Closure was announced here in April and most workers had left by July. We started to explore in August but things were not too easy at first. No sooner had we made our way to the fence line there was an alsatian on the other side giving us the eye. It didn't look like we were going to have an easy time of it! We tried once more but the site was busy and we ran into a worker before we even make it to the first building, luckily we spotted him first and got away again!
Third time lucky it was. We were forced to leave it until after dark and at first it seemed a waste of time as lighting around the coal prep and headstocks was almost non existent and you couldn't see two feet in front of you. However as we worked our way deeper into the site things improved and we didn't see a soul all night..
The coal prep was so dark we couldn't see where we were walking.
It was immediately obvious this one was going to be good. The pit is very dated, a big contrast to my last two coal expeditions at Maltby and Harworth
Wispy mist was rising from the shaft. It was so lit up and unprotected at first i thought it was still in use but peering over the flimsy wooden gates it appears they have capped it off at the air drift level with only a small square hatch into the abyss.
Next for the headstock itself. This was easy but the site was so dark it was hard to get any decent photos. It was however a good spot to scope out the whole site and work out where to go next.
Into winder No.2. We immediately noticed a large ball camera on the wall but too late to turn back now.
No problem, it stopped!
The control cabin was stunning could have spent hours in here alone i think but we pressed on incase we had been spotted.
Heading through the powerhouse basement i took time to shoot just a handful of the epic dated signage. Then popped up into the powerhouse itself
Compressors old and new were still running.
Third time lucky it was. We were forced to leave it until after dark and at first it seemed a waste of time as lighting around the coal prep and headstocks was almost non existent and you couldn't see two feet in front of you. However as we worked our way deeper into the site things improved and we didn't see a soul all night..
The coal prep was so dark we couldn't see where we were walking.
It was immediately obvious this one was going to be good. The pit is very dated, a big contrast to my last two coal expeditions at Maltby and Harworth
Wispy mist was rising from the shaft. It was so lit up and unprotected at first i thought it was still in use but peering over the flimsy wooden gates it appears they have capped it off at the air drift level with only a small square hatch into the abyss.
Next for the headstock itself. This was easy but the site was so dark it was hard to get any decent photos. It was however a good spot to scope out the whole site and work out where to go next.
Into winder No.2. We immediately noticed a large ball camera on the wall but too late to turn back now.
No problem, it stopped!
The control cabin was stunning could have spent hours in here alone i think but we pressed on incase we had been spotted.
Heading through the powerhouse basement i took time to shoot just a handful of the epic dated signage. Then popped up into the powerhouse itself
Compressors old and new were still running.