Report - Pinner Quarry - Crawshawbooth, Rossendale - July 2017

[EOA]

Wow!! great report and pics..... sweet as @EOA

I went in there once but didnt manage to stumble across the crane and felt the need to get out, i like going underground but being claustraphobic of a fashion and i didnt feel completely comfortable in there, maybe the low roofs or just evidence of all the fragmented and fragile rock did it for me but there was only one open access when we went, it looks like there was 2 when you went?
And well done to go in there solo, need to get myself back there and try and conquer some of these fears that are lurking lol

Cheers Stonemonkey - I was conflicted at points during the solo missions, but just had to keep plodding on. Yeah there are definitely two ways in / out at the moment. There may be more, but those are the two I've used. If you want to get back in and find the crane, you're welcome to give me a shout. I don't mind going back in again...

Also, there are several ways around it, so if there was a collapse while you were in, you could find another way passed and out.

 

[EOA]

Hahaa.... my son placed the skull on the stone there.... Possibly the remains of a foxes lunch.
Some great additions there @EOA ... and not only does the crane look more impressive in real life, it adds a sense of achievement in seeing a little bit of history in there.
We was at the crane within a minute from the airshafts (Which, I think had been drilled in place as a 45 degree incline sounds a little steep). We then walked the "crazy paving" when walking away.
I felt the greatest danger in there is a twisted ankle or clouting your head on low rocks.... the air felt and smelt fresh (ish) for a mine (I've been 20' inside one and the air was stale !! )
Friday we went looking in a wood that was littered with adits and shafts, we only found those that had been sealed. We got talking to an elderly local... who used to explore mines as a kid (and used to light-paint for the photos too). He also gave us an areal print of the lay of the land which had the trees removed for that area.
He told me the mines had to be sealed in the mid 80's due to an earthquake and the disruption of an underground lake higher up flooding the shafts, HSE deemed the mines unsafe and had them all closed.... Food for thought... How many quakes has Pinner stood up too ?
Then there's Cononley...... a 1 in 4 inclined entry thats cut into a rock that crumbles in your hands like compressed salt (You could grab a chunk and pull it off the wall)...... and I still feel more uncomfortable whilst travelling in a lift !!
However, I would never take someone further than their fear, I don't like it done to me, and I will no longer walk through such places blindly (I did Scammonden overflow several times as a kid without light.. and there was some big stones approaching the overflow that other kids used to throw down before the gates got added to the bridge !! ).
I'm pretty sure if a mild quake hit Pinner whilst I was inside I'd still come out with a big beaming smile.... and a heartbeat higher than it's highest ceiling !!

Pinner looks like it might have stood up to a few earthquakes

I don't think it's that bad. You'd have to be really unlucky to get stuck in it, but that said there are slabs waiting to fall and they will at some point. The hanging rocks and the balanced beams give some sense of security though, now I know what they're there for.

Cononley is still on my to-do list, even if it is built of weetabix with one way in and out!

 

[JoanneCard?]

I don't think it's that bad. You'd have to be really unlucky to get stuck in it, but that said there are slabs waiting to fall and they will at some point. The hanging rocks and the balanced beams give some sense of security though, now I know what they're there for.

Pinner isn't bad at all, but for sure there's more fall to come in there, guaranteed !!
Though you'd have to be very unlucky to be under it at the time... or stupidly swinging on a long bar wedged between some cracks
I wouldn't want to risk any mine after heavy rain (did you know there's supposed to be an underground lake above Scout Stone Mine?) .
If you want danger and you've half hour to spare driving up Burnley Rd out of Todmorden I can drop you a pin to a mine... Sleeper side walls and a sleeper roof, old track sleepers still in the floor too.... Just don't touch the walls or the roof because before you can say "I wasn't expecting that" your finger disappears
It's also not long before you get to the water level too...... then you begin to notice a rather strong smell of pine, there's a ceiling sleeper on the floor that resembles a shredded wheat that's been left in the milk all weekend.........

As for Cononley, I'd say more Icing sugar than weetabix !!.... just don't lick the rock, it made me very thirsty o_O...
I've seen a few maps of Cononley, there's more than one way in and out... Though they say you have to be very brave or very stupid to get to the face (I like to think I'm both with a strong sense to live!!! ). Crawling in places is definitely required to get through some spills... The 2 I've seen had compact ground at the bottom, so people do do it. Some shoring up looks relatively new too... There's a sump to drain the water and air vents to the 25% decline in places (some are filled in). You don't notice how steep the adit is till it's time to come out, it actually feels fairly flat going in.
I'd do Cononley on my own (The really stupid part of me) I'd go further in too than last time... but I highly recommend not to go solo... and definitely have a timed call planned.
I'm not sure if the mine has been surveyed (It should of been but there was no "P32" marks anywhere that I saw).
I notice you like lasers @EOA one of the blue lasers will cause fluorescence in certain areas of the mine (I think it's the 405nm blue). Makes light painting quicker and easier and you don't need the beam in the shot.
I have 3 lumps of rock here from in there.... if I hold one in my hand I notice the weight straight away... If I grip it tight I can pour it out of my hand like salt.
If you go in there and you start getting a headache, turn round and get out (don't rush but be determined)..... and the same goes for if you mildly start to hallucinate..... and above all stay safe.... and enjoy

 

[AdamG]

Hi Joanne. I know of an underground reservoir close to scout mine. Not a reservoir like you would see above ground but more of a large tunnel within a tunnel holding back a large amount of water. Could this be the underground lake you mentioned?