My son is kindly taking me up to Apedale for a visit on Saturday, as part of my birthday pressie. Sadly, my days of running round underground non tour mines are limited due to a damaged leg, but I still get around surface sites with no problem.

We're also going to Oakwell brickworks. Any ideas for anything else around that way worth seeing would be appreciated.

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I would offer you a cuppa as we live just over the hill but we'll all be at the PDMHS AGM do.
However, if you are into industrial stuff in general why not try the Gladstone Pottery Museum in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent?
It is a good afternoon's enlightenment on the industry.
Plus they have a fantastic collection of toilet pans.........

http://www.stoke.gov.uk/ccm/navigation/leisure/museums/gladstone-pottery-museum/ 

Bricks - yes, sadly not toilets. I get into enough **** collecting bricks and lamps.

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http://www.stokemuseums.org.uk/eim 
always wanted to get here, not in steam this w/e but looks good from the canal anyway

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Well worth a trip!
Though not steaming this weekend.
My eldest son has just finished a 6 month session working there.
There is a beam engine driving a series of grinding pans for bone and china clay. This is where the lumps of chert that were mined at Bakewell ended up. They are the grinding stones in the pans.

Sadly they are facing closure following heavy funding cuts.
You can support them here :-

Expression of dismay/concern.
To Stoke City Council by post: Lets Talk, Freepost, Our City, Online: WWW. stoke.gov.uk/letstalk, email: [email protected]
To local councillors for Hanley West and Shelton: Zulfiqar Ali, [email protected], Amjid Wazir, [email protected], Mohammid Iqbal, [email protected]
To Tristram Hunt MP, by post at SOT Central, 88 Lonsdale Street, Stoke, ST$ 4DP, email, [email protected]
To the Sentinel, email [email protected]
Make your letters polite, short and to the point, you might like to include:-
The Mill is a unique example of a steam powered potter's mill which forms a vital part of the City's heritage.
It is a scheduled ancient monument.
The restoration and maintenance is Volunteer lead which has taken over 30 years.

Sad to hear of another possible museum closure due to funding cuts.

We should all be able to vote for funding of these very places via the National Lottery, after all, it is our money and our heritage/leisure and this is what the proceeds of the Lottery is supposed to be spent on.

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Yes its a sad situation, but things like museums always appear to be the "soft targets" when it comes to funding.

Personally I think these "spending cuts" are simply being used as a smoke screen, with little or no thought given to the future 😠

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My son is kindly taking me up to Apedale for a visit on Saturday, as part of my birthday pressie.

Hope you enjoyed your visit, nice to meet you!

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Had a fantastic time at Apedale. We had the "enhanced tour" which was great. For those who haven't been, I reckon it's the best of the "tourist" mines I've been to. It was less sterile than Caphouse or Big Pit, and far nearer the conditions I was used to working in during the late 60's/early 70's.
Never seen a twist conveyor before, and not been down a 1:1.9 gradient.

Also managed to find a few bricks, and a successful visit to Oakwell, even in the snow.

Good to meet you Mr C evein if only briefly. Will be back for a further visit, and to check out some of the plans (and a few bricks)
The drift mine I mentioned with a load of drams is just outside Fochriw. Will pm you the O/S ref.

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Had a fantastic time at Apedale. We had the "enhanced tour" which was great. For those who haven't been, I reckon it's the best of the "tourist" mines I've been to. It was less sterile than Caphouse or Big Pit, and far nearer the conditions I was used to working in during the late 60's/early 70's.
Never seen a twist conveyor before, and not been down a 1:1.9 gradient.

Also managed to find a few bricks, and a successful visit to Oakwell, even in the snow.

Good to meet you Mr C evein if only briefly. Will be back for a further visit, and to check out some of the plans (and a few bricks)
The drift mine I mentioned with a load of drams is just outside Fochriw. Will pm you the O/S ref.

Oh please, lots of interest!
Ps I'll see if i can find you Birchenwood brick, I'm sure I have one somewhere.

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Had a fantastic time at Apedale. We had the "enhanced tour" which was great. For those who haven't been, I reckon it's the best of the "tourist" mines I've been to.

Good
thought it was relly good when we went as well 😃

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http://www.stokemuseums.org.uk/eim 
always wanted to get here, not in steam this w/e but looks good from the canal anyway

Well worth a visit. 🙂 Was free in the 1990s, (as was the Lion Salt Works).

In another shameless plug....
The Etruria Industrial Museum will be having it's final steaming of the year this coming weekend (4/5th December).
If the volunteers cannot form a trust and save it, this maybe it's final steaming ever.

If the volunteers cannot form a trust and save it, this maybe it's final steaming ever.

I suppose it started off as a voluntary thing? I must have visited around 1991, admission was free but one could make a donation.
Engine was well painted/maintained at the time so it must have been going a while by then.

Not quite sure how it started but the engine and building were donated by Jess Shirley the grinding and china merchant.
Certainly in recent times it has been run by Stoke-on-trent city Council.
There may well have been volunteers initially who persuaded the City to get involved thinking it would last for ever.........

Appears it was scheduled as an Ancient Monument in 1975. 🙂

http://www.thepotteries.org/tour/080.htm 

Also appears Fred Dibnah performed the 'official' opening.

http://www.canalcuttings.co.uk/etruria-industrial-museum-jesse-shirleys-etruscan-bone-and-flint-mill.html