# Morse's Level Dec 08



## crickleymal (Dec 31, 2008)

Morse's Level is a semi live coal mine near Howbeech in the Forest of Dean. Mainly worked up until about 1920 it was reopened by a bunch of guys in the 70s or thereabouts and is still occasionally worked. In some places it is possible to get down to the Howbeech levels but the water level was up. We had someone with us with a safety lamp as there have been instances of bad air down there.

Upper Entrance. YOu can see the warm moist air issuing out.






Main Entrance 










This was a steam engine but is now run on compressed air





Drainage pipes awaiting use





Just inside the entrance





Looking back out. The ladder connects to the upper entrance and the original Morse's level





Further in and down





This is in the upper levels looking back towards the ladder. The roof here is the Pennant Limestone and is pretty solid.





This points the way to the upper entrance. My back was crucifying me by this point as the mine is specially dug to be that exactly wrong height for me, so I didn't go to the upper entrance and stretched out for a while instead.





Fungus on a block of wood





This shows the faulting in the rock. THe black band is coal and you can see where the beds have shifted.


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## fire*fly (Dec 31, 2008)

I love the shots of the tunnels


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## Foxylady (Dec 31, 2008)

That's great, crickleymal. I especially love the setting...looks gorgeous with all the frosty/misty look, and the entrances are great.


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## Neosea (Dec 31, 2008)

Nice explore, thanks for the photos.


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## Sabtr (Jan 1, 2009)

Excellent stuff. 

Definately worth aching the back for. It never ceases to amaze me that people still mine coal like this. There are/were a few near Alston up this way. I'm not sure if any are still worked.

Great stuff and thanks for showing - it gives us an excellent insight into mines like this.


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## BigLoada (Jan 1, 2009)

Fantastic mate. The drift entrances are really beautiful. Good on ya for having someone who knew how to use a safety lamp too, they are well dodgy places are coal pits. Great explore


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## borntobemild (Jan 1, 2009)

Great shots Mal.

Love the one with the steam coming out of the upper entrance.

Is that the one on the other side of the road?


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## crickleymal (Jan 1, 2009)

borntobemild said:


> Great shots Mal.
> 
> Love the one with the steam coming out of the upper entrance.
> 
> Is that the one on the other side of the road?



That's the one. We had a surface walk before we went underground to put things in perspective. What's also interesting is if you walk down the road towards Blakeney for about a couple of hundred yards or a bit more you see some quarry waste on the left. If you search out the stream on that side you find a socking great big pipeline, big enough to walk through. You can walk back through that to Morse's level or so we were told. It was put there to stop the stream flooding the workings.


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## seven8 (Jan 3, 2009)

That;s a cracking set of images there Mal, and I always love to read a few accompanying comments for the images too, thanks for doing that.

The tunnels do look a little precarious to me, and in all honesty, I am not sure I could get down there. Strange eh... a chap who is getting into and loves urbex but who is claustrophobic!! Fat chance of me doing any decent draining eh 

Thanks for sharing these.

Incidentally: what exactly would be 'bad air'...? low O2...? or other poisonous gasses...? Am curious also as to how one would tell... with a probe maybe...?


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## smiffy (Jan 3, 2009)

Aaaahhh...Howbeech Sidings and the Blakeney Woods deep in The Forest of Dean.............my back yard...Loads of good stuff around there.........
I worked for a very brief time in another drift mine just along the hill from the upper entrance.............The fella I worked for used to own the 'gale' covering the Morses Level...he rented it out for many years to some younger chaps who only ever worked it on a 'hobby' basis........Guess thats who showed you around ????


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## crickleymal (Jan 3, 2009)

smiffy said:


> The fella I worked for used to own the 'gale' covering the Morses Level...he rented it out for many years to some younger chaps who only ever worked it on a 'hobby' basis........Guess thats who showed you around ????



Probably not methinks. We were shown round by John Hine aka Mole (although not the Mole who posts on Dark Places)


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## crickleymal (Jan 3, 2009)

seven8 said:


> That;s a cracking set of images there Mal, and I always love to read a few accompanying comments for the images too, thanks for doing that.
> 
> The tunnels do look a little precarious to me, and in all honesty, I am not sure I could get down there. Strange eh... a chap who is getting into and loves urbex but who is claustrophobic!! Fat chance of me doing any decent draining eh



I get claustrophobia and I go caving! To be honest it only gets bad if the tunnel is small enough to fit all round my body (more room needed there than previously I can tell you!) or if it's small and I can't turn round and it goes on for some distance.



> Incidentally: what exactly would be 'bad air'...? low O2...? or other poisonous gasses...? Am curious also as to how one would tell... with a probe maybe...?



It can be several things, a lack of oxygen, the presence of either CO2 or CO, or other gasses such as methane or hydrogen sulphide. I believe the expert drainers use special meters for checking oxygen levels and for testing for the presence of methane. Our guide used a special testing lamp which has a wick and burns oil. You can use it in a couple of ways:
for testing for oxygen where you use a high flame and it goes out when the O2 drops below 16%
For testing for methane when you use a low flame and watch for colour changes or a flash within the glass
You really do need a training course for those things though.


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## Pip (Jan 4, 2009)

Terriffic photos crickleymal, especially the tunnel ones. I really love your 2nd photo (main entrance).......... I was expecting to see Bilbo Baggins pop out, very 'hobbitt-esque'!

Pip


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## the|td4 (Jan 13, 2009)

Great pictures mate, as I've said in other mine related photos thank god someone else does these sites and provides the more claustrophobic amongst us with images we'd never see!


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## BigLoada (Jan 13, 2009)

crickleymal said:


> ...You really do need a training course for those things though.




I am really glad someone has said this. It amazes me how many people go into coal mines with a safety lamp and without training using it or knowing how to read the cap on the flame or where exactly the best height is to test for CO2 etc etc.
Good on you man for having a proper trained person with you.


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## Logan_Five (Jan 16, 2009)

Cracking report. Interested to read that this one is still worked occasionally?


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