THE BRAINS behind the mighty Man Engine, Will Coleman said this week he has been 'blown away' by the interest in the giant mechanical puppet as it now reaches day four of its epic journey across West Devon and Cornwall.

Following huge crowds in Tavistock, Liskeard and Minions this week Mr Coleman, who is at the helm of the celebrations to mark ten years since the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape was designated as a World Heritage Site, said: ’Whilst we always knew this behemoth was going to create a big stir, we have all been utterly blown away by the amount of unprecedented media coverage and social media interest and the resultant, phenomenal public demand to witness this spectacle of homage to Cornish mining.

’Crowds on day one, two and three have all surpassed the expectations of our local organising partners and our highly experienced events and safety teams are working around the clock, with Cornwall Council and those on the ground, to increase capacity at the upcoming events where possible, as well as consider all aspects of road closures and traffic flow around these events to allow as many people in as possible.

?’We are aware that some people had to wait longer than hoped in Liskeard due to an unfortunate technical hitch and that due to volume, and unexpected roadworks/diversions around Upton Cross, that traffic in and out of some roads to Minions unfortunately meant a long waiting time for some people.

’We did have more than ample parking, which was doubled late in the afternoon, and stewarding and the Minions team had a fabulous array of evening events to entertain those visiting. We are however, deeply sorry if anyone felt they had to turn away due to waiting times and hope they will be able to attend one of the upcoming events as we make our way down the backbone of Cornwall. 

Today at St Austell there has been a restricted viewing area at Trinity St — this is limited controlled capacity space. Mr Coleman said that when capacity numbers were met, for obvious public safety reasons, they would regrettably have to turn people away. There will be social media messages published on the Man Engine social media platforms when that capacity is met.  

Mr Coleman, of Golden Tree Productions added: ’We all want as many people as possible to see and experience the Man Engine and his powerful effect,’ he said.

’Our advice to anyone coming to any event is to allow plenty of travel time, to check out the detailed information on our website and social media platforms http://www..themanengine..org..uk/, @TheManEngine. These should all provide the easiest and best parking spots and localised access information. Also we advise people to listen out to local radio for any daily updates.

’There’s so much happening around the Man Engine at every stop so please do ensure you can make the most of it all. We also ask everyone to please be patient and understanding with the local volunteer stewards and follow all of their advice and instructions at all times.

Golden Tree are very grateful for Cornwall Council’s co-operation in managing the enthusiastic response and its highways and car parking teams and CORMAC have been absolutely brilliant.

’As we said, whilst we knew he was impressive, we have been utterly blown away by the reaction to the Man Engine and wish to thank everyone for their efforts and their feedback and glowing comments. My team had grafted so hard to make this vision a reality and it is so rewarding for everyone to hear the deeply personal and resonant reactions to our ultimate Cornish mining machine.’