Visit a historic Dartmoor mine this Summer
This year the mine will be open for visitors on Sunday, 6 September.
Kelly Mine is a unique time capsule of a small Devon mining site between Bovey Tracey and
Moretonhampstead where the restored surface buildings, processing machinery and tramways illustrate how micaceous haematite, or “Shiny Ore” as it is known locally, was extracted and processed.
The mine was first referenced in 1797 but archaeological investigation on the site has revealed evidence of much earlier iron smelting on the site. Finally closing in 1950, it lay dormant until the Kelly Mine Preservation Society took a lease out on the site and laboriously restored it to a state which would be recognisable to the miners in the 1920s. The Society holds an open day every two years when it offers tours of the site and demonstrates the processing of the ore. This year the mine will be open for visitors on Sunday, 6 September from 10.30am until 4pm.
Entry is free though donations are gratefully received (cash preferred). Light refreshments will be available.
Kelly Mine is situated 300 yards south of the Lustleigh turning on the A382 between Moretonhampstead and Bovey Tracey.
Parking is 300 yards away on the Lustleigh road but less mobile visitors are welcome to be dropped off at the mine.
More information on the mine is on the Society website www.kellymine.co.uk