Tearsall Pipe Cavern #2/Lords and Ladies Mine - Alan Brentnall

The last day of the heatwave was a lovely (warm) evening to start with, and, like last week, a bunch of us met at the end of Blakemoor Lane at Brightgate. The plan was to explore Tearsall Pipe Caverns, with a possible quick second trip into Lord and Ladies Mine. The two venues were on different farms, so Pete Dell sorted out permission for Lords and Ladies with Lobby Farm, leaving me to deal with Brightgate on the night. Unfortunately Pete couldn't make the trip, owing to domestic duties, but there were still thirteen people due to arrive.

Pete K, John, Katie, Bernie, Steve, Robert, Jess, Alan and Chris met me at the lane end and were changed and ready when I received a text from Grace saying that she, Jenny and her son Andrew would be late as they had had to deviate via Cromford owing to a "Road Closed" sign at Matlock. It turned out that the sign wasn't entirely truthful (Jess arrived via Salters Lane) but the first party headed off down to Tearsall, while I waited for Grace's group. Once they had arrived, I gave them a map showing the route to the mine before walking down to Tearsall myself.

I got there just as the pitch rigging was complete and folk started to descend. By the time the second group arrived, most were down and had started to explore the mine. We split into (roughly) three groups and had a good "ferkle" around the place, taking in the interesting round trip, the upstream inlet and the various routes below the dam, including a trip to the foot of Line Shaft.

With such a large group, negotiating the pitch, getting so many people down and then up the 15 metre shaft, was going to occupy a significant proportion of the evening's caving time. Consequently, we started re-ascending fairly soon so that some of us might have a chance of taking in the Lords and Ladies mine.

The first (and, as it turned out, the only) group to head off into Northern Dale comprised Jess, Katie and myself. Katie and I had done this trip a few times, but we had always done it in conjunction with a trip into Old Ash Mine, and therefore from the other end of the dale. It was now dark, the map showing the route between the two mines was still underground and we were without compass or any other kind of navigational aid. Once we had got too high, I realised that we'd headed too far right and we tried to compensate but came across a wall and just about decided that trying to find the place in the dark was futile.

However, heading back towards Tearsall, Jess suddenly pointed at a gloomy tree-lined depression and said "That looks like Northern Dale!" so we headed down just to see and lo and behold were soon looking into a small cave-like entrance marked by a skull. It didn't look like anything Katie or I could remember, so we carried on down the dale and shortly found a familiar (larger) entrance.

Lords and Ladies looks and feels like a cave, rather than a mine but I am assured that it is the latter and the smooth wide passages are mined-out flats. So it probably is a cave, which was mineralised after its formation in the same way that pipe-workings are created. Whatever its origins, Lord and Ladies Mine provides a very interesting and not entirely straight-forward excursion underground. We soon found and passed the (pretty wet) duck and then negotiated the passages out, following a significant draught. There were several junctions, but the draught kept us going in the right direction, although, at one point, we weren't too sure and this may have been the way to the small entrance found earlier. Fairly soon we were back out through the larger upper entrance and there was, spookily, another skull marking the way. I've added a survey for interest, although it's quite difficult to read.

Back at Tearsall, most were up and out and ready to depart, which they did while five of us de-rigged, locked up and returned the keys and spanners to the farm. Quite a long evening, but a very satisfying and interesting trip.