Guide to Coniston Copper Mines - Cumbria, northern England, UK
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Coniston Copper Mines
A field guide to the mines in the copper ore field at Coniston in the English Lake District by Eric Holland
A guidebook to exploring the mines and relics of the copper mining industry above Coniston, at Tilberthwaite, Greenburn and Seathwaite Tarn above the Duddon valley, at the heart of the English Lake District in Cumbria. More...
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Seasons
It's underground, but rain (not rare in the Lakes) can flood the passages.Centres
Great and Little Langdale, Coniston village.Difficulty
All mine workings are potentially dangerous. The author has noted places of special danger but Read More... great caution is needed at all times. Underground kit - lighting, helmets - recommended.Must See
Industrial archaeology; an insight into the industrial past of the Lake District and how mining Read More... influenced the local landscape.This is a field guide to the relics of copper mining in the fells above Coniston, at Tilberthwaite, Greenburn and at Seathwaite Tarn above the Duddon Valley.
Because of opportunities these old mines present for the study of industrial archaeology, for adventure, mineral collecting, geology, etc, there is an ever increasing awareness of them among widely varying sections of the public. One could say a new sport has come into being as more and more persons of all age groups, not contenting themselves solely with surface exploration and fossicking in old dumps, are going below ground.
Mining did not cease completely in the region until 1942, having commenced at Coniston in or around 1599. Evidence of working from the earliest times right through to the 1950s are to be seen at Coniston, thus creating a unique memorial to the immense endeavour which has taken place both on and under these fells.
