The Blackmoor Tunnel

[The Parksider]

Jogon wrote: Best image to date of the Weetwood Aqueduct which crossed what is now the Ring Road up at Weetwood from that ?Scottish map thingyhttp://maps.nls.uk/view/102344914Surveyed 1847 published 1851To understand it, I think Weetwood Farm is now Hope Pastures the Donkey Sanctuary.ps Roe Deer feed very early morning on the margin of field which adjoin The Hollies Fascinating. It's tough to find a single sign of the aquaduct, but I think the stone was robbed to build house(s) Foxhill??

[Leodian]

I've never been to Verity's shaft over the Blackmoor Tunnel so I recently went to have a look. Knowing that the King Lane shaft (by Nanny Beck near the Tesco Express) is extremely overgrown I had expected so would be Verity's shaft but it is well exposed in a small wooded area off Buckstone Oval near Buckstone Drive, Alwoodley. I took the first 2 photos of Verity's shaft on October 28 2024. Wanting to check something I went again on October 30 2024 and (on stretching up as much as I could and moving a cobweb!) I was able to hold my camera by a small opening in the locked door and (not knowing what the result would be) I took the third photo. That came out much better than I hoped and shows brickwork and metal beams inside the shaft. The top of the shaft has 3 rows of wire around, presumably to deter anyone getting in though I assume the shaft is blocked off below the top. The vegetation seen may just be growing near the top. In my following post I will add a photo that I took on October 30 2024 of the almost wholly hidden King Lane shaft.

VeritysShaftBlackmoorTunnelOct282024(1)..jpg (220.55 KiB) Viewed 1541 times

VeritysShaftBlackmoorTunnelOct282024(2)..jpg (232.07 KiB) Viewed 1541 times

TopInsideVeritysShaftBlackmoorTunnelOct302024..jpg (197.44 KiB) Viewed 1541 times

[Leodian]

I took this photo on October 30 2024 at the location of the extremely overgrown King Lane shaft over the Blackmoor Tunnel, Alwoodley. The shaft is there (honest!) by the usually muddy track next to Nanny Beck and is seen (!) shortly before passing the end of some flats after coming off King Lane near the Tesco Express.

OvergrownKingLaneShaftBlackmoorTunnelOct302024..jpg (279.42 KiB) Viewed 1538 times

If I have done it right and reduced a massively long URL using the Tiny URL website there follows a link to a Google Map that shows King Lane shaft. The map is dated 2024 so it must have been taken early in the year. https://tinyurl.com/3mj6tbhn

[tyke bhoy]

Good work Leodian and it looks like the tinyurl works although its a struggle even from above to work out the shaft location. The Copyright dates on Google maps are always the current year (it invalidates copyright if it isn't) so although the image may be from 2024 it ain't nescesarily so

[chemimike]

I am not very familiar with the area, and have not been there for over 20 years. However, the date may not be available on google maps, but is visible (or at least still is on my version downloaded many years ago) on google earth. Below are views from latest 5.22.2023. American dating, 4.22.2020 and 6.9.2006.

6.9.2006.jpg (705.97 KiB) Viewed 1396 times

4.22.2020.jpg (862.9 KiB) Viewed 1396 times

5.22.2023.jpg (626.29 KiB) Viewed 1396 times

[Brunel]

LATEST PIC. 2024:

[Brunel]

Also the remains of another shaft, somewhere in the clump of trees (Private Garden)

[Leodian]

Thanks for your help tyke bhoy, chemimike and Brunel.