On Saturday 06 February, after the AGM, Lizzie had organised a trip into Holme Bank, a chert mine where the hard-wearing rock was mined by cutting away the limestone beneath it; the resultant chert blocks then being transported to the Potteries, for Josia Wedgewood to use in his slip mills. Six of us met in front of the lower mine gate below Oldfield Design near Bakewell, and there we met up with Pete Dell who had decided to join us on the trip. Lizzie said that our trip coincided with a couple of divers (the venue is very popular with divers), so I went to see if the gate was unlocked.
Holme Bank Chert Mine
After my brief interlude in Mallorca, I was pleasantly surprised to find that a trip into Holme Bank had been organised by Alan Walker for tonight. It's quite a while since any of us have been to this particular mine, and there were a few amongst us for whom it was a first trip, so it was no surprise that the trip was popular - with no less than twelve joining in. Unlocking the entrance gate, we headed first for the dive base before venturing further into the mine and even, at one point, testing the still working rolling stock - and a nearby cable winch.