Ferret: Mines

Showing posts with label Mines. Show all posts

50 Shades of Slate

A certain Welshman has been pestering a couple of us to visit this mine for some time. Max and Richard picked me up on Friday night, stopping for a pub dinner on our way to the hostel in Corris.

This is a very pretty mine, the open chambers give a different perspective to most other underground slate quarries.

100ft Ladderway

Lunchbreak

Top day out, thanks guys :)

Nenthead, Spring 2017

Max has arrived.

It's hard to believe that it's been over a year since I was last here. I love Nenthead, every time I go here here it's to stay for the weekend, and we always get a decent amount of exploring in, and this would be my fifth visit in seven years. Each mine has something completely different to offer. This time, for the first time, I would be the only one there who has been to Nent before, and as such, kind of, sort of "leading" the trip. Maybe.

James Johnson

It's hard to believe James is 21, he has always seemed older than his years, that was until alcohol became involved a couple of years ago! James has been a regular at Alderley Edge since he was kneehigh to a grasshopper.

Following on from Christmas Eve, I was back in West Mine for the traditional DCC Boxing Day celebration. This involved decorating the poor Holly Bush mark II with shiny wrappers and mince pie tins, bubbles, and building a giant sandcastle with a moat, drawbridges and turrets. Behold our creation!

Sophie, Me & Sean, photo by the fair hand of Mr Richard Bullock

DCRO Practice at Alderley Edge

My nephew Dylan

The Derbyshire Cave Rescue Association usually does a practice session once a year at the copper mines in Alderley Edge. I have missed the last 5 years practice so thought I better make the effort to go this year, and I'm really glad I did. We had a full days practice down Engine Vein copper mine.

DCC North Wales Slate Weekend

Cwmorthin Underground Slate Quarry
Gwynfynydd Gold Mine

Cwmorthin Entrance

Cambrian Slate Mine

Thanks to Steven Dalgleish for organising this fab little trip :)

In September this year some DCC members went to Hidden Earth, as they often do. Much shit red wine was drunk, many bruises were gained, and all of the swimming pool alarms were set off. Amongst the madness, I managed to cobble together some photographs to enter into the competition, and even found a comedy shot of Tom from 2 years ago drinking a cup of tea whilst doing some SRT practice in Bear Pit at Alderley Edge. SRTea Break didn’t win the comedy fun shot category, but it did rekindle an idea in Kieran and Charlotte that had to be done. They were having a full SRTea Party.

Lunch in the sunshine

Cwmorthin

My second trip to Cwmorthin with Ed and Olly, Simon and Briony. The original plan for the day was Snakes & Ladders at Dinorwic Quarry, however the weather was shockingly bad, even for Snowdonia. The rain refused to relent, and while a few hardy (foolish) members of UCET braved the weather, the four of us decided that going underground was a far more appealing prospect.

Old tourist sign

Ratchwood Founder Mine

Gutted I forgot my camera.

Many thanks to Steven Dalgliesh and members of the Wirksworth Mines Research Group for organising the trip and showing us around :)
http://www.wmrg.org.uk/

Engine Vein Open Weekend

The Engine Vein Open Weekend had an excellent turnout as we have come to expect over the last couple of years.

Gorgeous George our mine mascot enjoyed taking part in the evenings frivolities, and his first taste or SRT went down well :) Thankyou to Alley for her idea of bringing along stick on moustaches to add to the general hilarity- I look forward to seeing the photographs. And also thankyou to Damian who provided everyone with generous helpings of his Polish hash hot pot, sadly I was the only person who didn't like it. I urge everyone to sponsor his speed hike on the Clapham Circuit in aid of the Cave Rescue Organisation. His just giving sponsorship page is here: http://www.justgiving.com/Damian-Skrzelowski1

For details of the next open weekend please see www.derbyscc.co.uk

Photography in Engine Vein

Bit of a last minute thing this arranged with Dan Sutton from UCET, seeing as none of us were going to Nenthead this weekend, Dan, myself, and Olly decided to go down Engine Vein on what turned out to be the nicest day of 2013 so far weather wise!

