I had heard that there was a level along Old Carr's Burn that
could be seen from the track, at this point I had no idea what the level was
called or where it was. Looking at a blown up copy of an OS map, a level could
be seen marked along the track side some 400m past the Middlecleugh Compressor
House.
Searching just off the track we dived in on any likely outcrop of
rock or ditch that looked like a culvert. Karl walked higher up the valley and
followed some tailings which lead him to a very suspicious looking channel in
the ground not far from the track side. Walking up the channel we reached an
outcrop of ground, removing some moss revealed stones, stones that looked as if
they had come from arching. The level was found. The stones that we removed
looked like they had been placed there to cover the entrance. Moving some more
we could see that the level was pretty much flooded with only 15cm or so of
roof space. The channel that we had walked up was the collapsed roof of the
entrance arching.
I mentioned the find to Alistair, and he told me that
he had been to the level before, but did not know anything about it. From the
OS map, I got a grid reference and proceeded to look for a match to any
references in the 'Mines of Alston Moor' around the Caplecleugh sections. I did
find one, though slightly out, but within limits - the level was identified as
the Caplecleugh Firestone Level. From the photograph that I managed to get
inside the level, the water hit the roof, so either this was a collapse or a
dip in the level. With it only being in 5m or so we got thinking about whether
this was just a dead end or whether something interesting could be
found? |
