Meet Jon and Jenny, owners of Okel Tor Mine, two romantic cottages for two, lovingly converted and set on the tranquil site of a former 19th century tin mine, within the Tamar Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Cornwall.
What first inspired you to create Okel Tor Mine as a retreat?
It’s a truly unique place – a World Heritage Site, a Scheduled Monument, the buildings are Listed and it’s a National Landscape (formerly known and an AONB.) It’s also a wildlife reserve and SSSI (Site of special scientific interest.) It’s too good not to share!
Have you always been in hospitality? If not, what else did / do you do?
This is our first venture into hospitality. Before coming to Okel Tor Mine, Jon spent 17 years as a teacher and Housemaster at a boarding school, and before that he has been a ship’s officer with P&O cruises, a shipbroker and run reef conservation expeditions. Jenny has spent a lifetime’s career in management in the food industry but is also a qualified riding instructor. She now teaches in the equine department at nearby Duchy College. Both Jon and Jenny have served in the Reserve Armed Forces.
What’s the best thing about being the owner of Okel Tor Mine?
Seeing guests’ delight at discovering Okel tor Mine and welcoming back those who have stayed before, including couples who spent their honeymoon here and have returned regularly ever since. Reading the comments in the visitors’ book is a joy.
Surface view of Okel Tor Mine from the West. Photographer : A.K.H. Jenkin
What’s your favourite feature of the retreat?
Its history. Both the holiday cottages and our own home are former mine buildings and there is a wealth of archaeology all around us. It’s wonderful to look at the old photographs of the mine in its working days and pick out the very buildings we live in now. Okel tor Mine also appeared in a recent episode of BBC Countryfile.
What do you love about the local area?
Views over the river, wildlife and woodland walks, the local village with its pubs, café and galleries, and the peace and quiet!
What’s next for Okel Tor Mine?
The ongoing stewardship and preservation of the buildings and ruins, and the management of the wildlife reserve. We’re working with Natural England, Historic England and the Tamar Valley AONB to achieve this sympathetically and to allow future guests and visitors to enjoy the site at its best. We’re delighted to report we have just received our first grant from Defra for vegetation management around the mine buildings. The newly created Tamara cost-to-coast long distance footpath runs right through Okel Tor Mine, so access to the route for future guests couldn’t be easier. Guided tours for guests are also on the agenda for this year.
If you couldn’t stay at your place, where would your ideal holiday be?
Sailing, kayaking or hill walking. We’re both qualified mountain leaders and RYA yacht skippers and are far happier sleeping in a yacht or in a tent than in a hotel!
Sum up Okel Tor Mine in three words.
Riverside, countryside, heritage.
If you were visiting, how would you spend a day at Okel Tor Mine?
A lie-in, then breakfast and coffee on the veranda overlooking the river. A morning exploring the mine workings and wildlife reserve, looking for kingfishers and otters along the riverside. Then a walk through the local village of Calstock to the National Trust’s Cotehele House and quay for lunch. On the return walk, stopping in Calstock for tea in the café and a chance to visit the art galleries. Either a cosy night in the cottage with supper and a glass of wine around the wood burner or dinner in one of the two village pubs. And finally, taking a few minutes before bedtime to stand outside enjoying the peace and the starry night sky, listening to the tawny owls hoot and watching the barn owls glide silently through the trees.
Find out more about Okel Tor Mine via their Host Unusual listing below!
