The "Church of the Outdoors" has always offered great fellowship to me, with this in mind it was good to catch up with Paul Rich (who I see quite often); Dave Baines (who its always an inspiration to see, even at just a couple of times a year) & Graham Derbyshire (it was the first time I've been underground with Graham) - for a deep exploration of Brownley Hills mine at Nenthead. The aim of the trip was to venture into the further reaches of Gudamgill Burn Vein & Brownley Hills North Vein.
First off, after entering the mine we took a short diversion to point out the Brownley Hill - Nentsberry Haggs connection to those who hadn't seen it before.
Back to main crossroads, it was straight ahead into the deeper reaches of the mine, past the watery Rampgill connection; on to (at least in my mind) the distant connection back to the blue pool & on & on through increasingly deep, cold water & ever more unstable shale. Awkward crawls, taking care not to touch the sides or roof, scrambles over roof falls; loose shale falling on occasion from the roof; sections of stone arching bulging under the weight of what lay behind them, until eventually we made the call to turn back.
It had been an exhilirating deep trip into the mine, we topped it off by making the connection back via the blue pool thus making a round trip for future visits & after some further "ratching" about around a climb close to the crossroads we ultimately exited the mine after a four & a half hour trip.
