Orchard Mine, Winster

[Fjell]

In a spirit of light curiosity do people go down this mine? Is it a worthwhile experience? I was looking at the shaft from my sister-in-laws back garden yesterday, so it could rank as summat to do when all else fails, as it often does.

 

[pwhole]

I've never been down it - from memory I thought it was off-limits. Is it in a back garden too? Maybe that's the problem - the shaft entrance to Burning Drake Mine is also in a back garden.

 

[paul]

It is in a back garden and they did allow visits in the past but not recently, as far as I know.

 

[AR]

My avatar photo was taken down there many years ago, thrutching through the connection between Orchard and Old Wesson (that's the shaft with the big gritstone slab caps up at Bank Top). Visits in the past were through the Wirksworth Mines Research Group; I believe one of them was friends with the owner hence they were able to get permission. It's a nice engine shaft, IIRC around 280', with finely dressed gritstone ginging, and there's some quite extensive workings down there, like quite a few of the other shafts around Winster.