As I know you all love to share your knowledge and you have served me well in the past.
I have seen a large hole to which i can't find info on :-\. It's  on the road between Winnats pass, Castleton  and Sparrowpit heading west,  before you get to Eldon Quarry there is a farm track turning to your right, Just after that is a large hole next to the road with a fence round it and quite over grown. I couldn't get to have a look down it. Dose any one have any info on it ?

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/mm?ie=UTF8&hl=en&ll=53.334837,-1.826745&spn=0.000368,0.000912&t=h&z=20
I hope the link is right. it's the first time I've tried this.

The farm track pictured is the track down to the giants hole car park. As far as i'm aware there is no cave next to the main road in this location, and i did spend 4hrs standing there waiting for the AA a few years ago 
Maybe a dig or something, but as far as i'm aware nothing worth exploring. 

AFAIK - its a mineshaft on the Oxlow rake (which very obviously crosses the road at that point.)

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/mm?ie=UTF8&hl=en&t=h&ll=53.335037,-1.826413&spn=0.005907,0.016544&z=16

IIRC it has a bar over the top. I chucked a rock down it once and it has some depth. However, I've never heard anyone mention it at all, so my guess is that it doesn't go anywhere of interest.

All mined, about 100ft deep, the bit you stand on to look down it, is a wall of tyres, then rubble slope, which fizzles out, draught in boulders near the bottom, pulled a few rock out, but quite a big project

There's a survey too...

very interesting Moose - where - on the castleton3d.svx file??

Not sure if it's on the last upload?

Entrance co ords - 411631 382007 Elevation 381

There's been quite a few addtions to the model recently and when I get back I'll post a new link. The .3d file is now over 10mb.....

Thank's for the info guys :bow:

As I am relatively new to caving I am overwhelmed by how much is out there. I spent a few years walking allover derbyshire And was naive enough to think the caves of Castleton where Blue John, peak cavern, Treak cliff and Speedwell  :-[

What are the features pointed out by Sam T as Oxlow rake? Are they from collapsed mine workings or surface workings or????

A 'rake' is just a mined out mineral (usually lead) vein. If you want to see what they look like have a look at the Odin Mine entrance, not far off Treak Cliff. Or for an underground example, Oxlow Mine itself. Be warned though, they are usually littered with shafts on the surface. Dirtlow Rake used to be worth a wander round, but I expect it's mined out for fluorspar now.
The Mendip equivalent is 'gruffy ground'.

There's a good introduction on Derbyshire lead mining pubished by the PDMHS, authors Rieuwerts and Ford, the exact title of which escapes me but no doubt someone will post it up.

Thank's Droid

The point of my question was what formed the features we now see on google earth? Guess I should have mentioned that in my previous post :ang:

Combination of surface workings, trial shafts, small 'climbing' shafts and huge 'engine' shafts along the vein of mineral. They dont tend to be 'collapsed' workings. The Oxlow/Maskhill mine/cave system is on this rake further towards castleton. As is Rowter Hole. JH is on the parallel rake just to the south (New Rake).

droid said:

Dirtlow Rake used to be worth a wander round, but I expect it's mined out for fluorspar now.
The Mendip equivalent is 'gruffy ground'.

Click to expand...

Dirtlow has been landscaped and reinstated to such an extent its just depressing going past what used to be a marvel of geology and idustrial archaeology... There are still things to be seen especially towards Pindale, but the great open rakes with old pickwork are no more

Brains said:

Dirtlow has been landscaped and reinstated to such an extent its just depressing going past what used to be a marvel of geology and idustrial archaeology... There are still things to be seen especially towards Pindale, but the great open rakes with old pickwork are no more

Click to expand...

It did, and it's very sad that it's gone. I expect the same has happened to the big rake that went from near Youlgreave towards Arbor Low. Some people might look upon it as 'progress' and 'reinstatement'.
I don't.
I think it is a denial of an important part of Derbyshire history.

Long Rake? The vast section in the woods by the layby is now levelled off with backfill, another sad loss. Still some opens further east though...

SamT said:

Combination of surface workings, trial shafts, small 'climbing' shafts and huge 'engine' shafts along the vein of mineral. They dont tend to be 'collapsed' workings. The Oxlow/Maskhill mine/cave system is on this rake further towards castleton. As is Rowter Hole. JH is on the parallel rake just to the south (New Rake).

Click to expand...

Maskhill & Oxlow mines are on Horse Stones Rake. Oxlow Rake is about a mile south & branches SW from Dirtlow Rake in the vicinity of Hollandtwine mine.

:-[ oops.

so Oxlow mine and caverns are not on the Oxlow Rake, which is just a few hundred yards south,  :-\ ,

[italian] easy mistake-a to make-a [/italian]

SamT said:

:-[ oops.

so Oxlow mine and caverns are not on the Oxlow Rake, which is just a few hundred yards south,  :-\ ,

[italian] easy mistake-a to make-a [/italian]

Click to expand...

Odd but true! Have a look in "Lead Mining In the Peak District" or "The Lead Legacy".

If he wants to see an unrestored worked-out rake then a good start would be Tideslow Rake - footpath from Windmill . Walking then north westwards towards Rowter Farm crosses many parallel rakes on Bradwell Moor and Old Moor.

If you stop on the Sparrowpit road at the track to Giant's and look west (towards Sparrowpit)  you can see Faucet Rake as a two lines of hillocks coming over the hill to the right hand side of the road before diving down under the road. Maskhill Mine, Oxlow Mine, Rowter Mine and Speedwell's Bottomless Pit all lie in this rake and does a "Shack Hole" - is this Slack Hole? - (Ford & Rieuwerts Lead Mining in the Peak District pp 66) and Longcliffe Mine - imho big discoveries to the E of the Speedwell canal may be made if this can be re-opened for modern digging - lies at the intersection of Faucet & Longcliffe rakes.

Still on topic - what's that hole at the bottom of the Winnat's , south side, nearly above the Speedwell shop ,  clear path to it from diagonally (se) opposite Suicide? Looks like a capped shaft about 3m down.

Does anyone have any views on the "engine pit" in the Winnats where the murder victims were disposed of? They were stored in a barn before and therefore can't be so far from the bottom of the Winnats imho. There's an obvious shaft top on the south side about half way between Winnats Head and the bend - opposite the Mousehole iirc.

SamT said:

very interesting Moose - where - on the castleton3d.svx file??

Click to expand...

It should be on the latest version....