A MAJOR investment of some £1.2 million pounds has seen the historic quay at Morwellham on the River Tamar transformed and updated, and now fully open to visitors. Thousands of tons of mud and silt have been cleared from the quays to expose the heart of what was once the greatest copper and arsenic exporting port in Queen Victoria's empire. The Devon Great Consols 'Great Dock' has been structurally refurbished and the surrounding area is being repaved with 30,000 earthenware tiles to reconstruct the original smooth surface on which ore was stored. And Morwellham trustees this week announced that Masterchef Peter Gorton of the 'Horn of Plenty' will be Morwellham's food advisor. He will supervise the Ship Inn providing an atmospheric eating place complete with warm welcome and good pub food. The inn will for the first time open in the evenings, on Fridays and Saturdays, between June and September. A cottage near the great dock is being converted into a Victorian tea room and garden. Peter is also planning a new courtyard cafeteria and investigating running a chef school at the Ship. Peter said: 'I am delighted to join the team at Morwellham as food advisor and look forward to a long-term involvement in this fascinating historic Tamar port.' The important change is that access to most of the quay will be free; there will be a small charge for the car park and the riverside railway with guided underground tour and other guided access such as horse-drawn carriage rides will be charged as before. In 2006 the newly designated Cornwall and West Devon Mining World Heritage Site conferred global significance on Morwellham. In November 2007 the trustees appointed Barry Gamble, principal author of the World Heritage Site bid document, to act as the Interim Director, and he has been working with the Tamar Valley Mining Heritage Project to place Morwellham at the hub of some six million pounds of investment in the West Devon area, with grants and donations from the European Regional Development Fund (Objective 2), the Heritage Lottery Fund, South West RDA, Devon Rural Renaissance, Devon County Council and West Devon Borough Council. Mr Gamble said: 'The Morwellham experience is being revived and is expanding in a way that should appeal to everyone. We aim to make the quay a hub of activity with elements to entertain and stimulate all ages'. Tim Selman, manager of the Tamar Valley Mining Heritage Project, said: 'This is a crucial first phase of investment at Morwellham, securing this important hub of our project area which will see 60km of new trails open by 2010. Many of these will be open later this year.' Some of the projects undertaken at Morwellham recently include planting a new orchard of 200 Tamar Valley apple trees; acquiring a new cart horse and a 15-seater heritage carriage to allow rides along the Duke's Drive; clearance of the river frontage and landing area, to allow Plymouth ferry boats to come alongside, while Calstock Ferry Service will extend its scheduled service to include Morwellham. Traditional boat building and restoration will soon be on view in two open sheds beside the river. The Tamar ketch Garlandstone already provides a focal point in one of the docks; there are plans to acquire other historic vessels to add to the collection.