Le                                               

 I usually have a project on somewhere, either working on my own or with others.        

If you would like to read about some of my projects, you can find them on Adrian Pearce's British Mining Database

http://www.ap.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/bmd.htm

However, if you want to be one of the first to read about the "Big One", here it is;

Nenthead (North Pennines)

  For the past few years I have been involved in a project, of which one remarkable feature is the way that it has been kept secret. Now, being virtually completed, it is time to reveal all.

If one enters the Caplecleugh High Level, in the Upper Nent Valley, it is possible to explore this level for a distance of about 500 metres to a solid collapse. There have been attempts to dig through this fall in recent years, all unsuccessful. Many contemporary researchers dismiss the Caplecleugh High Level as simply leading to Bog Shaft. This could not be further from the truth.

If one could “spirit” oneself through this fall, one would be able to pass other falls to eventually find oneself in virtually solid passage driven mainly in the limestone. One would then be able to proceed for about a mile, in a westerly direction, passing through several recent digs to eventually reach the forehead about four hundred meters from Longholehead Whimsy.

The level from the portal follows the Cowslitts Cross Vein to its intersection with the Caplecleugh North Vein, this is the area of the fall that blocks the level. The level then follows Caplecleugh North Vein passing several branches on the left. These crosscut the Caplecleugh Vein and Caplecleugh Sun Vein, one reaching the Caplecleugh Engine Shaft. None of this area is shown on the abandonment plan, possible a factor that has lead to confusion.

Proceeding westward one would pass several sumps leading down to lower workings; these have concrete dams put in by the Veille Montagne Company as this level was used as a spillway from the compressors in Bog Shaft. Soon one would be in the area covered by the abandonment plans, and reach a crosscut to Longcleeugh Vein going off on the left. This level is blocked by collapses, but would have originally led to Bog Shaft. Proceeding further to the west, one would pass Baisbecks Crosscut on the left and further on the head of Archers Rise, which would be seen to be rigged for SRT, this being the access point from the Caplecleugh Horse Level below. In this vicinity is the name “Isaac Archer “ and “Priorsdale House Age 18 1850”. Further to the west a branch to the left follows Archers Vein, while the main passage continues through a series of tight digs, and areas containing gas and bad air, to end eventually at the forehead.

The last known people to enter these workings, was a survey party including Thos F Walton, who is the signatory to the abandonment plans. A curies fact is that this party all left their names on the wall, and the date “February 23, 1926”. Yet the abandonment plans are dated December 6^th 1922.

There are also a few lines of what I originally thought poetry signed by an L. W. Pattinson. They are actually a few lines of a hymn from the Methodist hymn book. (Info from Dave Carlisle, thanks Dave)

 In darkest shades if thou appear

My dawning is begun

Thou art my souls bright shining star

And thou my rising sun.

  L.W. Pattinson (a member of Thos Waltons survey group) Feb 23 1926

  The chalk survey marks are to be seen on the walls going west as far as the Longlcleugh Vein crosscut; there was no sign that anyone had been in the westerly extremity for any number of years.

Since the early 1990s I had been exploring the Caplecleugh workings, and climbing the various rises. Later, I was to team up with Ian Hebson, a fellow member of several northern mining societies. Ian is a better climber than me, and together we have managed to climb virtually every rise from the Caplecleugh Horse level into the Great Limestone workings. Ian also gained Archers Rise and fitted it out with SRT ropes, however at this point in time I am not prepared to describe the route in detail because of safety considerations. Both Ian and myself have put a lot of effort into this project, Ian’s climbing on several occasions put himself at personal risk. I myself have spent up to ten and a half hours digging in there, carrying materials including two Acro props through the working s and up the various SRT rises.

Others, including Ians girlfriend Kirsten Crowther, have been part of team on and off.

As I have stated in the forgoing text, the main level from the collapse in the entrance section, to its forehead in approximately one mile. If one includes the various side passages, stopes, rises and sumps, there is probably about two miles of working not previously accessed by modern explorers.

I would council a great deal of caution to anyone considering attempting to locate the routes and explore these workings. The routes itself is slightly unstable, and the western end of the high level has gas and bad air. In sharp contrast the eastern end is very strongly ventilated, in fact TOO strongly. It is the coldest place I have ever visited underground, and therefore carries the attendant risk of someone going into hypothermia.

It is my hope that this discovery will prompt an organised effort to dig the collapse in the main level. This would provide an easier access route for proper research, and greatly add to the famous “Nenthead Through Trip”.

I have to make a final comment. All this has only been achieved because I had the freedom to this in my own way. Yes, this often meant going underground on my own and working on my own, this is my way. 

Frongoch (Mid Wales)

Entry to this mine involved a flat out crawl in running water up the partially choked adit. This was impossible in wet weather, therefore for some time I had been considering the adit shaft as another possible means of entry. In 2002, with the mine being on the NAMHO meets list, I decided to do something about it. Visiting the mine, accompanied by a friend from Welsh Mines Society, we used an aluminum extending ladder to examine the shafts condition from below. To our surprise, we found it possible to climb up to where daylight could be seen coming in about thirty feet up. I have some doubt about it actually being a shaft ever used for access; it’s actually the upper part of an open gunnis. It was to prove quite interesting in itself, from part of the way down, old men's workings can be seen extending towards the road. These workings are probably quite old.

On subsequent weeks, we commenced the work of clearing and stabilising the shaft with the intention of fitting fixed wooden ladders. I had previously had talks with the landowner, Mr. Arthur Edwards. I proposed that together with the other work, the shaft would be capped with concrete and steel and fitted with a manhole for access. Mr. Edwards readily agreed to this, however I was soon to realise what a daunting task I had undertaken.

