A new event has been added to the Events page.

Event name: Visit to Scaleburn and western Rampgill mine workings

Date & time: 12/08/2012 at 10:30

Details: This event is an introduction to some of Rampgill Level at Nenthead. It will include visiting the workings on Scaleburn vein - where it is possible to view the remains of an underground whimsey. We will also visit some of the western workings of Rampgill Mine. No climbing of ropes or ladders is required. Water may be over knee deep in places. Some crawling and scrambling. General mine atmosphere is damp, so dress to keep warm. Bring underground lunch. Exit time outside may be 1830 hrs, but is likely to be earlier.


Event added by: PeteJ

Full event: http://www.aditnow.co.uk/events/?uid=210 

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Hi Pete,
Good to see that you are organising a party to visit the Scaleburn whimsey. unfortunateley I will not be able to be present.
However I offer a few observations! Since we put the second oil drum in it seems to have, over the years narrowed somewhat and so the level beyond seems almost impossible to get into.
It needs some enterprising group to re-do this entrance to the passage beyond!
Another interesting feature is the mineralisation both above, below and in the horse level random.
The former is accessed via a small rise just before the oil-drum. Here the way on needs you to wriggle around a large boulder in the roof, which I did years ago but last time we
attempted it I could not get around and over it.
The prize is access to a low flat which eventually leads to flat workings above /close to the horse whim.
if you need any more help please let me know.
have a good trip.

Good morning John.

You will remember the sumps from the drift above the Limestone - whereby you engineered the original access shaft.

The next sump eastwards was easily dug at its base, which helped the team who then dug out the fall on the horse level and removed the need to go down the "Lawson sump". I wonder whether you ever attempted to dig any of the more easterly sumps?

I wonder whether a dig in one of those sumps would bypass the shrinking oil drum?

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Hi fellow Nenthead enthusiasts, Petes idea of digging another sump would have to be a deep one!
You rise steeply in the shale gate above the Great Limestone and if you recall the rise I described close to oil drums, the level opposite going in bye should theoretically should do the by-passing but it appeared to be blocked.
However I cannot be sure about this since it is over 20 years since I last looked at it,
The reason we put the oil drums in was to help stop the continual run of debris from a hopper on the left-hand side going in-bye.
At one stage I was actually trapped by the debris and only got out by removing rails, jamming them into the one oil drum we had and Robert pulling me out through it.
I believe Roy was present on this occasion and perhaps he might add a little to the thread.

Hope you all have a good trip 😉

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Considering it's an introductory trip, I wouldn't advise anyone to even attempt that barrel in its current state.

Anyone who likes a pie and pint doesn't stand a chance of getting through, let alone getting back which is apparently trickier.

It needs replacing, anyone got a new barrel ?

Aye that barrel is bad enough without having to get back through it as I found out on honeymoon. Wife was highly helpful at yanking me back through it and I'm definitely not anywhere near podgy! Highly embarrassing at the time but it was her insistence that made me go through it in the first place. Much grief after! Was fun looking back on it though...

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The barrel was of course a story of unfortunate misjudgment... When we started digging the blockage we took an old oil drum in as a quick and easy way to support the roof. We found that putting the drum in was insufficient to prevent rock on the inbye side of the fall from continuing to come down threatening any unfortunate soul passing through. I believe Mr Fellows was present when we found that out. Now my dad came up with the perfectly reasonable idea of chopping a second oil drum in two, cutting a segment off to make it narrower than the original, and when we got to the first oil drum in the mine bolting it together and pushing it through the original. Sounds simple??? Problem was the second oil drum was actually BIGGER then the first one, so when a segment was cut out to make it smaller it ended up at more or less the same size of the first...
We pushed the second oil drum through the original without bolting it fully together and hence you have the ever shrinking oil drum....
Next time you are in the mine have a careful look at the oil drums, they are a perfect solid example of sod's law...

I did wonder how it ended up being so small! Can't hide from sod's law - even underground unfortunately...

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Many thanks to Pete for taking a whole day of his time to show us around. We had a cracking time, as I'm sure everyone did.

How many turned up for the trip?-
Glad you had a good time 😉

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Five of us in total.

A good trip, something which can't be applied to my trip home!
Due to a close encounter with the round bale spike on the end of a tractor my car has considerably fewer windows and some torn steel. I fear I shall not see her again... 😞

Thanks to Pete for being the On The Way Home From The Mine Rescue Service

The next time someone tells me that mine exploring is dangerous... :guns:

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