St Austell or otherwise locally known as “Snozzle” is the largest town in Cornwall, and combines contemporary commerce, tourism and heritage into one perfect package. St Austell is also known for being at the centre of the China Clay industry, after the discovery of the “white gold” in the mid 1700′s in and around the area. Cornwall’s china clay is shipped all over the world and is used as an addi
tive in various products, such as tyres and even toothpaste. There wasn’t much to St Austell before the discovery of china clay, and in fact one of the earliest references of St Austell as a town was noted in a man called John Leland, who described St Austell in his itinerary as “having nothing notable but a parish church”. But, the success and high profitability of China Clay attracted many families to the town, due to the fact that these families main breadwinners were left with little or no work because tin and copper mining were on the decline and the depression was taking hold. This in turn increased the population, and led way to new shops and business opening up providing more jobs and trade. During the height of this, St Austell was one of the top 10 most important commercial centre’s of Cornwall. Today, St Austell has been revamped both in 1963 and more recently in August 2007 at a cost of over £75 million, which paved way for a brand new 4 screen cinema and the new shopping centre called “White River Place”. Here you’ll find numerous high street retailers trading, aswell as coffee shops, cafe’s and pubs. There are also weekly local produce markets that run, which offer food and hand made crafts to the general public. St Austell also has its own leisure centre, where you can go swimming, play badminton and use their high tech Gym. More recently, the leisure centre has hosted a few MMA fighting championships (cage fighting) which have proven to be very popular with MMA fight fans. St Auestell - Holy Trinity ChurchAt the centre of St Austell Town is the Holy Trinity church, which dates back to the 15th century, although there are remains of an earlier Norman church here. The tower of the church is impressive, and bears sculptured carvings of the twelve apostles, the holy trinity and the risen christ between two saints. If you’re visiting St Austell on holiday there are lots of things to do in and around the area. All of which can be reached by car or by local travel. The bus station is situated right next to St Austell train station and both trains and buses run on regular intervals. There are also numerous guest houses, bed and breakfasts, hotels and holiday lets that you can stay in aswell. The White Hart Hotel is in the centre of the town, and is owned and run by St Austell Brewery. Wetherspoons is a popular place for a quick pint and bite to eat, and you also have a Mcdonalds and KFC. The Eden cafe, located at the bottom end of the town near to Wilkinson’s also offers locally sourced produce which is eco friendly along with regular live music on Friday night.
