2019-07-14 52 -1
| Sun 14 Jul 2019 in 52,-1: 52.6573746, -1.3178147 geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox |
Location
Just off a footpath at Bagworth Heath, a disused colliery landscaped to make a country park
Participants
Plans
Expedition
I knew this area, having visited it last month on a geocaching expedition, and had walked along the nearest path to the hash on my way back to the car, after bushwhacking my way in a stupidly straight line to a cache location... thing was, the curving recreational paths here lure you to take what looks like one leading to your destination, then it curls gently off and you find you are heading away from your target ... My direct approach that day meant I accidentally found something intriguing along the way, and I wanted to return for another look at it sometime anyway, so when the hash landed nearby, obviously that was the moment to go.
So I had a good idea of the terrain,and which path to take, and suitable footwear (walking boots), parked in the carpark at Heath Rd, and wandered the half a km or so to the hash, which was about 25m off the nice, clear, broad hard path, and up a sort of scree slope of coalmine waste, quite steep , and with a sprinkling of small birch trees hanging on for dear life. Up I went, following the co-ords I'd put in the GPS, and scrabbled around until I got to the spot. Took some time for the 'phone to acquire a half decent GPS lock and 4G signal , but when it did, the app. confirmed I'd reached the hash, and (first time I've tried using this facility) the message below trickled through the ether to this page :
- At this point 😀 -- Hedgepig (talk) @52.6574,-1.3178 11:55, 14 July 2019 (GMT+01:00)
I collected together some small rocks, and with a sharpie pen recorded the hash on a couple, then built a micro cairn of them at the base of the nearest small tree. Then a scramble up the coal tip scree to the top path, but I couldn't resist stopping along the way for a big lump of stratified shale and coal with an obvious split developing along the laminations , broke it open and photographed the ... ? trace fossil? looks like a worm cast or similar .
Then to the top of the spoil heap: 95% of the landscape has been covered in vegetation, only the odd scar of dark tailings is in evidence, it would be easy to miss the industrial origin of the place if you didn't know about it. So, a very pleasant , butterfly and wildflower filled wander took me to the weird feature I'd tripped over before ... of which, more later.
Anyone thinking of heading out this afternoon/evening to the hash here, do it, it's a great place for a wander.
