Alderley Wander

Me, Olly, Nigel, Ed and Richard decided to meet up for a wander around Alderley to take a look at a few of the lesser visited areas around the Edge. It was a nice day and lots of people were out enjoying the sunshine. I was pleased to collect my aditnow calendar from Ed and also the new edition of the Alderley Edge Mines book, updated by Nigel Dibben. First we went to Findlowe Mine in Finlow Hill, my second visit to the small mine which not a great deal is known about, but is suspected to have been worked primarily for cobalt. After a good look around and some photographs, we headed back to the car park for a quick bite to eat, and also to pick up an electron ladder for a look in Doc Mine. On the way we observed channel 4 doing some more filming near the Old Alderley Quarry for the programme Skins. And also a strange and well built shelter practically in the quarry, maybe it was being used for filming purposes? Nigel pointed out old marks on the lower side quarry walls indicating plank props and bits of grafitti which I have never noticed before, having not previously spent a great deal of time around that area.

The Alderley Edge Mines book

Moel Fferna Slate Mine

My first trip to Moel Fferna was my first time using an electron ladder. For this my second time we would all be using SRT for access. Suggested by Ed as primarily a photography trip, our group met at the roadside cafe which was, to everyone's annoyance, closed being out of season. We then divided ourselves into two cars and headed up the rocky track, Tom catching us up as we were getting changed.

The walk up was pleasant, surprisingly no rain fell on the 'bleak hill', however we witnessed the damage from the incessant flooding during 2012 that had evidently turned the trickle of a stream into a torrent and torn its way through the farm. Fortunately the stream had since calmed down again  and the track up to the top of the incline had survived in good condition. We paused for a quick look around the crumbling old mine buildings and a quick breather before the last steep walk up to the entrance. Nobody wasted any time getting in, SRT kits off and happy to be underground, we went straight to The Cog and watched Briony, Ed and Daggers set up their photography equipment. The rest of us (myself, Pete, Olly, Tom, Oggy, Colin) then wandered off to explore with the aim of finding the "Bridge of Death".

Moel Fferna is technically called an underground slate quarry, worked for slab and on the whole in large and stable chambers. The supportive wooden crib work of the cog is quite magnificent, showing the later work of coal miners in the quarry. This mine has some very nice and photogenic features The cog, the adjacent chamber with its beautifully flat patterned roof and the old chained bridge of death.

Ed's Photographs