Olly looking at Blue Shaft

Bage Mine Winch Trip

A cold and early start found Damian driving through the snow with me and Olly to meet Gary and Daggers in the Rising Sun car park, once we had determined nobody else was turning up for the trip we went up to the Wirksworth club hut, and were all suitably impressed by the facilities there.

Many thanks to Steven Dalgliesh and members of the Wirksworth Mines Research Group for organising the trip and showing us around :)

Minera Lead Mine

Damian admiring the Calcite Formation beneath Cabin Shaft

Me, Damian, Pete and James met Tom who arranged this trip on this freezing cold rainy morning. Kitting up was bad enough in the weather, and we couldn't help but imagine what it would be like getting changed afterwards when we would be even colder and wetter after the trip! We walked over to Cabin Shaft which Tom rigged with a rope to abseil down, I think its about 30ft deep from what I remember. Once underground we were all suitably impressed by the huge calcite formation, which has been very well preserved considering its location near to the entrance shaft.

We all followed our knowledgable leader Tom who reassured us he has been down Minera many time, he told us the goal was to get down to the 'lake'. We all agreed that the mines passages are reminiscent of caving, and this is certainly not the easiest mine to navigate with many twisting turns and slopes that look very similar to each other. We all enjoyed some good fun bits of scrambling and climbing, especially James who I am sure loved every second of this trip :)

Calcite Formation Close Up

It took us about an hour and a half getting to the top of the deep stope at the bottom of which Tom told us was the lake. Tom and Pete rigged this to abseil about 50ft or so I think to the top of a big pile of stone that has fallen down and built up over the years. The descent itself is straightforward, but getting onto the rope involved clipping on cowstails and walking along a scaffold bar out to where the rope drops. This was not so fun as the drop below was hard to ignore whilst threading my stop to descend. The lake was bigger than I expected but I did not expect it to be yellow and it did whiff abit!

Back at Cabin Shaft and considering our options...

Alderley Wander

Me, Olly, Nigel, Ed and Richard decided to meet up for a wander around Alderley to take a look at a few of the lesser visited areas around the Edge. It was a nice day and lots of people were out enjoying the sunshine. I was pleased to collect my aditnow calendar from Ed and also the new edition of the Alderley Edge Mines book, updated by Nigel Dibben. First we went to Findlowe Mine in Finlow Hill, my second visit to the small mine which not a great deal is known about, but is suspected to have been worked primarily for cobalt. After a good look around and some photographs, we headed back to the car park for a quick bite to eat, and also to pick up an electron ladder for a look in Doc Mine. On the way we observed channel 4 doing some more filming near the Old Alderley Quarry for the programme Skins. And also a strange and well built shelter practically in the quarry, maybe it was being used for filming purposes? Nigel pointed out old marks on the lower side quarry walls indicating plank props and bits of grafitti which I have never noticed before, having not previously spent a great deal of time around that area.

The Alderley Edge Mines book

Moel Fferna Slate Mine

My first trip to Moel Fferna was my first time using an electron ladder. For this my second time we would all be using SRT for access. Suggested by Ed as primarily a photography trip, our group met at the roadside cafe which was, to everyone's annoyance, closed being out of season. We then divided ourselves into two cars and headed up the rocky track, Tom catching us up as we were getting changed.

The walk up was pleasant, surprisingly no rain fell on the 'bleak hill', however we witnessed the damage from the incessant flooding during 2012 that had evidently turned the trickle of a stream into a torrent and torn its way through the farm. Fortunately the stream had since calmed down again and the track up to the top of the incline had survived in good condition. We paused for a quick look around the crumbling old mine buildings and a quick breather before the last steep walk up to the entrance. Nobody wasted any time getting in, SRT kits off and happy to be underground, we went straight to The Cog and watched Briony, Ed and Daggers set up their photography equipment. The rest of us (myself, Pete, Olly, Tom, Oggy, Colin) then wandered off to explore with the aim of finding the "Bridge of Death".

Moel Fferna is technically called an underground slate quarry, worked for slab and on the whole in large and stable chambers. The supportive wooden crib work of the cog is quite magnificent, showing the later work of coal miners in the quarry. This mine has some very nice and photogenic features The cog, the adjacent chamber with its beautifully flat patterned roof and the old chained bridge of death.

Ed's Photographs

Ecton Copper Mines

Nigel's Trip Report

Ed's Photographs