Random Mine of the Day: Walkham United Tin Mine

[bunn]

This mine is a Devon one rather than a Cornish one, just for a change.  I stumbled on it this evening, walking along the banks of the River Walkham.

I don't have much historical detail on this mine, although I know that it may be known as Walkham Consols, or Walkham and Poldice Mine, or Poldice Mine,  or maybe Wheal Walkham (I'm not sure where the divisions lie, or if these are all names for the same mine).   The main adit is supposed to be blocked up, but I didn't venture into the mouth of this one sufficiently to find out if this IS the main adit, or one of the side ones that the intrepid mine exploring types use.   You can read one of their hair-raising writeups and see photos of the inside here.

What it looks like is a terrifying hole into the depths of the earth, from which eldrich Things might at any moment issue, very little obstructed by the two strands of barbed wire bravely standing between the daylight world and the Hellmouth.

As an antidote, here is a photo of sunshine on the River Walkham, taken just a little way down the river.

Comments

[anna-wing.livejournal.com]

It looks scarily small. I don't think I've ever actually seen a mine in person that wasn't open-cast and gigantic.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

It was a bit bigger than it looks in the photos - hard to catch the detail as the light was going but no more than a corridor. A lot of them are smaller and they are very deep : working in them must have been hellish.