Cumbrian Minerals, Dalton in Furness (2026)

22/06/2026

Long Fell Mines – High on the Fells ⛏️ 🪨 😁

Many people walking the wild fells above Appleby-in-Westmorland have no idea they are passing through one of Cumbria's forgotten mining landscapes.

The Long Fell Mines, situated around 5 miles northeast of Appleby, form part of a wider network of historic workings that also includes the famous Scordale and Hilton mining districts.

Today the remains are scattered across the rugged Pennine escarpment, but for generations miners searched these hills for valuable minerals hidden beneath the surface.

Although early explorers worked parts of Long Fell for lead and even copper, the mine later became best known for producing barytes (barite).

This heavy white mineral was used in a variety of industries, including paint manufacture, paper production and drilling operations.

The principal workings followed a mineral vein known as the D Vein, alongside several neighbouring veins running through the fell.

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, mining activity intensified, with companies such as Long Fell Barytes Ltd. developing the deposits on a larger scale.

The mine became part of a concentrated belt of mineral workings stretching across the West Pennines.

The surrounding area is also renowned among mineral collectors. Nearby mines in Scordale and Hilton produced fine specimens of galena, fluorite and other minerals, with the district becoming famous for its beautiful amber and yellow fluorite crystals.

Today the mine is abandoned, and only spoil heaps, shafts, levels and other remains survive to tell the story.

Reaching the site requires a walk across remote fell country, where visitors can still see evidence of the industry that once helped shape these quiet hills.

Have you ever explored the old mining remains around Long Fell or Scordale?

Share your photographs and memories below.

21/06/2026

Threlkeld Quarry and mining museum 😁

Photos from Chris Allen

21/06/2026

Threlkeld Quarry – More Than Just a Quarry ⛏️🪨😁

Nestled beneath the slopes of Blencathra near Keswick, Threlkeld Quarry was one of Cumbria's most important industrial sites for over a century.

Opened in the 1870s by H. Harkewitz, the quarry supplied thousands of tons of tough Threlkeld microgranite for railway ballast, road building, and major engineering projects across Britain.

By 1894, annual production had reached around 80,000 tons.

The stone from Threlkeld helped build sections of the Crewe–Carlisle railway and was chosen for use in Manchester's famous Thirlmere water scheme, which still supplies water to the city today.

One interesting fact is that Threlkeld granite cannot be polished like Shap granite.

Instead, its incredible strength made it ideal for heavy-duty construction, with a crushing strength of over 2,000 tons per square foot.

In 1892, the Threlkeld Granite Company expanded into producing precast concrete paving slabs and coloured granitic tiles using advanced European machinery, helping pave streets in towns across northern England.

The surrounding hills also hold a rich mining history. Nearby Woodend and Gategill Mines worked lead and zinc veins for centuries, with some underground levels extending nearly a mile into Blencathra.

Commercial quarrying finally ended in 1982, but the site found a new lease of life in 1992 when it was transformed into the Threlkeld Quarry and Mining Museum.

Today visitors can ride narrow-gauge steam trains, explore mining displays, and see one of Britain's finest collections of vintage excavators, with more than 80 historic machines preserved on site.

From granite quarrying and lead mining to steam trains and giant excavators, Threlkeld remains one of Cumbria's most fascinating industrial heritage sites.

Have you visited Threlkeld Quarry and Mining Museum?

Share your memories and photographs below. 😁

Photo from Chris Allen 😁

20/06/2026

⛏️ The Lime Kilns of Dunnerholme Rock, Askam-in-Furness ⛏️🪨🔥

Most people walking along the coast at Dunnerholme Rock notice two mysterious stone archways built into the hillside.

These are the remains of historic lime kilns, a forgotten but important part of Furness' industrial past.

Dunnerholme Rock itself is one of the most distinctive natural landmarks on the Furness coast.

The outcrop is formed from Carboniferous limestone laid down around 335 million years ago when this part of Britain lay beneath a warm tropical sea.

The rock contains fossils of ancient marine life including corals, shells and other sea creatures, many of which can still be seen today.

Quarrying around the rock helped expose these fossil-rich limestone beds, while the stone itself provided the raw material for the nearby lime kilns.

Dating mainly from the Victorian era, the kilns were used to produce quicklime from locally quarried limestone.

Workers would load crushed limestone and coal into the top of the kiln, where it burned continuously for around 24 hours.

The intense heat transformed the stone into quicklime, which was then removed through the arched openings at the bottom.

Quicklime was an essential product for local farmers. It was spread on fields to improve the acidic soils around the Furness Peninsula, helping to increase crop yields and agricultural productivity.

The demand for lime grew during the agricultural improvements of the 18th and 19th centuries, when farmers sought to make previously poor land more productive.

Evidence suggests that the limestone burned in the kilns was quarried directly from Dunnerholme Rock itself.

Remains of the old quarry workings can still be seen in the exposed rock faces around the outcrop, demonstrating how closely linked the quarry and lime-burning industries once were.

