Noxon Park - Pitprop series: Oct08

[crickleymal]

Pitprop Series is just one of the many entrances in Noxon Park near Bream. I found the entrance a few years ago following the survey in Tony Oldham's book "The Mines of the Forest of Dean" but could never find the way on from the entrance until I went with a couple of Forest Caving Club members about 6 months or so ago. This trip was mainly to get the route planted in my memory and to take a few pictures (point and shoot camera and FO big torch so quality ain't brilliant)

We spent about 20 minutes thrashing around in the spooky woods until we found the way in.

It's orrible and muddy so it is

Entrance chamber

This is the ceiling on the other side of the roof fall in the first entrance chamber picture

Not much in the way of formations in this one

Although there are some nice pick marks

Some holes are quite small

But still big enough for a crafty smoke

I suppose I ought to point out that as a RFDCC member the Forestry Commission or Forest Enterprise (or whatever they call themselves) have said that you aren't allowed underground on their property without insurance and/or being a caving club member. Noxon Park is on Forestry Land. There, that's my arse covered .

 

[Sabtr]

Nice one. Hats off for being big-balled and getting in there. Is this another coal mine? The adit seems very featureless having no variation in the strata.

In pic two, Lithium and myself came across a very similar hole in some woods up here. What we came across is a coal mine drift. It was filled in when the mines up here shut down but water has found a way in again. Without proper equipment we are unable and unwilling to investigate it further.

Thanks for posting.

 

[crickleymal]

Nice one. Hats off for being big-balled and getting in there. Is this another coal mine? The adit seems very featureless having no variation in the strata.

No it's iron ore. The featurelessness is probably more due to the inadequacies of my camera rather than the rock itself.

For some obscure reason the Forest Caving Club is not officially allowed to explore coal mines. I think it's something to do with the access arrangement with Forest Enterprise, we're only allowed in mineral mines.:icon_evil

Then there's the problem in coal mines of bad air, whether it be methane, carbon dioxide/monoxide (you get both) or what is locally know as stink damp which I believe is hydrogen sulphide and which is also poisonous in quantity. Apparently once you stop smelling it then you're in trouble.

 

[Sabtr]

No it's iron ore. The featurelessness is probably more due to the inadequacies of my camera rather than the rock itself.

For some obscure reason the Forest Caving Club is not officially allowed to explore coal mines. I think it's something to do with the access arrangement with Forest Enterprise, we're only allowed in mineral mines.:icon_evil

Then there's the problem in coal mines of bad air, whether it be methane, carbon dioxide/monoxide (you get both) or what is locally know as stink damp which I believe is hydrogen sulphide and which is also poisonous in quantity. Apparently once you stop smelling it then you're in trouble.

Ah right. I know of all those gasses (some by different nemas up here) and they are bad news! The area where this is is totally unknown to me - I'm a northerner.

 

[Lightbuoy]

Good job CM -looks like a squeeze in places

Lb:jimlad:

 

[BigLoada]

Nice. Some lovely tight squeezes there! Theres some interesting stuff down that way. What was the air like? I know it can get a bit dodgy in iron mines.

 

[crickleymal]

Nice. Some lovely tight squeezes there! Theres some interesting stuff down that way. What was the air like? I know it can get a bit dodgy in iron mines.

The air's fine. Old Ham near Clearwell has bad air. One of the local businesses was chucking its waste down a shaft for years and so there's serious nastiness down the bottom. ONly people with safety lamps are allowed beyond a certain point. Plus the bad air rises and falls with the watertable just to make life really interesting. I think also Oakwood Mill Deep just round the corner from Noxon may have some air problems as the last time I went down (with the bloke in the fetching yellow oversuit) we took a safety lamp to check the air. Noxon is ok though as there are plenty of ways in and out so there's a fair bit of airflow.

Actually none of those squeezes were that bad, the mud made them somewhat "interesting". I start chickening out when the passage fits like a bodystocking. I don't mind low or narrow but not both at the same time. Low and narrow and long is completely out.

 

[oldscrote]

I read in a Old Glory (I think} that the adit entrance style freemines in the forest were firedamp free, certainly in the only one I went down about 20 years ago the gale owner was using a carbide lamp and a candle to check for dodgy air but was not concerned about blowing himself{and us}to the big urbex in the sky.

 

[crickleymal]

I read in a Old Glory (I think} that the adit entrance style freemines in the forest were firedamp free, certainly in the only one I went down about 20 years ago the gale owner was using a carbide lamp and a candle to check for dodgy air but was not concerned about blowing himself{and us}to the big urbex in the sky.

You're right, no firedamp in the FoD. However some of the coal mines are full of CO2, to the extent that there is (I think) a warning notice near the entrance to one in the vicinity of the bike centre. If there isn't then the bloke who took us for a walk around there certainly warned us about getting too close. A friend of mine was going to abseil down a shaft in the Bixslade valley with a group of caving club mates. They took the precaution of lowering a paraffin lamp down before they went down. It went out about 4 feet down from the entrance. Instant death I think.