by Nick Nutter

Created on: June 18, 2008

The Rio Tinto, A Small Piece of England in Andalucia

Imagine the scene, a Victorian cul de sac somewhere in a home counties village, temperatures well into the 90s, palm trees in the front gardens and roses around the doors. Impossible? No, not in Andalucia. The cul de sac is called Bella Vista and it is in a town called Rio Tinto. Nearby is a Presbyterian church, a social club and a cemetery, the tombstones of which have English inscriptions.

Rio Tinto is just one mining town at the foot of the Sierra Morena. Copper, gold and silver have been mined in this region for over 5,000 years but until the 19th Century the mining made little impact on the landscape. Now whole mountains have disappeared to be replaced with open cast pits hundreds of metres deep and kilometres wide. It was the Rio Tinto Company Ltd., an English company, who bought the mining rights and introduced modern mining methods into the region in the late 19th Century. They also built a railway between the mines and Huelva, a modern hospital and of course Bella Vista, the church, club and cemetery. The Rio Tinto Company is long gone but it's legacy remains and is a fascinating day out.

The hospital has been converted into a mining museum where you can follow the history of the area from the copper age right through to the modern day. There is even a simulated, and realistic, Roman mine adit through which you stumble, being careful not to get too wet. For those interested in mineralogy there is also a decent collection of crystals and ores native to the region.

In one section you will find a reproduction of the Rio Tinto station with two of the steam locomotives used on the railway and the famous Maharajah's Carriage'. This was built in Birmingham for Queen Victoria's trip to India and then taken to Rio Tinto for a Royal Visit by King Alfonso XIII. The N Type crane locomotive was manufactured by the Hawthorn Leslie Company in 1930 and is unique in Spain. The other is a general purpose K type locomotive manufactured by the North British Locomotive Company Ltd. in 1907.

Departing from the station and taking you to Nerva, is a locomotive that uses the original track laid by the Rio Tinto Company. You travel for 23 kilometres in vintage carriages through the original stations on this line with stunning views over the Rio Tinto itself. You will soon see why it is so named.

After the train journey you can join an organised trip to the Pena del Hierro mine that leaves from the museum. The Romans first exploited

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