A couple bought a historic mine for £1-million and turned it into their home and one of Britain’s quirkiest Airbnbs.

Jon Tully, 62 and Jenny Tully, 55 were looking for "somewhere special" where they could host people when they came across Okel Tor Mine.

Deemed as one of the "most unusual" places to stay in Cornwall, the mine dates from the 1850s - and at its peak 200 people worked there including women and children.

The tin and copper mine which lies within the Tamar Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty closed 40 years after its opening and the mine was consequently left abandoned.

In 1999 Historic England scheduled Okel Tor Mine as an Ancient Monument and, a few years later, UNESCO designated it as a World Heritage Site.

Mr and Mrs Tully from Devon bought the mine two years ago for just over £1M where they live and rent the additional cottages.

Mr Tully said: "We were looking for somewhere special, we like hosting people, we have been looking for 5 years for somewhere with a lot of character and had holiday cottages.

"When we got it we were thrilled, absolutely delighted. This is the place you buy once in a lifetime.

"We made it clear to just look after the space, not change it. We are looking after something very special.

"We have erected some interpretation boards that tell about the history of the mine and the nature around here."

Mr Tully said Okel Tor Mine is one of the most unusual places to stay in Cornwall.

Asking why, he said: "All the buildings are scheduled monuments. It is unusual to spend a holiday in a schedule monument.

"It is very beautiful, there is a lot of nature and it is a great feeling being in the mine and looking at pictures and thinking ‘wow that is our home’.

"It is nice to see that the buildings are still being used and not left to fall apart."

He said that the cottages are filled 80 per cent of the year and they get around 120 couples a year.

Couples celebrating their tenth anniversary - which is called the tin anniversary - or celebrating their honeymoon look to book a stay in the cottages.

Mr Tully said: "People who are looking for peace and quiet people who are looking for antiquity and nature together come here.

"Usually it’s people looking to retreat somewhere peaceful and be with nature."

Mr Tully said they have dog walkers and local people walking every day along the public footpath.

He added: "There has been an archeological survey of the whole mine site and they identified a number of things of historical interest, some are quite small like a wheel pit and they have listed these in a document.

"There are over 80 individual historical interests on the mine.

"But to walk around the mine and see something that looks at first glance like a hole in the ground and knowing it was a water well and now I can see what it is is incredible."