Mining remains

Whilst the sun was shining I took the opportunity to search for mining remains in a field that I had never looked at before. The Middlewood area has a long history of coal extraction with a number of seams outcropping in the area. Here alongside the Bollinhurst Brook are the remains of a shaft dating from the late 18th or early 19th century. A shallow round depression filled with bramble and a couple of birch trees marks the spot where once was a windlass or gin to wind the coal from the pit.