The instruction is clear, dismount your bike before wending your way down the slope to Whitehaven harbour on the Cumbrian coast.
Having an interest in industrial archaeology this chimney (known locally as 'The Candlestick') takes centre stage in my photograph. Today it is just a landmark but its original purpose was as the ventilation chimney for the Wellington Mine which was sunk in 1838/40 and ran out under the sea. Known as a what is called a "fiery pit", that is it suffered from fire damp (flammable gases), which made it a difficult pit to work and potentially dangerous with numerous accidents. The worst disaster underground occurred in May 1910 with an explosion and fire which took 132 lives. There is a plaque dedicated to the men, women and children that lost their lives that day by the Candlestick. The pit closed in 1933
The other remnant of the mine is Wellington Lodge (seen here with the harbour light) which was the mine entrance and today the home of the coastguard.
It appears here in the artist's impression of the Wellington mine hanging outside the pub that takes its name.
An entry to
ABC Wednesday, a journey through the alphabet, this week sojourning at W
