Some things don’t turn out the way you plan them. If I didn’t know that already, I was about to find out.

It was a beautifully sunny evening as I set off down the A374 towards the end of my first full day in Cornwall, perfect bank holiday weather that would last the entire week. I was headed for Botallack a few miles north of Land’s End, iconic setting of the Wheal Coates mine and any number of ruined engine houses marking the history of the Cornish tin industry. Or if you like, it was Poldark country…

The fields on either side of the road were littered with remnants as I drove, engine house to the left, another one further down to the right… one there missing the top of it’s chimney. No wait, I know they’re ruins but this isn’t right is it? It wasn’t. The chimney was probably fully formed but the top was obscured by a rolling sea mist I hadn’t banked on that threatened to derail my entire vision for this excursion…

A minute or so later I was back out in the sunshine, but by the time I neared my World Heritage Site destination the rampant mist was hampering visibility and showing no sign of receding. There was a sun up there somewhere but it was softened markedly, and certainly wasn’t for casting a warm orange glow on the cliffs.

As it turned out north Cornwall had been covered all day, and while I was glad to be staying in a cottage on the south coast it didn’t help with the shot I’d come here for. Looking for some inspiration – or else to pass the time having driven an hour to get here – I walked the coastal path behind the engine houses, trying not to look over the edge of the precariously narrow ledge that led around. Looking back across the hazy sun shone in patches on the scene before me, the mist rolling back just enough for me to catch a vaguely atmospheric shot. Turned out alright, as it goes…

A few days later I decided to head back and get the shot I envisaged in the first place. The sky was clear this time but the sunset was weak, and I had a battle on my hands to balance the lighting of the scene as well as take the edge off the waves with a 4-stop ND filter. A little Lightroom work later and I had this alternative:

I really don’t know now which I prefer. But something else was about to come about at Wheal Reath further down the coast near St Ives.

Look out for something completely different in the next post as my tour of Cornish tin mines hits nightfall, with even more unexpected results…