new ferns along the riverbank offering great foreground subjects.

Best Time Of Day

Overcast, either after or during, rain are my favourite times to visit. Rain provides added saturation and vibrance to the foliage, whilst the overcast conditions even out the lighting minimising contrast issues. Kennall Vale is quite a deep gorge, and can be an ideal place to visit very early in the morning, especially after sunrise when the suns still too low to peak into the gorge.

How To Get There

Kennall Vale is in South Cornwall in the small town of Ponsanooth.

Head towards Ponsanooth on the A393
In Ponsanooth, turn onto Park Rd beside the Village Store
Park on Park Rd
Continue to walk up Park Road to Cot Hill Road to the reserve entrance

The reserve’s entrance is on your right in a stone wall, a small sign on the wall denotes the reserve down a small path beside a house called The Old Pottery.

Once you are in the reserve, walk up hill keeping to the left will take you to the quarry, where the path drops down to a bridge and the first mill. Here you can then follow the river downstream taking in each mill one by one.

Crossing the bridge will take you to the workers path behind the mill, and this doesn’t provide any vantage points or opportunities to shoot the mills themselves, and the mills interiors are largely empty or fenced off for safety.

Please do not park on Cot Hill Road. You will block the road given it’s a very narrow lane and anger the locals, who by all accounts are already peeved with the uptick in visitors to Kennall vale.

You cannot preview the mills locations in Google Earth due to tree cover, so here’s a map showing the path through the reserve, and the locations of each mill along the river.

View the location in Google Earth

Difficulty

Rated 2 / 5

Tracks and paths run throughout the reserve; these can be muddy and in some places the surface can be wet and very slippery. Obvious care is needed near the verge of the leats, the water flow is fast and the channels deep in places.

Crowd Factor

Low to Medium.

Kennall Vale isn’t yet on Cornwall’s photography honeypot list, with most landscape photography in the county being dominated by the epic coastal locations it has to offer. You are more likely to meet local dog walkers than photographers.

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