Short answer: The best free mining walks around Redruth are Carn Brea (the 90ft Basset Monument and views over both coasts), Wheal Peevor (three restored engine houses on level paths), the 7.5-mile Great Flat Lode trail around Carn Brea from King Edward Mine, and the 11-mile Coast to Coast trail from Portreath to Devoran, mostly flat and off-road.
Redruth is the centre of the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site, and almost all of it is free to walk.
The hill above Redruth, crowned by a 90ft granite monument put up in 1836 to Francis Basset. The top is also a Neolithic hill-fort site from about 3700–3400 BC, with a little castle that began as an 18th-century hunting lodge. A short walk from a small car park through heather and granite gets you views across both coasts on a clear day. The lanes up are narrow. Basset Monument, Carn Brea
Three restored engine houses (pumping, winding and stamps) just north of town, linked by wide level paths with information boards and steel stairs to look inside. Free, with a tiny car park for about six cars. Good with children and dogs. Wheal Peevor
A 7.5-mile (12km) loop around the south side of Carn Brea on mixed surfaces, past more engine houses than anywhere else in Cornwall. Best started at King Edward Mine, which has a museum and café. Walk it or cycle it.
Part of the Mineral Tramways: 11 miles (17.5km) from Portreath on the north coast to Devoran on the south, mostly level and off-road, on National Cycle Network route 3. Bike hire is available at Bissoe, Redruth and Portreath.
A Redruth pasty, or a Sunday roast at the Shaft Inn, right by Wheal Peevor.
More: Redruth on a rainy day · the Redruth guide.
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More engine houses: the Wheal Coates walk at St Agnes.
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