Sorry! I've been trawling the internet and happened upon Pienet nest Shaft https://www.aditnow.co.uk/Photo/Pienet-Nest-Shaft_92789/


So I searched google and came across this Alport - Stanton Vein and Mines on 1900 OS.xlsx - AditNow

Well I considered it interesting, I didn't really know about Hillcarr sough till I looked at this, it's the Purple Tube line which goes right out East! Looks like an awesome place https://www.aditnow.co.uk/Mines/Hillcarr-Sough-Lead-Mine_3442/


But then you get reading and... https://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/news/flood-catastrophe-threat-to-village-from-underground-water-1-471222


Just thought I'd get it on here, as there's been a few topics before.
https://ukcaving.com/board/index.php?topic=12545.50
https://ukcaving.com/board/index.php?topic=15084.0
And a passing mention to Hillcarr here  https://ukcaving.com/board/index.php?topic=15999.75

Phil and I were on the last inspection visit several years ago, once you're beyond the great shaft the air quality drops off quickly much like other blocked soughs in shale. The blockage is pretty solid according to Les Riley (who used a rebreather to get there, the rest of the party turned back when oxygen levels were around the 12% mark), and water levels stabilised long ago - there are a whole load of earlier higher-level soughs around Alport which just started feeding the overspill back into the lower Lathkill. See vol. 2 of Jim's book....

AR said:

who used a rebreather to get there, the rest of the party turned back when oxygen levels were around the 12% mark

Click to expand...

this makes it all sound a bit rubbish round there. I'll need to take a gas meter for any shafts round there. (and lower it first!)

I actually had an decent conversation with Les whilst he was putting his rebreather on, until he suggested that I should probably head back soon - but I didn't want tp leave him up there on his own! I think it was down to 11% by then. Smoker's privileges I guess. Also isn't it all on private land anyway? We all got stopped by a gamekeeper as were driving over the fields, but we had permission. I do suspect that this sough may be one of the 'other' culprits for partly draining the Lathkill Dale water table into the Derwent, along with the Millclose/Yatestoop Sough outflow.

Hillcarr Wood (where the sough tail is) is part of the Haddon Estate. There are a number of shafts that connected with the sough system still open (Pienet Nest, Page's, Kirkmeadow) but the water level in them is such that you don't need a gas meter, you'll need to be a cave diver if you want to actually get into the sough through them!