The girlfriend has to work saturdays now, which means that I have extended leave on Saturday. It's time to get on with some things which need to be done and I'd like to have a crack at Camborne Shaft, Wheal Busy.

Obviously, this is not a trip to be taken lightly as it will require some quite specific rigging and be a long abseil, as well as being a complete unknown.

I'd like to ideally have about 4 or 5 chaps who are pretty competent with ropes (no fig 8's please) to go and have a poke around.

The shaft is here, right next to the road, surrounded by a wall. The collar is in good condition.

http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=50.256346&lon=-5.181685&z=18.1&r=0&src=msa 

Briefly, there are 2 lines of shafts with the N set intersecting the lode at depth, the S set cutting it around adit level. This shaft is on the S set, which I hope should intersect some large inclined stopes. Deep adit level is connected to county adit and should be quite extensive. There is also a shallow adit level (perhaps confined to the other end of the sett) which would hopefully be climb-up-to-able.

It is on a branch of CA which should be well drained and would hopefully allow future exploration towards Wheal Rose and Hallenbeagle via the adit.

The purpose of this trip would be to find what is left of Wheal Busy. As a fair bit of the shallow workings were reworked for arsenic more recently, the timber will hopefully be good.

Give me a shout if you're up for it.

Again, this will be a long abseil/ascent.

Stu

You would be well advised to have someone keep a lookout on surface due to the locals being more than nosey about most goings on in the area, not to mention the local scrags in Chacewater who like to wreck around the area.

Would be great to see some photos of workings down there though. Killifreth would be a good one to get pictures of, particularly the rising mains in the main shaft.

Without going off on too much of a tangent, I also gathered that there had been issues with things like ropes being pulled up/untied and things like that.

Considering that at least 1 belay point will be a car and the rope is black (quite difficult to see) I imagine that the local scallies would take not very much interest. I might pop across the road and give the neighbours a quick pep talk first. I assume the reason that the shaft is the only one not to be capped is that the owners could not be traced (at the time the busy shafts were timbered/backfilled/grilled).

Black Dog footway is in the area as well. I'll have a look for that as well, but I think both of the black dog shafts are totally obscured and given that the old custom was to wall them, if this hasn't been done, I expect the shaft to be filled. That holds a bit of water as there are no real significant spoil heaps there like you'd expect.

this do's sound a very interesting endeavour, unfortunately i have loads of work to do and it cant wait. but on the plus side it means going underground anyhow to gather samples. :thumbsup:

The local colour at the old gun club Station Road moved on last month (with a little help from the boys in blue) but I would still be careful

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I've heard a lot of rumblings about "the badlands" and from spending hundreds of hours poking around, I haven't met one aggro local or dodgy gangster. The people seem to be friendly and it seems a bit far fetched to me.

Rather than having a typical nebulous rumble, can we be more precise?

Cheers, Stu

Are we talking dog poo on the windscreen?
Ropes cut?
Gun to head?

Going down a hole on a bit of wasteland is nothing for anyone to get excited about apart from the Police or the Landowner (Lord Falmouth).

More to do with their colourful lifestyle as the local paper phrased it:
"In the aftermath, the freshly deserted camp, littered with scrap, showed the squalor in which scores of adults and children had lived with no running water or sewerage.

Raves, fires, thefts, fights, criminal damage and a drug overdose death were among the events that plagued neighbours' lives since 2001.."

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Are we talking about a load of gippos which made a mess near the arsenic stack?

It looked like a bin out there and apart from that was fine with people walking their dogs.

The only other shaft I found open (choked with rubbish) was in front of the Blacksmiths. That has x-cuts to both adit levels. All of the other shafts are capped.

I'd say the only person who may wonder what is going on would be the house across the road. Hence a visit if they look like they're in.

Anyway, thanks for the info. I take it you're not up for it!

As previous mentioned local serious trouble has been moved
on.....

Only real hassle is likely to be kids shouting down the shaft
or chucking in stones....probably haven't got the balls to pull up your rope and hold you to ransom......
price of petrol means no flamming milk bottles dropping in....

more likely to get your car broken into ......

would be prudent to have a friend at surface if you are lucky enough to have one ......

enjoy !

That's for sure! If your belay is the car then you may well get your belay nicked or damaged, and you would be better leaving two friends up top, one aint enough. Do you remember that film deliverance?....................... 😮

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I'd probably remind you of something out of deliverance, Roy!

I can imagine ascending the shaft at 80mph whilst my belay is driven off by the local chavs.

I haven't got any takers yet and will probably end up walking around somewhere.

I'll organise a proper posse with a bit more notice.

Bl**dy Ell Roy you just made me feel grateful for even surviving a surface walk there!!! Is it really that bad? I even left my car for 2 whole hours and it was there still...... in fact it was so deserted I never saw a single person for 2 hours.... or were they all in bed till opening time?

Regs Billy Joe Jim Bob Derbyshire :lol:

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deliverance

hell that really is an appropriate analogy......

harmonica and banjo are taught from birth. As is trapping

PA lite the fire .....caught me a mine explorer here...

Is a dead bubba ....no pa......good he'll skin easier if he's still breathig 😮

Blimey, I was hoping to get down to Cornwall for bit of exploration one day, but reading this I think I'll go somwhere safer instead :lol:

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Well if you come to Derbyshire remember your Visa... we are very strict re admission and don't forget if in the Peak district there are still Pygmie tribes that eat tourists..... particularly around Castleton and Buxton.....

::)

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I thought that pretty much described anywhere up north (ie further up than Exeter) 😉

Now Now.....

Just because you lot havn't actually worked out what "Knockers!" really are ::) :lol:

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I thought that pretty much described anywhere up north (ie further up than Exeter) ;)

Further up than EXETER!!!??? More like north of Truro. 😉

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Bl**dy Ell Roy you just made me feel grateful for even surviving a surface walk there!!! Is it really that bad? I even left my car for 2 whole hours and it was there still...... in fact it was so deserted I never saw a single person for 2 hours.... or were they all in bed till opening time?

Regs Billy Joe Jim Bob Derbyshire :lol:

Just a couple of points;

1/ The fact the car was there for two hours means they could not reach an amicable price with the local mafia.

2/ You didn't see any one because they were operating in stealth mode.

P.S. Have you checked to see if you still have underseal on your car?

:lol: :lol: :lol:

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No but apparently there are several Passats in Cornwall with my registration!!!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

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