Box Freestone Mine (Cliftworks), May 2012

HISTORY

Box is not one quarry, it is a series of several quarries that eventually all joined up. Some of the area's inside Box are still known by their original names. Cliftworks, Spring, Tunnel, Copenacre, Jacks, Cathedral, Sands, Groundstone, Browns and Hudswell. Many of the eastern quarry's were taken over by the MOD and converted into ammunition storage and wartime government seats. Today, only the western parts of Box are officially accessible.

THE VISIT

This report basically covers the northern region of the mine, i.e. Clift Quarry. Visited with wonkycows.

1. Looking down the Cliftworks Passage from Clift Entrance


2. Elaborate (for a mine) stonework


3. Tank and Well, Cliftworks Passage


4. Support


5. Iron Door


6. Mine graffiti 1


7. Box Crane 1, Stack Passage


8. Heading further into Clift


9. Box Crab Winch, Winch Series


10. Box Crane 2 and saw, Bakerloo Line


11. Stone cutting


12. Bottom of the shaft, Cliftworks Passage


13. Mine graffiti 2


14. Junction with Box Crane 4 in the distance


15. Box Crane 5 and saws, Finis Laborandi


16. Last major junction


17. Box Crane 6, Via Ultima


18. End of the line, Box Crane 7, at the end of Via Ultima


And then a long walk back to BackDoor.

Thanks for looking.

Nice work there do like the photo's

Ain't been into clift works for years some nice shots there.here's a picture of the original entrance



photo from Derek Hawkins website
http://www.choghole.co.uk/PHOTOGRAPHSOLD.htm

Loving that! One of the guys in the forum organised a trip for a group of us down another part of Box back in the winter and it was brilliant fun but I can honestly say we didn't see this part.

Yerssss.... oy loyk thaaaaaat!

Nice one, that's not an easy plce to photograph!
Theres around 96Km of tunnel in the network, so despite the amount of time we were lost, I'm not surprised we didn' see any of this!
Thanks for shring a new take on the place!

Good 2 c pics of under Box

I went down there in 1990 with my mate - we used to get the key from xxx xxxxxxxxxxx xxx when we
re-emerged there was an MOD landrover waiting - (when we had got to the concrete wall
that divides it up - my mate spotted the cameras - so he mooned !) and they were not happy.

The flatcaps told us off - checked my mod id - and we (not red caps) went 4 a pint or 6 nearby

If you went there - is that door still available as we used it

I am trying to follow the guidelines to stopthe wallys dickin up things

centralheatking

Thanks all.

Very nice place is Box but so big that you can't really do a report on it as a whole because you'd miss out too much. Plenty of pics of other area's too but not all so whenever we get them, there'll be more.

The concrete wall and door is still there although the camera is long gone (someone had a pop at it). The wires that went to the camera are still there too and are still live just in case anyone is thinking of checking.

What a network,superb report thanks for sharing.

Been down there a couple of times, but not found this part yet! Is it accessible from the cathedral area?

daftoldgit said:

Been down there a couple of times, but not found this part yet! Is it accessible from the cathedral area?

Click to expand...

yes if go to the quarrymans arms they have surveys of the whole place

daftoldgit said:

Been down there a couple of times, but not found this part yet! Is it accessible from the cathedral area?

Click to expand...

Yes.

You need to go to Catherdral and then work north to the tank / well in Cliftworks passage. Go right at the tank and then take the lefts at the next couple of junctions. You're in Cliftworks proper then.

Most of these photo's were taken from the tank to the end of Cliftworks.

Best to get the Northern area survey for it and Central survey for good measure as some of it interlinks on both.

Gentlemen... I'm in a quandry here. The forum rules expressly forbid asking access info etc. on postings. My dilemna is that this particular site is not exactly a conventional explore as it is done "with permission" so I am going to let your questions go this time.

BUT PLEASE DO NOT ask direct questoions on access in the forum in futrure.

interesting pics.....must come over to the dark side more often