At least three kilns once stood here, although only two remain clearly visible today. Their coastal location made it easier to transport both limestone and coal, helping support an industry that played an important role in the local economy.

However, the lime-burning trade was eventually overshadowed by a much larger industrial boom.

In the 1850s, rich deposits of haematite iron ore were discovered nearby, helping to transform Furness into one of Britain's most important iron-mining and iron-producing regions.

The rapid growth of the iron industry soon eclipsed many traditional industries, including lime burning.

Today the kilns stand quietly above the shores of the Duddon Estuary, offering a fascinating glimpse into a time when geology, quarrying, agriculture and industry came together to shape the landscape and economy of Cumbria.

Have you ever visited Dunnerholme Rock or spotted the old kilns?

Share your photos and memories below. 😁

Photo from NWE Mail 😁

20/06/2026

⛏️ Castlenook Mine – A Forgotten Lead Mine of Newlands Valley ⛏️

Hidden on the slopes above the beautiful Newlands Valley sits the remains of Castlenook Mine, one of Cumbria's lesser-known but fascinating lead mines.

Mining here is believed to date back to before 1698, with generations of miners following the rich West Castlenook Lode, a lead-bearing vein that stretched for more than a mile through the surrounding fells.

The mine produced mainly galena (lead ore), along with smaller quantities of minerals such as sphalerite, smithsonite and pyromorphite.

The workings were spread across the hillside below Castlenook Crags, with several levels and trial adits driven into the fell in search of richer ore.

Although never as famous as nearby Goldscope Mine, Castlenook formed part of the wider mining landscape that helped shape the Newlands Valley for centuries.

One of the most interesting aspects of the site today is how little it has changed since mining ceased around 1918.

Distinct spoil heaps, old mine roads and the remains of dressing areas can still be traced across the hillside, providing a remarkable glimpse into the working life of Lakeland miners more than a century ago.

The mine also sits within an area strongly influenced by the mining traditions introduced by German miners during the Elizabethan period, whose expertise helped transform metal mining in the Lake District.

Today, Castlenook Mine is a popular destination for walkers exploring the fells around High Spy, Maiden Moor and Dale Head.

In fact, the old mine road is still used as part of one of the classic routes onto these surrounding Wainwrights, meaning thousands of walkers pass through this historic mining landscape every year, often without realising they are following paths once used by generations of Cumbrian miners.

While the underground workings are unsafe to enter, the surface remains tell a fascinating story of the men who searched these hills for lead and prosperity.

Have you ever spotted the remains of Castlenook Mine while walking in Newlands Valley?

Share your photos and memories below. 👇

Photo from Richard Webb 😁

19/06/2026

⛏️ Midgeholme Colliery – A Forgotten Border Coalfield ⛏️🪨😁

Hidden away on the Cumbria–Northumberland border lies the fascinating story of Midgeholme Colliery, one of northern England's lesser known coal mining districts.

Coal mining at Midgeholme can be traced back to at least 1628, although evidence suggests coal was being worked in the area even earlier to supply the monks of Lanercost Priory.

Over the centuries, the coalfield grew into an important local employer, with several pits operating across the district including King Pit, Catch Pit, East Pit, West Pit, North Pit and Slag Pit.

The coalfield sat on the complex Stublick-Ninety Fathom Fault System, creating a series of valuable coal seams that supplied coking, gas, household and steam coal.

At its peak in 1940, around 120 men worked underground with a further 40 employed on the surface.

One of the most remarkable chapters in Midgeholme's history involved the famous locomotive Rocket.

In August 1837, George Stephenson's legendary engine ran along Lord Carlisle's railway from Midgeholme to Hallbankgate carrying General Election polling results, covering the four-mile journey in just four and a half minutes.

Although the main colliery closed in 1944, some smaller drifts continued working for several years afterwards, with the last pit in the coalfield finally closing in 1954.

Today, traces of the industry can still be found around High and Low Midgeholme, where old railway formations, colliery buildings and mining remains offer a glimpse into a once-thriving coalfield that helped power local communities for more than three centuries.

Have you ever explored the remains of Midgeholme Colliery or walked the route of Lord Carlisle's Railway?

Share your photos and memories below. 📷👇

Photo from Ian Greig 😁

18/06/2026

⛏️ DRIGGITH MINE – THE SILVER TREASURE THAT DEFEATED VICTORIAN MINING

High on the Caldbeck Fells lie the remains of Driggith Mine, one of Cumbria's most fascinating lead and silver mines.

Mining is believed to have begun here in the early 18th century, but the mine really came to life during the industrial boom of the 1820s.

At its peak, the surrounding fells buzzed with activity as miners, engineers and labourers worked among dressing floors, tramways, workshops and stone-built shelters scattered across the hillside.

The mine was famous for producing exceptionally rich lead ore. In fact, each ton of lead yielded an average of 25 ounces of silver, making Driggith one of the more valuable mining ventures in the Caldbeck district.

