1. The History
Longstone Edge is located approximately some 4km to the north of Bakewell, within the north-eastern area of the White Peak and to the west of the Derwent Valley. Here can be found Watersaw Mine or Sallet Hole adit no.2 as it is also known. It was opened in 1965 and was originally owned by Laporte Minerals who worked it for fluorspar barytes lead. In 1987 after persistent tunnelling, it linked up with the lower Sallet Hole Mine. Watersaw then took over as the main haulage route after Sallet Hole closed. It consisted of an east and west ramp. The shorter east ramp was worked until around 2009. The longer west ramp which was linked to Sallet Hole no.1 adit was worked until the mine closed in December 2010.
The site was cleared, and the mine put on a ‘care and maintenance’ programme by the current owners, British Fluorite Limited, due to consented ore reserves still remaining and a desire by BFL to maintain the option of re-commencing fluorspar operations underground, subject to commercial viability and availability of alternative sources of supply. It was estimated that if workings were to resume, Watersaw could produce between 300 – 600 tonnes of fluorspar ore per day. Despite this, the mine has not re-opened and has suffered three managed surface collapses above where the fluorspar vein has been worked.
2. The Explore
Explored in the as-always enjoyable company of @Bikin Glynn - along with two other non-forum members. After our planned explore fell through, it was time to think of a Plan B. Watersaw very quickly came to mind as it was near by and we knew it should be open. Plus on my last visit, lacking torch power, I wasn’t happy with my pictures.
The mine has seen better times and now everything above ground has been landscaped. Although it was an extensive mine, now, due to a number of serious collapses, there’s not too much to explore beyond where the main drive splits into the east and west ramps. There’s enough, however, to take up an hour or so of your time and what you can see is very atmospheric and photogenic. Apparently, it once linked to Sallet Hole but the potential for that through trip has long since evaporated.
Having parked up, it was a short walk to the adit. Despite the recent giant Lego cement bricks being placed in front of the entrance, it’s still pretty easy to get in. The main drive descends until you reach the splitting point - to the left east ramp and to the right west ramp. We first tried out east ramp. With collapses to the right and straight on, we decided to go down the passage that bends back on itself to the left, which had clearly been backfilled with waste. Having clambered over this relatively easily, we came to a major collapse so headed back. Retracing our steps, we continued down the west ramp. The main drive comes to a dead end where they stopped mining. The drive off to the right was dodgy but initially passable. Bikin remembered he’d been down here before and it led to a cool area with ladder and raised walkway. However, it became clear very quickly that there had been a massive collapse, meaning this part of the mine has now been lost. Hence, we made our way back after seeing all was possible to see, in this fascinating and photogenic spar mine.
3. The Pictures
And so it begins:
A nice bit of natural light:
Some nice colours:
The communication line:
Down we go:
Small refuge to the left:
On we push:
Looks a bit sketchy in places;
Some kind of whacky plant roots?
Forlorn hi-vis coat:
And old explosives packaging:
Decision time:
East ramp first:
This branch off to the right is a no go:
This doesn’t look too helpful either:
This branch on the left, looks like it’s been backfilled:
But it looks like the only possibility to keep going:
Despite its shonkiness:
Part of the ventilation system:
On we go:
This doesn’t look promising:
Massive collapse:
Time to turn around:
Some spare metal arches:
Longstone Edge is located approximately some 4km to the north of Bakewell, within the north-eastern area of the White Peak and to the west of the Derwent Valley. Here can be found Watersaw Mine or Sallet Hole adit no.2 as it is also known. It was opened in 1965 and was originally owned by Laporte Minerals who worked it for fluorspar barytes lead. In 1987 after persistent tunnelling, it linked up with the lower Sallet Hole Mine. Watersaw then took over as the main haulage route after Sallet Hole closed. It consisted of an east and west ramp. The shorter east ramp was worked until around 2009. The longer west ramp which was linked to Sallet Hole no.1 adit was worked until the mine closed in December 2010.
The site was cleared, and the mine put on a ‘care and maintenance’ programme by the current owners, British Fluorite Limited, due to consented ore reserves still remaining and a desire by BFL to maintain the option of re-commencing fluorspar operations underground, subject to commercial viability and availability of alternative sources of supply. It was estimated that if workings were to resume, Watersaw could produce between 300 – 600 tonnes of fluorspar ore per day. Despite this, the mine has not re-opened and has suffered three managed surface collapses above where the fluorspar vein has been worked.
2. The Explore
Explored in the as-always enjoyable company of @Bikin Glynn - along with two other non-forum members. After our planned explore fell through, it was time to think of a Plan B. Watersaw very quickly came to mind as it was near by and we knew it should be open. Plus on my last visit, lacking torch power, I wasn’t happy with my pictures.
The mine has seen better times and now everything above ground has been landscaped. Although it was an extensive mine, now, due to a number of serious collapses, there’s not too much to explore beyond where the main drive splits into the east and west ramps. There’s enough, however, to take up an hour or so of your time and what you can see is very atmospheric and photogenic. Apparently, it once linked to Sallet Hole but the potential for that through trip has long since evaporated.
Having parked up, it was a short walk to the adit. Despite the recent giant Lego cement bricks being placed in front of the entrance, it’s still pretty easy to get in. The main drive descends until you reach the splitting point - to the left east ramp and to the right west ramp. We first tried out east ramp. With collapses to the right and straight on, we decided to go down the passage that bends back on itself to the left, which had clearly been backfilled with waste. Having clambered over this relatively easily, we came to a major collapse so headed back. Retracing our steps, we continued down the west ramp. The main drive comes to a dead end where they stopped mining. The drive off to the right was dodgy but initially passable. Bikin remembered he’d been down here before and it led to a cool area with ladder and raised walkway. However, it became clear very quickly that there had been a massive collapse, meaning this part of the mine has now been lost. Hence, we made our way back after seeing all was possible to see, in this fascinating and photogenic spar mine.
3. The Pictures
And so it begins:
A nice bit of natural light:
Some nice colours:
The communication line:
Down we go:
Small refuge to the left:
On we push:
Looks a bit sketchy in places;
Some kind of whacky plant roots?
Forlorn hi-vis coat:
And old explosives packaging:
Decision time:
East ramp first:
This branch off to the right is a no go:
This doesn’t look too helpful either:
This branch on the left, looks like it’s been backfilled:
But it looks like the only possibility to keep going:
Despite its shonkiness:
Part of the ventilation system:
On we go:
This doesn’t look promising:
Massive collapse:
Time to turn around:
Some spare metal arches:
