danger zone

There can never be enough emphasis on the dangers and hazards of abandoned mine workings and this relates to anywhere in the British Isles.

There are probably more than two hundred vertical shafts on the Isle of Man alone of which approximately forty are accounted for. Only a few of these have been securely capped and the remainder of the known shafts may only be loosely covered. Extreme care should be exercised when walking through old mine sites and at all times keep to the obvious paths and tracks as they were probably used by the miners.

Many shafts were kept open after abandonment as this helped with the ventilation whilst the mine still worked and only after final closure was the shaft sealed. Filling was not an option around the turn of the century as this led to what was considered to be unnecessary cost but 'out of sight' was a satisfactory solution at the time. The top platform in a shaft would be completely replaced and decked over with new timbers before a fill of spoil and earth was shoveled in to bring the level up to surface. This would be about fifteen feet deep. The timbers, now over one hundred years old are coming to the end of their lives and will collapse without warning.

Often, the underground workings came very close to the surface leaving the ground in an unstable condition and it is not unheard of for an old stope to suddenly collapse leaving a great yawning abyss.