Cornwall's only producer of slate today is the massive operation at Delabole Slate Quarry. It claims to be the largest man made hole in Europe. However up to the second world war other quarries existed principally between Trebarwith Strand and Tintagel on the North Cornwall Coast, not far from Delabole. And at Carnglaze Caverns at St Neot.
Along the coast you can still find the ruins of the splitting sheds and the anchor blocks for the donkey powered winches. These winches were used to lift the slate up for splitting. The narrow paths you find today are often old donkey tracks. Field boundaries are often made of slate laid in a herringbone pattern traditional in the Tintagel Area.
Lanterdan is particularly dramatic with a massive 60 foot pinnacle of poor quality slate ignored by the old quarrymen.
The Prince Of Wales Quarry and Engine House is a mile or so up the valley from Trebarwith Strand on the B3263. The site is owned by the Duchy Of Cornwall and leased to the North Cornwall District Council as an amenity and wildlife area.