Darwen Moor mines , Turn Lowe, Blackburn and Darwen , mist and -2C

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/467113

known as  Pasture Barn Farm ruins

http://jakeofwinterhill.blogspot.com/2010/11/cranberry-moss-bull-hill-darwen-old.html

http://jakeofwinterhill.blogspot.com/2010/11/cranberry-moss-bull-hill-darwen-old.html

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1838580

Winter Hill with the Fog coming in you can see the plane trails high in the sky – mast is to the right

me on the ice

Note from Dad: most of the route was clear but ice patches on the top were found

iron pipe in the grass -from the Mine?

me looking at the ruins

a old building

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28709338@N04/3426482035/

better photo of this type of  Brick

Brick from Joseph Higson Daubhill Brickworks Bolton

http://www.boltonrevisited.org.uk/s-about-daubhill.html location of Brickworks,

a metal pipe ?

Note from dad :some aspects of the building were odd for a farm

mist coming in over the mine above the farm ruins – the other half is flooded

in the mist at Turn Lowe,  The mist took 30 minutess to come down across our route making it cold and difficult to see,

me on a capped mine shaft – poor visibility which got worse as it became dark

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/467091

better day and photo!

another shaft

old mine shaft and a mine  tip

me doing a roly-poly down the hill – have fun as well !!

Route we took

http://www.sanoodi.com/routes/darwen-moor-mines-304074/

http://www.sanoodi.com/routes/darwen-moor-mines-304076/

history of mines in this area

http://www.cottontown.org/page.cfm?language=eng&pageID=1251

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_collieries_in_Lancashire_since_1854

About the area around Darwen

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwen

http://www.blackburn.gov.uk/

http://www.darwenfc.com/

http://www.darwendashers.co.uk/

http://www.cottontown.org/page.cfm?pageid=418&language=eng

http://prestonwalkies.blogspot.com/2010/08/darwen-moor-and-jubilee-tower.html

http://www.unitedutilities.com/Roddlesworth.aspx

http://www.blackburn.gov.uk/server.php?show=ConWebDoc.20535&viewPage=2

see section Section 20 – 21

RSPB Geltsdale, New venture drift/Howgill colliery and Forest head lime works,Cumbria

New venture drift -wast tip

“Howgill Colliery – Another early Thompson project was the Howgill Colliery which was a drift connected to the Blacksyke Branch near Forest Head. Howgill was closed in 1880 but sections of it were worked many decades later to help boost the dwindling coal resources. In 1919 the Naworth Coal Company was again considering fresh mining activities closec to the old Howgill Colliery and the Venture drift was reopened beside the Gairs Branch south of Forest Head which entered the Howgill seam this was called the New Venture Drift. At its peak in 1923 it employed 46 below ground and 16 on the surface and finally closed in 1934”.
taken from http://www.cumbria-railways.co.uk/brampton_railway_mines.html

pipes from the mine -these are used to vent gases from tunnels

entrance to the drift mine -taken from the top of the drift entrance

we heard  water which sounded like it was from a  hollow tunnel -one of the other entrances to the drift mine!

railway cutting  to Gains colliery disused

a wall – look carefully a pipe !

a pipe to fill the water tank in the  steam trains ?

a water tank – pipe to the railway cutting  + valve found to control the water flow

a rainbow

capped mine shaft

mine waste tip

red lichen flower found on mine waste tip

forest head lime works,

very windy and wet on the ground

lime kilns

info about Lime Kiln’s

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lime_kiln

inside a lime kiln

mine ?

Railway loading bay

railway cutting disused

lime kiln waste

kirkhouse brick

RSPB Geltsdale -back at last

http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/g/geltsdale/

Weather: very wet ,windy high chill factor very strong winds which were very gusty visibility generally good  though, very tiring to be out and about on the high fells so we kept to the lowland parts , we will come back to this area.

Links to local area

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/uk/respb-geltsdale.html#cr

http://www.northpennines.org.uk/index.cfm?articleid=12999

http://www.northpennines.org.uk/index.cfm?articleid=9091

Local places to shop

http://www.alstoncraftworkers.co.uk/

http://www.made-in-northumberland.co.uk/

http://www.madeincumbria.co.uk/

local photo

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1539500

route

http://www.sanoodi.com/routes/geltsdale-mines-and-quarries-302340/

Forest head to Gains – disused railways,Old Mines and quarries -Cumbria

image of area  from

http://www.cumbria-railways.co.uk/brampton_railway_mines.html

 

we went from Blacksyke colliery to the  Blacksyke quarry  to Gairs colliery

 

along this route ran the famous  Rocket  steam engine

“In April 1837 James Thompson purchased George Stephensons Rocket from the Liverpool and Manchester Railway for the sum of £300″

background note:

Blacksyke Colliery

“Blacksyke Colliery’s first shaft was sunk during 1820-1 and went into production in 1822-3 using a steam engine for pumping and coal winding. To serve this Blacksyke colliery a branch line was put in East of Hallbangate climbing in a south westerly direction via a rope hauled line to reach this bleakly sited colliery”.

http://www.cumbria-railways.co.uk/brampton_railway_mines.html

 

 

http://www.dmm.org.uk/articles/8510805.htm

details of accidents at colliery

 

 

 

this is a coke oven

 

mine in the mist

 

at the top of the hill  of mine waste

steam engine where it used to be

note from dad : used for mine and the railway -incline was too steep for engines on their own !

video of Blacksyke mine

Blacksyke s quarry

red sandstone

note from dad -not from this area looks like Eden red sandstone ?

smmmmmooooth stone looks like wood !

Blacksyke quarry from above

Forest head Quarry

 

 

 

 

 

 

try and spot the railway line

 

Here are the railway tracks to Gains Colliery

background note :

Gairs Colliery – Work began on Gairs Colliery on the bleak windswept fells above Hallbankgate during 1909 and was completed by 1912. Besides the main seam there was a blacksmith shop and screens for sorting the coal. With this new development a further extension of the Brampton Railway was completed with a branch leaving the Blacksyke route near Forrest Head and following the course of the older line to Howgill. Beyond Howgill the new line climbed steeply to Gairs Colliery with gradients of between 1 in 27 to 1 in 18 which was one of the steepest worked adhesion lines in Great Britian at the time. At its peak in 1921 Gairs Colliery employed 180 below ground and 51 above ground and was finally abandoned on 6th September 1936

http://www.cumbria-railways.co.uk/brampton_railway_mines.html

an old railway bridge  on the way to Gains colliery

 

 

the spooky house  ( dads note :Gains house where the mine manager was supposed to live but its split into two houses  which are equal ? )

 

–Dads note we did not explore the mine because of the weather moving in see right hand side of the photo

safety choice – Jake was tired due to adverse weather conditions , don’t take risks and become a casualty  there’s always next time !

I am in the fog wind and rain again

 

note from Dad -we dropped height and took the protected route next to the stone wall to avoid the wind

 

 

video showing high wind ,rain and low level cloud

 

 

a mine opening  ?

(one of the small breaks in the weather to allow a good photo )

 

note – from dad

weather for route

high winds leading to high chill factor -cold due to driving rain  and wind , poor visibility at times  -down to 5m ,

above this area is a place called cold fell – a name not without reason !

 

route taken

blackberry played up due to getting wet so distance is underestimated times/speed not accurate

http://www.sanoodi.com/routes/forest-head-to-gains-4.6-miles-302292/

point to point run

 

 

links

Local mountain rescue team

http://www.penrithmrt.org.uk/

 

walk links

http://www.markrichards.info/

http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/elibrary/Content/Internet/544/932/4009111315.pdf

http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/elibrary/content/internet/544/932/4009111739.pdf

 

we used a combination of the above two walks plus the Cumbria railways site to explore this area

 

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/461843 Gains mine in better weather than we had !

 

Winter Hill Fold Pasture – the quarry and different insects I found

It was very foggy today.

This is a video of a river.

This is the mast in fog.

A pattern on a gate post.

A Philipson brick from Bolton.

This is a quarry.

This is a really fast beetle, that wouldn’t sit on my hand for long!

This is a caterpillar I found.

This is the route we took: http://www.sanoodi.com/routes/fold-pasture-quarry-298218/