Кит Хилл: История, природа и горное прошлое Корнуолла

Kit Hill , at 334 metres high, dominates the area between Callington and the River Tamar in southeast Cornwall, England, UK. The word 'Kit' comes from Old English for kite, a reference to birds of prey (and not specifically the red kite). Buzzards and sparrowhawks can still be seen on the hill. It is one of five Marilyn hills in Cornwall, the four others are Watch Croft, Brown Willy, Carnmenellis and Hensbarrow Beacon.

Kit Hill Country Park (which includes the hill and surrounding areas), was given to the people of Cornwall in 1985 to mark the birth of Prince William, by his father, the Duke of Cornwall (Prince Charles). It is managed by Cornwall Council, and consists of some 400 acres (152 hectares), making it the most dominant landscape feature in East Cornwall. Other notable artifacts on Kit Hill include Neolithic and Bronze Age barrows. The area around these is maintained by a ranger and volunteers, who also generally keep the vegetation on the hill under control.

The Country Park is steeped in mining history. Metals extracted included tin, silver, copper and tungsten. The main mines were:
Kit Hill Summit Mines (which included a windmill near the present stack). These mines and shafts started about 1826: Kit Hill United closed in 1864. East Kit Hill Mine was worked from 1855 to 1909. Hingston Down mine (which worked westwards towards Kit Hill). This was a very early mine, and evidence shows it may have started in the 17th century: it closed in 1885. South Kit Hill Mine was worked from 1856 to 1884.

In 1877 a company called Kit Hill Tunnel Ltd began work on both the south and north sides of the hill to create a tunnel which would be 2 mile (3 km) long. The southern portal was at Silver Hill, and that at the north was near a small mine called Excelsior. However, due to the toughness of the underlying bedrock, progress was costly and slow, and ceased about a year later. In 1881 a new company named Kit Hill Great Consols took over the setts of Kit Hill United and Excelsior mine. They deepened the North Engine Shaft to 112 fathoms and lengthened the tunnel running south to meet it. However, this too was proving too costly, and wound up in 1885, before it was half way complete. Several later attempts were made to extend the Excelsior Tunnel, but by 1938, it was still only 2400 feet (732 m) long. However, in 1959 the Atomic Energy Authority took over operations, and used the tunnel for underground explosions. The activities were part of Operation Orpheus, and the Kit Hill events were the first part:
Phase A: Small charges fired in a 6 feet (2 m) diameter cavity in granite and shale at depths of 100 to 300 feet (91 m) in the Excelsior Tunnel at Kit Hill. Phase B: Participation in the Operation Cowboy tests, where charges of would be detonated in 30 feet (9 m) diameter cavities at depths of 800 feet (244 m) in a salt mine in Louisiana, United States. Phase C: The tests at Greenside Mine in Cumbria, where a decoupled test and a coupled test would be carried out in andesite rock at a depth below surface of 1700 feet (518 m) and the results compared. The charge sizes were chosen so that if the decoupling worked as predicted, the seismic signals would be similar in intensity.

Construction of The Tamar, Kit Hill & Callington Railway started in 1864. The name was later changed to the East Cornwall Mineral Railway, and the line opened in 1872. Seven and a half miles long, it ran from Calstock's river frontage, past Kelly Quay & Drakewalls and the Gunnislake quarries, along the northern flank of Hingston Down to below Kit Hill at Kelly Bray, where an inclined tramway connected with it. It amalgamated with the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway crossing the Tamar above Calstock and onto the junction at Bere Alston. The Gunnislake to Bere Alston section still survives as part of the Tamar Valley Line. Some remnants, mainly the granite blocks, of the line can be found on the northern slopes of the Country Park site.