April’s weekend meet saw us at Bishop’s Castle on the Welsh Borders staying at Broughton Bunkhouse. 12 club members couldn’t believe their luck with a warm sunny weekend. Definitely sun cream time for the first time this year!
Walks included the Stiper Stones, the Longmynd, a section of the Offa’s Dyke, Corndon Hill and Mitchell’s Fold stone circle with some folk joining them all together by bike. Nor all came back in one piece- Adrian, ever the hero, managed to cycle back to the Bunkhouse despite meeting the ground via the handlebars at one point and he has the scars to prove it. 🙁
Then again at least he was cycling in the right area, unlike some who seem to think that the cycle routes at Cannock Chase are a sensible way to drive to Bishop’s Castle on the way on Friday… although Paul and Derek (who else?) did repair a broken chain for some poor soul in passing while they were there.
A good weekend enjoyed by all- and it didn’t rain until we’d left! Now there’s a rarity
As many club members headed out last Saturday to take advantage of the first glimpses of spring sunshine, those more (fool) hardy souls wellied-up and headed to the beautiful Manifold Valley to explore the delights of the Ecton Copper Mine.
Our guide for the day was to be John Barnatt, archaeologist, mine surveyor and formidable expert on history of the Ecton Mine.
Ecton has been mined since the Bronze Age, and in the late 18th century was the deepest mine in the country and possibly the world. It was at this time that the mine also earned the Duke of Devonshire a fortune, with the huge profits paying for the building of the Crescent in Buxton and the Devonshire Dome, now the University of Derby campus in Buxton.
Today, access to the mine is restricted and we entered via the water drainage tunnel that was obviously flooded, but at a good foot deep in places thanks to the recent rains, it was a little deeper than we’d been lead to expect. This made walking on the uneven tunnel floor somewhat challenging, especially for those who’d missed (or foolishly ignored?) the recommendation of sturdy wellies!
John explaining how canals, kibbles and eventually railways were used to carry the ore to the surface
Once underground, John began to explain the history of the mine, and this set the scene for the day as we were to explore the maze of tunnels, chambers and canals, interspersed with the odd fact or two about the mine and how the technical innovations of the industrial revolution were adopted to increase yields.
Rare evidence of a copper seam left unmined
Around lunchtime, deep in the heart of the hill, we reached the head of the main shaft which although now flood, disappeared a phenomenal 300m below us.
The main shaft – 1000ft of crystal clear water
After lunch, the tour continued with the same mix of history lesson and exploration, including the cavernous water-wheel chamber which also used to house the capstan/barrel engine for pumping out the water and keeping the deep mines dry.
The realisation that we’d only seen a tiny fraction of the mine
Having spent around 4hrs underground, the cold had started to penetrate even the most well wrapped up members of the group, but the climb up the 9 ‘traditional’ ladders to the exit at the salts level helped to get the blood pumping and as we were hit by the welcome rays of the sunshine soon all shivers were long forgotten!!
Underground via ferrata anyone?
All that left to say is thanks to John for such a fascinating guide & Alan P for organising a brilliant trip!!
Alan so far has made all 2018 Tuesday meets… admittedly they have all been wet and at Castlenaze he didnt actually climb, but he has made them all.
So whatever happened today… Birchens was ON!
It was still drizzling when we arrived… but we wandered up feeling hopeful. It turns out though that optimism counts for nothing. It was damp… quite damp… very damp. Undetered we roped up and climbed trafalgar wall. A VDiff with a normal Birchen stiff start made stiffer due to zero friction.
Alan led and i followed
We decided that one route was enough and we headed down meeting Andy Nibbs on the way down who had been wandering around searching for dry rock… he had not been succesful
Last weekend myself, Dave and Jaimella attended a 2 Day Outdoor First Aid Course with Will4Adventure . I had to do it for work and to keep some qualifications valid while Dave and J just wanted to make sure they were ready if anything happened.
As climbers/walkers we are often away from roads and easy access as well as carrying out activities where an accident is not out of the question. It is not a matter of just waiting 10-20 mins for an ambulance….. we maybe the only people nearby and help could realistically be hours away. So whether you do a course or not, being prepared for taking control if an accident happens is not a bad idea.
The course was held in Youlgrave village and had people from around the country attending. The first day was spent indoors, learning the basics of managing a situation, working out what the problems are, protecting the airway, CPR and bandaging.
Dave with a head injury and pen stuck in his leg
The second day was when it started to get more related to the outdoors. We spent a lot of the day practicing moving our victim off the ground (preparing for the long wait for help to arrive) as well as making them feel more comfortable during this wait.
We then spent a number of hours putting all this into practice during mock scenarios down by the river. We took it in turns to be the victim, the first aider and the random helper named Tom (Totally.Obedient.Moron).
I have had to do a number of these courses, this one was well delivered, at a good pace and the practical work was relevant to what we may find while on the hill…fallen climber, crashed mountain biker with an attitude problem and weirdly positioned casualties. We had a chance to practice what we learnt and build on our knowledge from day 1 while under a little pressure.
All in all I think all 3 of us feel that we are more capable of dealing with any incidents, minor or major that we may find while out on the hill… however please don’t put us to the test on Tuesday.
Like last week it looked like rain was stopping play. But determination saw through and we had 2 outdoor groups and one indoor group.
While Dan and Rob headed to the Roperace others took a chance and headed to Windgather. Alan, Derek, James, Stuart and Jo got three routes in each though reports were that it was bloody cold.
A larger group headed go Earl Sterndale and went for a nice if slightly damp walk around the quarry tops. Flashes of thunder were seen in the distance over the roaches but only showers ever reached us.
Buxton Mountaineering Club 