So today has been an eventful one.
So there will be 2 blog posts 'Jordans Mine' & 'Stroll on the Island #1'.
For those of you who would like to see the findings from my M walk will have to wait until the end of the week. When all 5 of my walks have been enacted.
The Prelude to the 22nd March 2016
I have been to the Jordans Mine.
I have enacted my M walk on the Isle of Portland.
And I have strolled through the landscape back up to where my day began.
(For those of you who do not know what I mean by ‘my M walk’ please click here)
My ankles are currently throbbing and of course I have a blister to prove the walk I endured today. I feel refreshed even though tomorrow I know that I won’t be able to walk down the stairs properly from the hill climb I did today. But tomorrow is another day. And tomorrow is when I will be enacting my O.
All in all, I would say I’ve had a thrilling day.
I’ve clambered through a hilly terrain, following strands of footpaths, some of which were no help as they were blocked by bramble and overgrown bush, or were perhaps filled with rock, and some of which were great as they led me the right way.
I’ve over looked a sea of white stone and have been inside the stones domain. I have seen abandoned boats, industrial remainders and walked up the path of where the rail tracks once stood. Rail tracks that used to carry the Portland stone. I have huffed, puffed and gasped as my legs strained to pull me up that hill. I have witnessed oh so much litter and have seen it happen before me.
I have looked upon a crow eating.
I have followed my curiosity and been left even more curious.
I have seen doorways.
I have seen arches.
And I have overlooked Portland and beheld, at least, half of its glory.
Jordans Mine:
The mine is 6 metres wide.
The pillars that are formed are all 6 metres all the way round.
The mine reaches up to 9 metres high.
As they work along through the mine they bolt the rock above.
The bolts reach 2 metres high.
As cracks appear they also plate them up.
So as to keep the mine steady.
Once they are finished within the mine they will go through a process that they call back filling.
They will use the rock that they haven’t extracted for use and fill up 5 metres of the mine to create a 4 metre tunnel.
We walked south towards an extraction bed.
We stopped and looked at the face of the rock that stood between us and Wide Street.
We stood and looked at a machine ready to continue its work. Paused.
We look at the extraction site.
We can see that they have used the machine to cut into the rock.
“Cut along the bottom first, cut through the middle, then cut at the top, then he will put some cuts down the side here, and he may put one more down through the centre.
Where he’s put these wooden wedges in is where he’s going to put the hydrobag in, so he will put them as far back as he can, which will force the breaking of the stone at the back.”
Click here to hear the sounds of the Jordans mine.
The machines that we saw have diamond saw blades to cut the stone and to cut through the flints.
We stand underneath the tennis courts in the school playing field that stands 13 metres above us.
To find out more about Jordans mine or Albion Stone click here.
Again to follow are my pictures: