This site is very much active, it's in the hands of a pyrotechnics company who use the tunnels for testing. I visited on an Airsoft weekend, and was given permission to have a wander around for some photos on the second day.
The History
As mining became established as the backbone of Cornish...
Chisnall Hall Colliery was the largest coal mine on the Lancashire Coalfield north of Wigan. The colliery on Coppull Moor was owned by Pearson and Knowles Coal and Iron Company in 1896 when it employed 135 underground and 48 surface workers.
The colliery appeared on maps in 1908 as a coal mine...
Pen-Yr-Orsedd is home to the last standing blondin winder in Wales so its worth a visit just to see that! Theres quite a few winder buildings that would of controlled the blondin lift mechanisms then a large mill on the mid lever and a smaller older mill at the base of the quarry with a few old...
Thanks to @HughieD for the heads up, that this site could still be accessed... headed over with a non member and soon found the main entrance with what I assumed was the only way in, chained up very tightly! A quick walk close by and we soon found another (even tighter) way into the mine. You...
This was a revisit, did a report on this quite a while ago but we'd never done any underground and our shots were terrible. Always wanted to do a better job and while in the area decided to have another stab at it. Link to original report Report - - Nant y Gadwen Manganese Mine - Rhiw, Lllyn...
This might end up being a long one because of both the very eventful history of the place and the explore itself... I hope you like reading.
There's an area near the border with France where there are some abandoned talc mines. This one, officially called the Canta Mine, started in 1868 as a...
I've spent the last few weeks researching the Selby super pit and it's mines. Wistow Mine, Stillingfleet Mine, Riccall Mine, North Selby Mine, Whitemoor Mine and at Gascoigne Wood Mine are the 6 pits that are all linked, yet obviously shut down around 20 years ago. I went to stillingfleet mine...
History: Sygun Copper Mine is a Victorian copper mine which closed in 1903 but was renovated and reopened by the Amies family as a tourist attraction in 1986, focusing on audio-visual tours of the underground workings. It is still open to the public today. Sygun Copper Mine was once a main...
History - The Tilberthwaite deep level adit was first driven in 1849 by John Barret to connect with the extensive Tilberthwaite Copper mines, and as well as acting for drainage, to allow the passing of ore from higher levels. At the mouth was constructed the Penny Rigg Copper Mill, which was...
History:
After the second world war the reconstruction of Europe had started. What laid central to this reconstruction was the hunger for energy. Coal was the most commonly available and cheap resource which could be used for the rebuilding of heavy industry in West-Germany. This demand caused...
We haven't posted much for the last couple of weeks due to real life getting in the way, namely my van engine deciding to catastrophically give up on life along with having loads on at work but managed to get it all sorted it out in time for this visit. We visited this place for the first time...
History:
The history of this coal mine started all the way back in the beginning of the 1900s. At the time the West-Germany truly started to industrialize. What powered this rapid industry was for the majority coal. This caused the creation of many new coal mines. During the years the mine grew...
This is going to be quite a short report on the remains we found of Montcliffe Colliery. Winter Hill near Bolton is famous locally for the huge T.V. mast at the top and is popular with walkers but it has been extensively mined and Quarried in the past. There were multiple collieries around the...
This place has been covered loads of times (most recently in an excellent report by @HughieD ) but we've always thought it looked awesome and wanted to check it out. We had a full days childcare so thought we would do the 2 and a half hour drive down and check it out. This is by no means a...
History - This is the southernmost of a small group of manganese mines near the village of Rhiw. The group, which included the Bennalt and Rhiw mines was the largest producer of manganese ore in the UK in the early 20th century. Nant Mine raised 45,644 tons of manganese ore prior to its closure...
History:
The German Ruhr valley is widely known for its heavy industry like steel and manufacturing. What laid central in this industry was the availability of coal stored deep underground. Coal mining became a common practice since the beginning of the 1800s, which kickstarted the German...
I'm sure some that will know of the 'hidden' ww2 communication bunkers dotted around the coastline, the remaining sections of railway, tunnels and various other structures from the 50/60's along with multiple smuggling and mining tunnels that are within the North Devon area.
I'm looking for...
What a great find this was. Construction of the tunnel began in 1898 on Draycott tunnel and it opened in January 1909. During its use the tunnel was prone to collapsing and attempts were made to strengthen the tunnel using steel hoops . The section of line between the north portal of the tunnel...
Chatterley Whitfield is one of my all time favourite explores ever! It has so much history and character. In 1979 the Chatterley Whitfield Mining Museum opened and it soon gained a reputation of being Britain’s best known mining museum attracting over 70,000 visitors a year. Underground tours...
History:
The Godstone main series firestone mine, is located deep beneath the forest floors of Surrey, and dates back as far as the 1600s. The mine first began its life as a vital source of flint, or commonly named "firestone".
Originally, this mine comprised of 5 different networks, The Roman...