Despite some pretty heavy rain, a total of 28mm, so I'm told, no less than ten cavers turned out on a wet Tuesday night for a great trip into Mandale Sough. Parking in the layby down the quiet road which winds its way down to the old corn mill in Lathkilldale, we changed and, because of the rain, quickly made our way up the dale to the mine. The intention was to enter the mine via the Aqueduct, a route which I had not used before, but first Ian and I were dispatched to the usual (cat flap) entrance to use the Derbyshire key on the gate to give an easier exit later.
Mandale Mine
A small group of seven met up at the lay-by below Over Haddon for this week's mid-week trip, which was an excursion into Mandale Mine. First, however, we decided to have a look at water levels in Bateman's House. Bateman's House is a curious edifice which was built to house a Dakeyne disk engine which would be driven by water delivered from a leet or goit fed from the Lathkill, and which would drain the nearby mines, which were well beneath the river.