Knockhill Sandstone Mine aka Knock Hill NGR NO 443 167 Explorer Kemback. Fife
This impressive mine was excavated from a long north-facing outcrop of the Calciferous Sandstone Measures, now largely overgrown from a long north-facing outcrop of the Calciferous Sandstone Measures, now largely overgrown with pine, gorse and bracken. Nearest to the road is a small quarry with a 20 m deep face; here the only features of interest are two short caves in the upper western section of the face. These caves, approximately 1 m and 3 m long, form short tunnels linking at the surface to a small ledge on the quarry face; perhaps originally natural features, they may have been widened during quarrying.
Northeast wards, beyond the small quarry, one arrives at the main workings, a magnificent face almost 0.5 km long with three main mined sections. These sections rarely extend back more than 20 m from the face, but may be as wide as 60 m or more. The sandstone is cream or buff-coloured and thickly bedded. In the mined sections, pillars have been regularly left to support the roof. Height varies in the workings from an average of 3 m to 7 m in one particularly large chamber, but is very much less in eastern and southern parts where there have been extensive roof falls. Some excellent fossils were noted. The attractive stone was widely used for building in St Andrews, but was found to be too soft and easily weathered.
Jeffreys, Alan 2008 Mines in Scotland 34
Yuill 25-26
Cutting coal in my spare time.