A few years ago, I was introduced to Nickergrove mine. Over the years I’ve been back a few times, but two things have eluded me, until last autumn.
Samantha & I were looking for a last minute venue for an easyish, water and flooding-free, SRT trip in the Peak… So off we went with Sam’s brand new oversuit to the former lead Mine near Eyam.
Things I don’t like about Nickergrove:
‘¡ everything, apart from the list below
Things I like about Nickergrove
‘¡The hole in the ceiling on the through trip
‘¡No chance of flooding or getting significantly wet (P1!)
‘¡It’s short
‘¡It has it’s place – and it’s place is and was yesterday.
Things Sam liked about the trip
‘¡Watching me descend a rotting timber shaft into some crushed oil drums at the bottom of a collapsing old dig to get towards the Nickergrove Streamway, to retreat with a scared look on my face.
Things Tim disliked about the trip:
‘¡That exact same moment.
‘¡The adit entrance shaft, when rigged off the pullthrough bolts, gives rope rub, or maybe I’m just stupid.
‘¡The mud is the wrong sort.
‘¡There’s nothing interesting to look at.
‘¡The continuation of the adit level past the shaft leads to a dig that is particularly uninspiring.
But then, it’s all uninspiring.
However, until last year I’d been inspired to learn how uninspiring it was.
I’d wanted to do the through trip. Rig one shaft, traverse the mine, and leave via another shaft.
Last year, we did it.
Rather than happiness, I feel like I have “done” Nickergrove now, seen all 3 good bits and it’s out of my system now.
It has it’s place, but I won’t be sad if I don’t return for a few years now!
Originally posted on this post on Instagram
