The last time I went down Golconda was in 2003, were I tagged
along with PDMHS. It was a 'quick' tour without having the chance to have a
good look around and see the place. I managed a few photos of poor quality with
my 35mm compact - we all just don't know how easy we have it with digital
cameras now! Anyway, this time round I got to have a more personal trip with
Sally doing the guiding specifically to take snaps.
The day started with
us being winched down the Upper Golconda Shaft, a depth of 110m. From here we
headed to have a look at the well preserved compressor and pump on route to the
Syphon Gate. From the Syphon Gate we made our way to the incline that connects
the 60 and 70 fathom levels. Taking the incline we made our way along low
passages heading ultimately for the Nether Shack, Buxton Hole and the Big
Shack. Along the way we came across a number of tubs and various artifacts such
as air pipes, the odd tool, and truck wheels. As we progressed the mine
developed a more cave like structure and it became obvious that we were
entering natural passages. Finally we arrived at the impressive chamber called
the Big Shack. It is about 150m long, with width ranging from a few metres to
20m in places. Towards the northern end is a large calcite flow with a
calcified bottle in it. We took a number of pictures and had a good look
around, then it was time for some lunch - a nice place to have it
in.
Afterwards, we made our way back to the incline with the intention
of visiting the Forest. The Forest is a set of unfilled excavated and natural
flats with timber supports in them. Heading northwest towards the Manchester
Gate we took a deviation north up an incline and then entered a maze like set
of torturous low flats. Sally managed to find the way through the flats and
only after a couple of wrong turns we got to the small 10m rise which gave
access to the Forest. A climb up the ladders, a quick duck walk and we were
there. It was a very impressive sight, there was a number of pools all with
calcite ice on them, a low murmur of water and all these timber pillars. It
looked like the home of some troglodytes. We took to having a look around and
taking photographs. From previous visits, a number of candles had been left
around the flats, which just had to be lit to see what it would be like.
Finally after 10 minutes or so about 20 candles had been lit, very atmospheric
and time for lamps off. At first the light was very dull, but after a while as
your eyes got used to the light level, it hit home again what it must have been
like when there were no bulbs or LED's. We took some more photographs in the
candle light and then retraced our route to the Manchester Gate.
Once
back down the incline, we carried on heading northwest with the aim of going to
see a winch and some air tanks. The going here was much better than in the low
flats and simpler to follow. After a short while we dropped down an incline
passing a pully and drill steel, then carried on. The level pretty much all
along was higher than what we had come across before and made the going that
much easier. It is worth noting that the level was actually a passage through a
long series on back filled flats. Finally we came to a junction and Sally raced
up it, up a crawl, over some timber and rails and we had reached the winch.
Just past this were the air tanks, some of which had also been used in the
stacking of the deads. Time was getting on now, and we took more snaps and then
rushed back to the shaft for winching up to surface - 7 hours flies when your
having fun. |
