Not having managed to get down Atkinson's Sump on the through trip
from Frog Shaft last month it had started to bug me about whether it was open
and if it connected with the second sublevel we had found on a trip in March,
see: Middlecleugh Second
Sun and Longcleugh Sun Vein Stopes - Part 3. Just before coming up to Nent
I had spoken with another explorer that mentioned this level, and that it did
link in as well as going to Barron's Sump - the appetite was wetted. After a
late start (because of Karli - trouble with the young on's again, especially
when they have new girlfriends...) we express marched to Barron's Sump, it took
just under an hour.
On arrival, we rigged up Atkinson's Sump with rails
that were loose on the floor. Rather than going straight down, we popped up
into the Low Flats for lunch - it was nice and dry up there and we got a chance
to have another look around. Once fed and watered we dropped down to the horse
level and headed back to the sump. It was difficult to see which side was open
as they both looked a bit on the chokey side. The left hand side was chosen as
it looked deepest. Karli abseiled down, and very quickly called back up, that
it was choked. He managed to look into the other side of the wooden divider and
that was the one to have gone for. Climbing back up to the start of the divide
he abseiled down again, noticing rope marks on the stemples - definitely the
one to use. Some gardening work was needed on the way down and a bit of
un-blocking at the bottom. After 5 minutes or so, he landed in the sublevel 22m
below, I joined him.
The passage was in excellent condition, open and
heading both west and east. The floor was silted up with quite a course mud,
crispy with calcification, just deep enought to seep into your wellies. From
the colour you could tell that the bottom part of your legs were going to get a
very black glow tan treatment. We set off down the west passage and through the
silt we could feel wooden planking in very solid conditon, occasionally our
feet would slip off, and sink deeper to the floor. It felt like a raised walk /
barrow way, and come to think of it, there were no rails. Shortly Karli called
back to me that we have been here before - the pipes going down into a walled
sump could be seen - the connection was confirmed. We crossed the sumps and
carried on to the calcified rise we had been down some 6 months ago. Once here
we retraced our route back to Atkinson's Sump surveying the way.
From
the sump bottom we went east whilst carrying on the survey. The silt on this
side was much deeper and harder to get through - thigh depth. Again the level
was in perfect condition and we pasted a few rises and an number of walled up
hoppers. At one point a junction for a siding could be seen, here the silt was
so deep and thankfully very hard that you had to get on your hand and knees to
pass. Past this we came to a little cross cut with an open rise at the end of
it. Whilst I recorded the distances and bearings Karli headed further along the
level - suddenly his voice developed an echo, and I heard shouts of 'we've
reached it'. I joined him taking the last bearings and coming round a bend saw
the intersection with Barron's Sump, one word - impressive!
You could
see the circular sump itself passing through, to the left there was a large
alcove with slots for a timber framework. On the right hand side another
smaller alcove led round to the back of the larger one. The whole structure was
on a massive scale and so deep in the mine. The stone work was all mortared and
round the back on the alcoves you could see where the shale at this horizon had
been removed to accommodate all this masonry. Long straws could be seen hanging
from the alcove roof and in the slots large nuts and bolts. Come to think of
it, could the sublevel have been some sort of water level, the large pipes into
the sumps further on and the raised planking? Could the the sumps again connect
with the bottom of Barron's Sump? On LLC plan crossections there is no
indicator, anyone for mine diving?
We returned to the bottom of
Atkinson's Sump and climbed out, covered in slimey mud. A quick derig and steam
out, as yet again time was running out. We managed to get out even quicker that
coming in, 50 minutes in total. |
