Otherwise known as a Dosco roadheader coal mining machine. Now redundant at Pleasley Coal Pit and will probably end up as a front lawn decoration soon.

Tags:   dosco roadheader coal cutting machine pleasley pit mansfield nottinghamshire mining

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I could barely make out the colliery when I arrived, and visibility didn't get any better while I was there. Volunteers have created a beautiful nature reserve. Unfortunately I barely had a glimpse of it and had to surprise a lady hiding in some bushes picking sloe berries for directions to find my way out through the fog!

Pleasley Colliery is a former English coal mine. It is located to the NW of Pleasley village which sits astride the River Meden on the Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire border.

The colliery is located to the NW of Pleasley village which sits astride the River Meden on the Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire border. It lies 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Mansfield and 9 miles (14.5 km) south of Chesterfield. From the south it commands a prominent position on the skyline, although less so now than when the winders were in operation and both chimney stacks were in place. The colliery is situated at about 500 ft (152m) above sea level and is aligned on a NE-SW axis following the trend of the river valley at this point.

The grounds are now a nature reserve consisting of footpaths and lakes. The colliery underwent renovation and is now a mining museum

Tags:   pleasley colliery coal mine mansfield nottinghamshire headstock

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Fascinated by coal pit headstocks, I headed east and into the fog to Mansfield. These are all that remain of the Clipstone colliery.

Clipstone Colliery was a coal mine situated near the village of the same name on the edge of an area of Nottinghamshire known as “The Dukeries” because of the number of stately homes in the area. The colliery was owned by the Bolsover Colliery Company and passed to the National Coal Board in 1947. The headstocks and powerhouse are grade II listed buildings.

The colliery was sunk to exploit the Barnsley seam or “Tophard”, as it known locally. In the 1950s the shafts were deepened to over 1000 yards (920 m) to exploit other seams.

The colliery was closed by British Coal, as the National Coal Board had become, in 1993 and reopened by RJB Mining (now UK Coal) in April 1994, the licence to dig for coal being limited to the Yard seam which is located at a depth of 957 yards (870 m). The colliery was finally closed in April 2003.

Tags:   clipstone colliery coal mine pit headstock mansfield nottinghamshire

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I look forward to returning to Maenofferen quarry, above Blaenau Ffestiniog, on a dirty day with dark and moody, grey skies

Tags:   moelwyn mawr maenofferen slate quarry blaenau ffestiniog north wales snowdonia gwynedd ruins derelict buildings

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Late afternoon light on Rhos slate quarry, Capel Curig, Snowdonia.

(No sheep were harmed in the taking of this shot. Darcy just wanted to make friends and play)

And I'm back to a quarry again tomorrow

Tags:   rhos slate quarry capel curig snowdonia

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