Sunday 8 December 2013

Zip world trip and some amazing Mines in North Wales



This is amazing!  Our mate rich runs it and kindly let us have a go this weekend!  It should be on everyones bucket list.

Not content with one adventure in the day, we headed to an amazing abandonned slate mine.  This is reputed to be the biggest slate mine in the world...it's huge!


The entrance adit


Ali and maz


This 'staircase' heads  into a huge chamber about 30m deep and just vast!








We then found a plank walkway with rope to clip into...theres a 20m drop below them, pretty exciting stuff.  All this is new and has been put in by 'Go Below' a company running mine trips.


Maz grinning despite the exposure





This incline was enormous and ran for at least 200m vertically.


Rich, Ali and Maz looking at the remains of an old railway bridge.  The drop is about 20m past rich.

As this was an exploratory visit and we were following our noses and being sensible we eventually turned back and retraced our steps...we will be back!

Thursday 14 November 2013

After work adventures

I had a brilliant after work staff trip with some fellow instructors from Derwent Hill Outdoor Centre tonight.  We suited and harnessed up and headed to the Graphite Mine in Borrowdale for a through Abseil trip.















Its recently had a bit of a revamp with new bolts in places and we had a good old explore of the upper levels, managing to link up some things that i had an inkling might link.  Really, really good trip and great of the centre to loan us the minibus and some kit to do it.

Monday 11 November 2013

In one way and out the other...

This is becoming a bit of a habit...a monday night habit it seems!

We found ourselves back at Nenthead Mines tonight with a more adventurous trip in mind.  A through trip into Smallcleugh mine, down whats called Prouds Sump (shaft) and then out of Rampgill mine.


Some impressive walling near a horse gin in Smallcleugh


Mark heading down Prouds Sump 1st shaft


Andy and Mark in Prouds Flats looking at the amazing artefacts still there. 






Go on Andy it'll be reet!


In a large worked out vein, you  can see the height of the roof.


There were copious crystals on the roof here.


The remains of some old ore wagons


Mark checking out some impressive Galena


This is a circular platform built to work up into a vein from.


Mark inspecting an explosives box.





It's pretty big down there


At the end of the flats there's a really cool chamber full of crystals


You then head down another shaft and end up coming out of an ore shoot.



The rock really changes here and becomes shale (scary shale!) 


It got deep, but never to that critical depth if you know what i mean!?


This was a side passage off of Rampgill Hangingshaw level that we were now in.  The floor was covered in calcite.




Whisky bottle corner


And for something that isn't a cave it has some impressive cave features!

So we made it!  And a brilliant trip it was too.  Unfortunately we saw a lot of future trips along side passages on the way out...we will be back!