Today’s peaceful emptiness of Bodmin Moor masks its industrious past.

For thousands of years, there has been activity on and around Cornwall’s highest points, with granite at the very heart of it – first in the stone circles, the hedges and buildings, and then being quarried, split and shipped off to build lighthouses, docks, bridges, towns and cities.

Over the years there have been around 25 sizable quarries on the moor, although only one of the major ones is still operational today – De Lank Quarry – as well as the smaller, family-run Brearah Tor Quarry.

Of those that sit abandoned, a few have been flooded, turning these industrial scars on the landscape into beautiful lakes and pools hidden on top of the highest hills in the Duchy.

Like oases in the deserted moorland, these abandoned flooded quarries offer an unexpected shock of crystal blue, far from the coast.

However, in their transformation into secluded beauty spots, these alluring waters have also tempted many wild swimmers and tombstoners, despite the warnings of such activity at disused quarries.

For this reason, specific locations have been left out of this article.

COLD WATER, JAGGED ROCKS AND UNDERWATER HAZARDS MAY RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURY OR DROWNING AT DISUSED QUARRIES.