Has anyone ever managed to get into this ?

[photo]Personal-Album-859-Image-85337[/photo]

It features on the 1970s Jackson / Lawson composite plan and the 'Ancient' plans but not any more modern ones such as Critchley or Mr Mike's

The 70's plan seem to suggest a passage to a 'Blacklocks Sump' immediately before the one to the New Fan Flats, but there's no trace of that today that I can see.

I can't really tell whether those dotted levels actually come off that sump and go back under the main flats into Vartys Crosscut ? (under the word 'blocked').

Presumably wherever it is, it's now behind a few hundred tons of deads ?

Never looked for it, I have checked on some LLC plans, no details on them. I will ask someone I know who will definitely be able to shed some light it, and how you would get to it - if it is possible.

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Hi Chris,
Had a look at the original plan I made, now this is my interpretation of what we see in the mine. The area you are looking at is behind the plastered area, on the LHS going inbye.if you look in this area there is a cross cut going across which eventually reaches a parallel flat to the main one. It is 'hard travelling', since much of the cross cut and flat are back filled..
The sump from the air drift is above Smallcleugh coming from an air drift which starts at the main level and is we'll run in.
It came across past the rise up to New Fan flat and over towards the main flat.
A dotted line signifies passages that were known to exist when the survey was being made but were not accessible to him.
If you wanted to get into this air drift you would have to put up a large maypole in the rise to New Fan flat, since the entrance shaft goes above the flat into the old air drift.
This is why this area is always wet! Water comes down from the air drift, not from the New Fan flat.
I am not sure if Varty's cross cut is the one behind the plaster,
Or one from this ventilation cross cut.
Remember until Rampgil was driven up under Smallcleugh, some time around 1830's ventilation was a major problem, hence the ventilation door and plastered walls.

That's interesting. I'd always assumed that the level running parallel with Hetherington's down the hopper off Wheel Flats was the southern end of the air drift.

How far above the new fan flats is it and have you or anyone for that matter been up?

I can't remember the shaft continuing upwards from the flats; will have to dig out my photos.

Cheers,
Rich

So the air drift was actually above the flats ?

With two plans saying "sump into air drift" I had just assumed it was below.

Goes some way to explaining why we never found it.

The Smallcleugh level which we all know and love is in fact the low level!
There was a high level which I have evidence for via one of my mine plans. Unfortunately it is now well run in when I looked for it a few years ago, I would expect that this was purely driven for ventilation, and ran in pretty quickly since whilst the ventilation drift I am referring to is shown on the Wallace Smallllcleugh plan, but no indication of this Smallcleugh High Level.

Thanks for all the enlightening information John.