Mini mine mission

I was trying to plan another adventure with Lydia, and she reminded me of a tiny mine in the vicinity she had been to, but not properly in. We figured we could do that just in an afternoon! And we picked a Wednesday for it.

She had volunteered to come by bus, as that saves me hassle, and the climate exhaust fumes. This was all agreed on when the weather was quite nice. I didn't stay that way! Around noon it started raining, and it wouldn't stop. I hadn't really bothered to check beforehand, and neither had Lydia. She arrived at my door a bit damp. But we decided to go anyway!

I drove to a feasible RV and we got kitted up. The rain wasn't too bad. Then we walked to the entrance. Not far in a false floor has collapsed, but the rails are still there. You can just shuffle along on them. And then you can rig the pitch that goes into the collapse.

Spot the spoil heap on the slope

Approaching the entrance

I was glad to revisit this mine. I had only been once, and it had not been a pleasant trip. It had been at a time when one of the men had developed a strong habit of shouting at me. He rarely shouted at the men! Little did I know back then that things could get a lot less pleasant than that. But either way; my memory of this trip was not good, and it was nice to paint over that with a nicer experience.

We rigged the rope, and I had a look down. It is a few meters diagonal, and then you can look down into the vertical part of the pitch. I was a bit hesitant about this; you could tell there was an awful lot of water coming down that pitch. I had a look, and indeed; two waterfalls coming down there. It wasn't a long pitch, but you would absolutely get completely soaked. 

Lydia had already mentioned she wasn't in peak health, and didn't want to end up like I had done during a previous trip with a wet pitch. I had come out ill! So she had a look as well, and we decided we should just come back another day when it was a lot drier. It's not far, after all! And not an awful lot of kit is required.

Lydia putting the rope back in the bag

The gaping hole in the floor, festooned with a mine cat

The entrance, seen from within

We did go and check out a higher entrance. One day I want to go there with a drill! If you would put a handline up, there is a little bit more level you can explore. You can see that from where you can safely go. But without a handline I'm not doing it.

The upper level

We walked back down the hill. I had brought cake, but it would be nicer to consume that at home with a nice cup of tea! So that's what we did. After a while Lydia checked the bus times back, and the next bus wouldn't be until 8:30, so I brought her home instead.

It had been a very brief trip, but in a way, it had been nice to get out on such a wet afternoon. The valley is gorgeous also in this kind of weather! And we can just have another look on a better day. I'm sure summer will get dryer than it is now! As things stand, it would struggle to get any wetter…