Lower Balls Mine, Nailsworth, Gloucestershire - Apr '17

[Punk]

About 3 months after he fractured his spine, I went down to Nailsworth to visit my friend Oort. After a quick coffee and a catch up, we headed straight to the mine for Oort's first mooch after his accident.​

Not much online. The early history of these quarries is vague. Presumably quarrying of the fine oolite stone has been carried on at the outcrop since Roman times. Due to the steep hillsides, the overburden soon became too great and thus they went underground. There are a number of small scale developments. According to a 90 year old inhabitant of Nailsworth, a Mr William Mortimer who died in 1970, such places were worked in the winter months by cottagers employed in casual agricultural work during the summer. Graffitti dating 1900-1947
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Cheers for Looking​

 

[Lenston]

Its a nice mine this, some good images there  

 

[Dubbed Navigator]

Looks a bit wet that mate!

Plenty to see though, nice one.

 

[Andy]

Nice pics, I like the light in number 8.

 

[James Bigglesworth]

Are these the Devil's Elbow Mines?  We used to hang around in there all the time. I ask the question because I have a memory of them being much higher inside.  I thought perhaps these lay be some other diggings that we heard about but never visited. I suppose you've done the W caves?

 

[Punk]

Are these the Devil's Elbow Mines?  We used to hang around in there all the time. I ask the question because I have a memory of them being much higher inside.  I thought perhaps these lay be some other diggings that we heard about but never visited. I suppose you've done the W caves?

I don't think they are. No mention of a connection online or anything.

Ive not done the caves, yet

 

[James Bigglesworth]

The W caves are more interesting, if you can still find a way into them, they were more like natural caves. If you are not from Nailsworth

 ask for the way to the W drive up to the first hairpin to the left  and go down the track to the right, the caves are a couple of hundred yards on the left,  down the tracK.

 

[Oort]

Sorry for late reply, not a cave but Scar Hill Mine. Absolute bloody death trap and the reason why the front looks 'cavey' due to years of people lighting fires in there and it slowly destroying the rock. You can push quite far if you keep to the right at the entrance but you're then blocked by a impassable collapse about 200m in.