Box Mines Closed ?
- Thread starter The Old Ruminator
- Start date
The Old Ruminator
Well-known member
Way back there were many entrances to Box mine-
Jacks Entrance ( The usual way in )
Lady Hamilton's Hole
Bridgegate
Westgate
Northgate
Eastgate
Back Door
Three un named entrances between Back Door and Clift
Clift door on the main road.
Concrete Shaft near the road at the reservoirs
The Steps near the concrete shaft.
The Cathedral
The MOD door in Spring Mine.
If ever the mine was reopened the concrete shaft requiring a ladder might be best.
Jacks Entrance ( The usual way in )
Lady Hamilton's Hole
Bridgegate
Westgate
Northgate
Eastgate
Back Door
Three un named entrances between Back Door and Clift
Clift door on the main road.
Concrete Shaft near the road at the reservoirs
The Steps near the concrete shaft.
The Cathedral
The MOD door in Spring Mine.
If ever the mine was reopened the concrete shaft requiring a ladder might be best.
The Old Ruminator
Well-known member
The images are from the 70's featuring my brother and my son. All with manually fired bulb flashguns. Hansens quote the dangerous nature of the place now saying it's not safe to do inspection trips any more. It's probably much the same as the 70's. Health and safety rules can be used to close anything. I know many caves that are far more unstable than Box Mines.
andrewmcleod
Well-known member
The Old Ruminator said:
There is an interesting note on the MCRA website about the Delta Rectangle 2 shaft (the one with the stone steps and an unsafe metal ladder):
"Although the shaft was capped by the brick blockhouse many years ago, an attempt to reopen it in May 2017 was quickly thwarted by the MOD."
royfellows
Well-known member
The grills wont last five minutes, people will soon find ways in.
Break stone away at the side squeeze past, dig underneath, cut a bar out, or maybe get a big socket bar on the retaining nuts and tighten them up until the bolts shear and then just lift the whole thing out. I dont know whether its true but I heard a while back about special nuts that will tighten but not unscrew. Fantastic.
Break stone away at the side squeeze past, dig underneath, cut a bar out, or maybe get a big socket bar on the retaining nuts and tighten them up until the bolts shear and then just lift the whole thing out. I dont know whether its true but I heard a while back about special nuts that will tighten but not unscrew. Fantastic.
rhychydwr1
Active member
Thanks Roy. No med to take my gas cutter next time I am at Cwmystwyth
royfellows
Well-known member
rhychydwr1 said:Thanks Roy. No med to take my gas cutter next time I am at Cwmystwyth
No need anyway, we dont do locks and gates. Tell you what though, are you any good at carrying RSJs?
The Old Ruminator
Well-known member
Sadly some people can never be trusted and that applies to cavers as well. I can imagine what Shatter or Withyhill would look like without access control.
The remains of Balch Aven Chamber are still open and the stal has been smeared with mud.
The remains of Balch Aven Chamber are still open and the stal has been smeared with mud.
Tarquin_Shitcrim
New member
The Old Ruminator said:Sadly some people can never be trusted and that applies to cavers as well. I can imagine what Shatter or Withyhill would look like without access control.
The remains of Balch Aven Chamber are still open and the stal has been smeared with mud.
Big whoop, that's not the worst thing cavers have done.
How violated would you feel if your sump was forcibly sucked dry?
royfellows
Well-known member
I have been visiting Box since the 1980s and the graffiti has not changed much, being mostly in jacks working, once under the boulder at Black Horse you leave it behind. You will find it again in the vicinity of backdoor.
The Monkton Farleigh conveyor passage is a total mess.
Browns is a tug of war between the vandals and the 'caretaker'
I suspect all the aggro comes via the M4.
Talking mines rather than caves, in other parts of the country the problem is no where near so severe, totally absent in Wales bar some silly arrows in Hendre Spar, Dinas Silica is wide open and nothing at all. North Pennines, a few arrows appear now and again in Smallcleaugh. Cornwall, never seen anything.
As the owners of Cwmystwyth, CMT could gate everything but we have no interest in this at all as its would be a solution to a problem which has never existed.
We would rather spend money on reopening lost ground and improving access rather than restricting it, a fact that is universally known, and universally appreciated.
The Monkton Farleigh conveyor passage is a total mess.
Browns is a tug of war between the vandals and the 'caretaker'
I suspect all the aggro comes via the M4.
Talking mines rather than caves, in other parts of the country the problem is no where near so severe, totally absent in Wales bar some silly arrows in Hendre Spar, Dinas Silica is wide open and nothing at all. North Pennines, a few arrows appear now and again in Smallcleaugh. Cornwall, never seen anything.
As the owners of Cwmystwyth, CMT could gate everything but we have no interest in this at all as its would be a solution to a problem which has never existed.
We would rather spend money on reopening lost ground and improving access rather than restricting it, a fact that is universally known, and universally appreciated.
paulc
New member
I have only ever been to Box on two occasions but I often wondered about access from the shaft a top of Cathedral, I guessed it was on private land due to the lack of a mound of dead sheep, dogs and rabbits at the bottom which I have seen elsewhere, but its the school holidays, and just like kids swimming in quarrys, you will get kids wandering down mines, culverts and drains with without proper gear so it sounds like a kneejerk reaction, but having said all that and to reiterate what has already been said the gates will not be a problem for long, however suing the quarymans for supplying a key is just plain stupid, they do a great breakfast and the keys can be bought anywhere in 12 or 18v versions...top and bottom of it is that anyone who really wants to see box probably still will be able too.
Grills..What grills?
Grills..What grills?
RobinGriffiths
Well-known member
Black and Decker may do 36V versions as well. Umm, they do 36V strimmers anyway. Can you attach a grinding wheel to a strimmer ?
NewStuff
New member
Chemical persuasion is far quieter, and only marginally longer.
I'm not giving out ideas, hence the distinct lack of details, but illustrating that if the kids want it open, it's going to be open, and no-one need touch it with a grinder... (but they probably will, because it's quick and easy).
I'm not giving out ideas, hence the distinct lack of details, but illustrating that if the kids want it open, it's going to be open, and no-one need touch it with a grinder... (but they probably will, because it's quick and easy).
Dave Tyson
Member
Brick acid (basically tech grade hydrochloric acid) is readily available from builders merchants (until Teresa May decides it should be banned!) - dilute 1:1 with water.
Bonus: wrap a couple of tight turns clean copper wire around both steel or galvanised parts - the electrochemical effect helps...
Speaking purely from a theoretical view as an ex-chemist :
Dave
Bonus: wrap a couple of tight turns clean copper wire around both steel or galvanised parts - the electrochemical effect helps...
Speaking purely from a theoretical view as an ex-chemist :
Dave
royfellows
Well-known member
Big socket bar, tighten until they snap. People my age have memories of cylinder head studs. Grrr
wormster
Active member
FFS!!!!!
- People lay off the talk of angle grinders, gasaxes and overtightening bolts, let the place lie quiet for a wee while, keep comments about such ideas OFF A PUBLIC FORUM!!
Hanson's et al, will have any forum that mentions the quarry pegged and watched - waiting to pounce!!
- People lay off the talk of angle grinders, gasaxes and overtightening bolts, let the place lie quiet for a wee while, keep comments about such ideas OFF A PUBLIC FORUM!!
Hanson's et al, will have any forum that mentions the quarry pegged and watched - waiting to pounce!!