Over its lifetime, the mine is estimated to have produced at least 3,800 tons of lead and around 40,000 ounces of silver, although historians believe the true figures may have been considerably higher due to incomplete records.

Driggith worked a series of underground levels known as the 30, 60 and 90-fathom adits. Most of the wealth came from the shallow workings above the 60-fathom level, where miners found rich deposits of galena, the principal lead ore.

However, deeper underground, the miners encountered a problem that Victorian technology struggled to overcome.

The valuable lead and zinc ores became closely mixed with large quantities of baryte. Although the ore was still rich, the separation equipment of the day could not efficiently extract the valuable minerals from the waste rock.

As a result, huge amounts of potentially profitable ore were discarded, causing repeated financial losses and pushing successive mining companies into bankruptcy.

Adding to the story, Driggith was not an isolated mine. It worked part of the same mineral vein system as nearby Sandbed Mine, with both operations effectively chasing the same underground lodes through the Caldbeck hills.

Ironically, the mineral that helped ruin the lead mine later became valuable in its own right. During a brief revival in the 1940s, attention shifted away from lead and silver, with operators instead reworking old spoil heaps and shallow workings to recover baryte for industrial use.

Today, Driggith Mine is known worldwide among mineral collectors and geologists. More than 70 mineral species have been identified from the site, including beautiful specimens of pyromorphite, malachite and philipsburgite.

The surviving spoil heaps, opencuts and ruined buildings remain a reminder of both the riches and risks that shaped the mining history of the Caldbeck Fells.

Sometimes the greatest challenge in mining wasn't finding the ore it was finding a way to process it.

Have you ever visited the site?

Photo from the Old Cumbria Gazetteer 😁

18/06/2026

Calvert Mine – Alston moor
⛏️🪨😁

Tucked away in the rugged landscape of Alston Moor lies the forgotten Calvert Mine, one of many historic lead mining sites that once helped shape the economy of the North Pennines.

Located around three miles from Alston along the upper reaches of the River South Tyne, the mine worked the mineral-rich Calvert Vein, a geological fault believed to be connected to the famous Hunter's Vein.

Miners hoped it would yield rich deposits of lead ore, but the reality proved more challenging.

Much of the material extracted consisted of quartz, iron pyrites and other minerals mixed with the lead, making processing difficult and costly.

The mine was worked mainly during the 18th and 19th centuries, with miners following the vein through the Scar and Five Yards Limestone beds.

Like many Pennine lead mines, valuable ore was separated by hand before being washed and dressed on site, leaving behind spoil heaps that can still be seen today.

Unlike the larger operations at nearby Nenthead, Calvert Mine was a relatively small venture.

Falling lead prices during the late 1800s, combined with the cost of transporting ore from the remote South Tyne valley, eventually brought mining to an end.

Calvert Mine is also a reminder of the risks taken by Victorian mining companies. Driven by hopes of discovering a rich continuation of the famous mineral veins of Alston Moor, miners invested years of labour underground, only to find that much of the vein contained low-value minerals rather than the rich lead deposits they had hoped for.

In many ways, Calvert Mine represents the gamble that lay at the heart of the mining industry where fortunes could be won, lost, or never found at all.

Today, little remains beyond the scattered evidence of industry hidden among the moorland, but Calvert Mine serves as a reminder of the determination and hardships faced by generations of North Pennines miners.

Have you ever explored the old mining remains around Alston Moor? 😁

Share your photographs and memories in the comments.

Photo from Helen Wilkinson

17/06/2026

BORLASE MINE –COPPER MINES ON THE CONISTON FELLS ⛏️🪨 😁

Hidden high on Hawk Rigg near Coniston lies Borlase Mine, one of the Lake District's lesser-known copper mines.

Unlike the famous Coniston Copper Mines, which date back hundreds of years, Borlase was a much later venture, driven during the late 1920s by the Greenburn and Tilberthwaite Mining Company.

The mine sits below Wetherlam and consists of two levels driven into the hillside in search of copper ore.

Although only a small amount of copper was produced, Borlase is notable for its use of more modern mining technology.

A well-preserved compressor house still survives today, once providing compressed air to power rock drills underground.

Borlase marked a very different era of mining on the Coniston fells.

Earlier miners relied on hand tools, gunpowder and water-powered machinery, while Borlase's workers used mechanical equipment that reflected the changing face of the industry.

One of the most intriguing remains at Borlase Mine is the ruined smithy and compressor house, evidence that the remote workings embraced modern compressed-air drilling technology.

An air compressor was reportedly hauled to the site by six horses, allowing miners to work the copper veins more efficiently in the mine's later years.

Today, the remains of the mine can still be found during walks around Tilberthwaite and Wetherlam, standing as a reminder of the final chapter in centuries of copper mining history across the Coniston area.

Have you ever visited Borlase Mine or explored the old workings around Tilberthwaite? ⛏️👇

Photo from Ian Tyler 😁

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