Life’s a Drag at Sandy Bottom! Traditional Cache
spooky_luke: Time for a change - Thanks to all those who found this one
Life’s a Drag at Sandy Bottom!
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(micro)
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Sandy Bottom is a former industrial area alongside the Sandy River. In the past, the power of the water has been used for milling, mining and china clay processing. Nature and housing have now taken over this once bustling area, but it is still possible to see some of the old infrastructure. This short walk will allow you to see some of the old china clay processing structures and the site of the old Slades Mill.
The long thin concrete structure beside and beneath the boardwalk bridge is not a mouse racetrack, but a mica drag! The mica flakes that occurred with the china clay were impurities that had to be removed. By making the water flow very slowly along the long channels, a lot of the (heavier) mica would drop out of suspension, thus crudely refining the (lighter) clay. This mica would have to be scraped up using a tool called a ‘shiver’ and dumped periodically to ensure the mechanism was working efficiently. You can see sand and mica drags operating at the nearby Wheal Martyn China Clay Country Park. There are no actual clay workings in the immediate vicinity, so it is thought the clay was transported to these works by pipeline and/or directly in the stream.
The closest parking place for this cache is at N50 20.619 W004 46.268
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ybt vg haqre gur oevqtr!
Treasures
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