Clay Pits / St Austell / Cornwall

Gunheath Pit

The St Austell clay pits have been around since 1745. In this time, the heavily mined landscape has been ever-changing from the intense human intervention brought with the discovery of china clay deposits. These clay pits are a stunning example of the arrival of the anthropocene. A period in the existence of the universe where human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment.

Gunheath is in a state of change itself. Mid way through its transition back to nature, the landscape is beginning to recuperate from its heavy industrial use. Plants and nature are beginning to take it back.