Harmer Hill Multi-cache
nivekpenrith: hasn't been found for sometime so archiving it
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(micro)
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Nice Easily Walk but trousers should be worn could be a hide find
This Cache will give you co ordinates to cramp 2.To be able to do this cache you must first do the others
Starting with:
Wingless Birds and Castles Multi
Where Boats can't go
War Aircraft Recovery Group
Harmer Hill
Cramp Twins 1 & 2
Junction 12 Reservoir 1 & 2
Cotsford Multi
Blists this House
Apley Castle
Apley Lake
Somewhere in the series is a first to find pin. Apart from the first Caches you will need to go in order to save yourself time and money. I make no apologise for the amount of traveling involved. All caches are reasonably close to other caches. For those of you who want to be the first to complete the series there is a monetary voucher for First to Find and Second to Find to help with the cost of the petrol.(just to add another dimension to the series)In the series i have used Micro's except for the first and last cache all are off the ground unless clues are given otherwise. there are 4 nano micros, 6 new micro's i've never used. 2 35mm and of course a pine cone (i've still got one left)
Pymhill Copper Mine
Pymhill Mine is north of Shrewsbury, on a sandstone escarpment west of the A528 near to the small village of Harmer Hill.
A fault runs north-south through Pym (or Pim) Hill, on the westside lies mottled sandstone and on the east waterstones and the upper Keuper Sandstone beds. Malachite, absolite and vanadium were found along the fault, with extensive baryte veining in the country rock.
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Historical Background
It is not known exactly when copper was first discovered or worked here, although Goughs History of Myddle (a village about 2.5km North-west of Pymhill) mentions copper mining taking place near here in the early 1640's.
The first documentary evidence is when the Countess of Bridgewater granted Abraham Derby & Co. of Bristol a 14 year lease (on May 1st 1710) to search for and mine copper ore and other minerals from the Pymhill and Myddle area. Very little mining actually took place.
The main period of activity (like other nearby copper mines) was in the 1860's. A team of 10 to 20 men sank 3 shafts, surface trenching along the vein and a cross-cut to intersect the ore at depth, however work ceased with the collapse in copper prices in the 1870's.
Unsuccessful cobalt exploration was also carried out here in the 1900's.
Remains Today
Exploration by the Club has revealed one shaft open to surface carved in the sandstone country rock. About 20m down the slightly off vertical shaft a narrow level leads off northwards then curves west to a collapse.
The shaft is almost full of rubbish - agricultural chemical drums and chicken shed slurry (the latter has flowed into the level leaving limited crawling room. At the same point in the shaft, a short blind heading, goes a couple of metres east.
About 20 years ago older club members report that the shaft lead down to a small stope below the current accessible 'bottom'.
A search of the hill, did not reveal any other open shafts or levels -although there was a depression in a nearby field that looked like the crown of a filled shaft.
However, one member of the team 'spied' a likely gulley and started digging.......
At about 2 metres down, he hit the top of a sandstone entrance arch - could this have been the cross-cut mentioned in the historical records?.
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Credits
Thanks to:
Pim Hill Organic Farm - for allowing us use of their car park
The Farmer - for allowing us access to the site.
Report, Sketches & Pictures: Peter Eggleston and Kelvin Lake. Bats
Bats are known to live in the area, and a lot were found in the workings examined. DO NOT disturb them, particularly during the hibernation season.
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Warning
Bad air - mainly Oxygen deficiency has been recorded in this mine.
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