The industrial archaeological heritage of this area is magnificent and well worth visiting, not only by those with an interest in history but also for visitors who appreciate stunning rural and coastal scenery. The St Just mining area has been granted the important status of a World Heritage Site together with other mining areas within Cornwall. Botallack and Carnyorth are illustrative of some of the mining areas within St Just parish.

St Just's history is much older than its associations with mining for which it is so famous today. In prehistoric times there were people inhabiting this area. At Ballowall Barrow, signposted from St Just as Carn Gloose, are the remains of a style of tomb known as a Scillonian chamber tomb. These tombs were built in the Neolithic (New Stone Age) period and could be up to 5,500 years old.

St Just's church was established in AD 596. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, at that time the land being part of the Manor of Kelynack and held by Godric prior to the Norman invasion of 1066.

St Just is one of a few Cornish towns to still have a "playing place", in Cornish, Plain-an-Gwarry, where ancient miracle plays were performed. This continued up until the 17th century.

This area is gloriously wild, remote, rugged and beautiful. This coastal landscape from Sennen to St Ives is a rare fragment of real Cornwall, enjoying an unparalleled concentration of dramatic scenery, wildlife, history and the Arts. A growing number of acclaimed artists, studios and galleries have helped inject the St Just heritage area with a new lease of creative life. This western tip of Cornwall is abundant with wildlife, fantastic colours and migrant birds in the Spring and Autumn and dramatic seas later in the year. Come and enjoy natural Cornwall away from the crowds.