The final countdown has begun for the grand tour of the giant Man Engine.

The huge mechanical puppet is being created for the Tinth celebrations marking the 10th anniversary of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Sites.

The Man Engine will be making four stops in South East Cornwall, on day one and two of the tour which runs from July 25 to August 6 in West Devon and Cornwall.

The creation will first be revealed on Monday, July 25, in Bedford Square in Tavistock.

It will then travel on a lorry to Gunnislake where it will head up the hill in procession to the Tamar Valley Centre at Drakewalls.

The public are invited to bring picnic lunches to eat in the grounds of the centre and listen to the history of the Drakewalls Mine.

The final stop on day one is at Kit Hill, near Callington, where entertainment has been organised from 4pm.

The Man Engine will arrive in Liskeard on the following day, Tuesday, July 26.

Entertainment is being organised to last from 10am to 4pm.

The Man Engine will transform to its full height of around 11 metres, for the first time in Cornwall, on the Parade at 2pm.

When it later leaves for Minions, the mechanical puppet will be accompanied by the Liskeard pageant wagon, which will then travel with it on its journey to West Cornwall.

The Man Engine is expected to arrive in Minions at around 5pm and it will transform again at 6.30pm.

The festivities start at 4.30pm with a programme of song, dance, music and drama, themed around the heritage of the area.

The Man Engine journeys to Lostwithiel on Wednesday, July 27.

It will be in the car park by the community centre and will begin its transformation to its full height from 5pm. Spectators will be able to view it from the Playing Field.

The welcome to the town has been organised and funded by the Lostwithiel Business Group. The event is centred on the King George V Playing Field, with activities from 3pm.

See this week’s Cornish Times, on sale from Friday, for a full guide to the visit of the Man Engine to Liskeard.