Our initial work was stabilising the lower end of the shaft by fitting wooden stemples backfilled with rock in places where there where unstable ledges. These then provided useful staging for the fixed ladders. Next, a steep slope of earth and rubble was stabilised by creating large “steps” using mine timber. Eventually, much of this slope would be circumvented by the installation of fixed ladders. A partial blockage of old car body sections was taken out and compressed into a convenient cavity. This left the upper section of the shaft clear, a distance of thirty feet from daylight to the rubble slope. It was decided to leave this for the time being and concentrate on the surface work. One problem was that the shaft collar was some fifteen feet down a steep grassy hollow. It was about ten feet long by about 3 to 4 feet wide, following the direction of the vein away from the road. It was only possible to descend on a rope, as the open shaft was below. It was therefore decided to tackle the job in two halves, doing the road side first. Concrete footings would be cast, and the shaft bridged by steel reinforced concrete posts. Once this outside end was done, a way down could be made to the platform created. This would make it easier to work. The shaft is not vertical, but hades a few degrees, and the upper part of the hanging wall was seen to be unstable. First task was to dig back from the collar to expose the bedrock, this was done  dangling on a rope. At the same time, I had the opportunity to acquire some damaged concrete fence posts. These are of cast concrete reinforced with very high tensile steel rods. A section of rod about a foot long is impossible to bend by hand, although only about ¼ inch thick. These, I considered ideal to form part of the capping, and they where transported to the site. Initial work was stabilise the upper part of the hanging wall, short 3 ft lengths of the concrete post were concreted in sloping down at an angle into a convenient cavity. Other loose cavities were concreted or bricked up. All done while hanging on a rope! Further stabilisation work done at surface included filling various cavities up with liquid concrete as part of building up a “collar” which would eventually be bridged over with the posts.

On Sunday 30th June I returned to work solo in the shaft, installing a false floor at the random of an “old mans level” heading towards the road. I suspect that there was one an upper level from daylight, entering the gunnis at this point. I worked all day at this, hammering into place heavy timbers to support the floor. More wooden ladders where permanently installed in place, and an aluminium extending ladder fitted from the false floor to surface. This latter item was temporary for the NAMHO meet and will probably be removed at a later date. I don’t think it a good idea to encourage casual access, although there is no intention to ever fit a lock. 

Later work resulted in the whole shaft being capped. There is a large manhole cover with a drain on either side. A length of scaffold pole has been concreted in just below the drain on the footwall side. This is to provide a suitable belay point in the event the first ladder is removed. The first pitch is 18 feet down the footwall.

The capping is actually in two halves, with the manhole  and some concrete lintels forming a "bridge" between the two halves. It was done this way in order to avoid putting a load on an unstable area of the hanging wall.

The reason for carrying out all this work is to secure the shaft against material falling in from surface, with the attendant risk of the adit becoming blocked, and to provide a more “sociable” method of entry. Up to the time of the work on the shaft, the only method of entry was a flat out crawl in running water from the adit portal..

Basically, what is being done is the digging of a fall adjacent to the Engine Shaft. This is a terrible job and has been going on since about October last. So what is it all about? Well, examination of the plans shows about 50 metres of passage between Engine Shaft and the next shaft on the lode, Pryces Shaft. Before Pryces Shaft there is a 'bypass level' similar to the levels that bypass Boundary Shaft and Williams. The dig is probably about 20 metres from this 'bypass' level. Well if this can be gained, the level will bypass the inevitable blockage at Pryces Shaft to rejoin the main adit level at a point that I have christened "Four Ways". One way here is the way the explorer would have come, another will lead to the likely blockage at Pryces Shaft, another will continue along main lode, (probably blocked by falls), and the last is a crosscut to a long (about 600 metres) drive on North Lode. North Lode is the vein that the adit is driven on from portal, and is only slightly stoped. To make the whole proposition even more exiting, there is another crosscut further on between Main Lode and North Lode, this would probably bypass any falls on Main Lode. Also, there is 140 feet of ground in this area between adit and grass, with the possibility of rises/ ladderways up to higher workings. David Bick comments in his book that the mine probably has 3 miles of adit workings, examination of the plans show this to be very likely.

LAST PAGE UPDATE 21ST NOV 2003. SITREP: DIG HAS BROKE THROUGH TO A RIGHT HAND SIDE PASSAGE SHOWN ON THE PLAN. UNFORTUNATELY THE WAY ON AHEAD IS BLOCKED BY MORE FALL. THE SIDE PASSAGE IS A CROSSCUT TO A T JUNCTION AT A DRIVE ON PART OF THE VEIN THAT HAS BEEN 'THROWN' TO THE SOUTH. AT THE T, LEFT IS BLOCKED, RIGHT LEADS PAST A DANGEROUS HANGING SHALE BLOCK TO A BLOCKED RISE THAT STRONGLY DRAUGHTS. THERE IS NO STOPING. THE PLAN IS TO TIDY UP THE WORK DONE TO DATE, AND THEN COMMENCE A NEW DIG ONWARD. OBVIOUSLY, THERE IS PLENTY OF ROOM TO DUMP THE SPOIL, AND WORKING CONDITIONS ARE QUITE GOOD HERE. IN THE EVENT THAT THERE IS NO BREAKTHROUGH WITHIN ABOUT 12 FEET, IT IS LIKELY THE PROJECT WILL BE TERMINATED AS ITS 16 METERS TO PRYCES BYPASS.

Conditions of Access