EXPLORING LAKE DISTRICT METAL MINES IN THE 1980S AND EARLY 90S
David Ramshaw goes underground
Top of Shaft A at Lucy Tongue level in Greenside mine
However his frustration at having to wait two years before it was published , as Dalesman already had a mines book on the shelves , was the reason behind myself and John deciding to self-publish a walking guide with local history , based on our experience walking the fells over the previous ( in my case 35 years ). P3 Publications was born ( P3 being Physics lab 3 , A- level lab , where we worked on the book after school ). Our �irst book The English Lakes , the hills , their people , their history ( 1994 ) was a great success and since then I have self -published over 35 books on fell-walking and local Cumbrian history , some self-authored and others put together and edited for clients .
But , getting back to the mining , we did a lot of early exploration with Ian Tyler who set up his mining museum at Threlkeld , later moving to Keswick who also selfpublished a range of very well-known books about Lake District mines and quarries . Greenside mine was explored by entering through the emergency escape level high up in Glencoyne valley , descending to Lucy Tongue level , which has since been opened up into Greenside valley . The mine is
Caldbeck barytes mine showing state of timbers in the 1980s
�looded below Lucy Tongue level . Force Crag mine was explored from Level 1 in the valley , up the Laporte Incline , to the highest level below Sand Hill . We spent a lot of time in the Caldbecks opening up levels which had run in and John made one major �ind ; a previously unseen hand hewn ‘ cof�in ’ level in the side of the Gill at Raughtongill . We visited the wad mines at Seathwaite , entering at a level near the top of the fell and descending through the levels and shafts to emerge at the bottom . Unlike the lead mines the levels there are not straight . They follow the large nodules of graphite going this way and that . As we explored Ian surveyed the mine , taking notes and measurements for use later in his books and mine magazines . We came across many artefacts over the years from mine trucks to windlasses , shovels etc . and good luck symbols such as shoes left on a shelf when a level was closed . Generally all that was left was the metal , the wood having rotted away . Ian later set up MOLES ( Mines of Lakeland Exploration Society ). I have many images of these adventures in the past and have included a few with this article . outdoor focus / spring 2022 3