I know there are several Box Mine reports here and a lot of similar photos, but for what it is worth here is 'mine'!
"Named after the nearby village of the same name, the Box Mine of Wiltshire is made up of a massive network of disused mining tunnels. It is known to have been worked since Roman times and has since been progressively enlarged. Stone output reached its peak in the 19th century and then steadily declined until in 1968 it ceased altogether. There are 3 sections to the mine: northern, central and southern. An added twist to this mine is that there is a MOD installation in the east. The workings are very large and most of the mine is well above head height and the only real crawling parts are over deads and falls. Many impressive features still exist in the mine: tools, work benches, cranes, wells, large timber supports to name a few.
The mine is extremely complex and route finding is very tricky. There are over 90km of passages and it is easy to get lost if you don't pay attention to where you are going."
Some of the motley crew getting ready to go.
The way in turned out to the be easiest of the entrances.
Nice to see the ceilings looking stable and safe to walk under.
Some of the miner's artwork.
An underground crane.
These tunnels are all hand cut.
We thought we would take one of the smaller blocks with us – "You take that end!"
After coming through a crawl space it got much more spacious.
Another one of those safe ceiling being held up while we all got through.
A lunch break.
Welcome to the Cathedral.
Light stick… that's not a light stick.
The quantity of material cut and removed by hand is astounding.
It looks quite a strong ceiling support, but the wood is now as strong as a wet paper bag.
Having to crawl through a small hole in the wall.
A nuclear bunker door just before the light sabre broke through.
Who put that door there?
Some slightly more modern ceiling support.
The remains of a WW2 wire mesh barrier. Looks like a great deal more effort went into making this than it took to get through it.
The miners used to come to work down this ladder.
Then down the steps.
One of the saws used to cut out most of these tunnels.
A crab-winch (I think).
A nicely built tunnel looking slightly out of place.
The way out was a much smaller opening you needed to wriggle through like a worm – glad to be out!
"Named after the nearby village of the same name, the Box Mine of Wiltshire is made up of a massive network of disused mining tunnels. It is known to have been worked since Roman times and has since been progressively enlarged. Stone output reached its peak in the 19th century and then steadily declined until in 1968 it ceased altogether. There are 3 sections to the mine: northern, central and southern. An added twist to this mine is that there is a MOD installation in the east. The workings are very large and most of the mine is well above head height and the only real crawling parts are over deads and falls. Many impressive features still exist in the mine: tools, work benches, cranes, wells, large timber supports to name a few.
The mine is extremely complex and route finding is very tricky. There are over 90km of passages and it is easy to get lost if you don't pay attention to where you are going."
Some of the motley crew getting ready to go.
The way in turned out to the be easiest of the entrances.
Nice to see the ceilings looking stable and safe to walk under.
Some of the miner's artwork.
An underground crane.
These tunnels are all hand cut.
We thought we would take one of the smaller blocks with us – "You take that end!"
After coming through a crawl space it got much more spacious.
Another one of those safe ceiling being held up while we all got through.
A lunch break.
Welcome to the Cathedral.
Light stick… that's not a light stick.
The quantity of material cut and removed by hand is astounding.
It looks quite a strong ceiling support, but the wood is now as strong as a wet paper bag.
Having to crawl through a small hole in the wall.
A nuclear bunker door just before the light sabre broke through.
Who put that door there?
Some slightly more modern ceiling support.
The remains of a WW2 wire mesh barrier. Looks like a great deal more effort went into making this than it took to get through it.
The miners used to come to work down this ladder.
Then down the steps.
One of the saws used to cut out most of these tunnels.
A crab-winch (I think).
A nicely built tunnel looking slightly out of place.
The way out was a much smaller opening you needed to wriggle through like a worm – glad to be out!
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