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An Addis clip&close box, hidden very close to the capped shaft of the Snaefell mine. Boots needed if approaching from the Bungalow, strong shoes or trainers will do if coming from Agneash. Terrain rating applies to the Agneash route, add a notch coming from the Bungalow.
Park in Laxey at Dumbell's terrace, or at the Wheel car park, there is no parking area in Agneash.
Hill-man moves north again. Having spent the summer scratching around on the southern hills in search of wealth from minerals Hill-man has come to Laxey. "There's silver and lead to found there, yessir, good pubs, and they've got a pipe factory where you can replace that tatty old thing" the man in the pub told him. More disappointment for Hill-man; pipe factory gone, mines exhausted/closed and, at the head of the valley, an old tragedy.
The Snaefell Mine, at the head of the valley tucked under Snaefell and the Verandah Section of the TT Course, was a productive mine in its' day. Worked by the same company as the Laxey complex, between 1870 and 1900 4.567 tons of lead and 8.926 tons of zinc were raised. The tale of silver, told to intrigue Hill-man and get rid of this odd character, was in fact based on truth, the lead producing an average of 14-16 ounces of silver per ton of lead.
The worst disaster in Manx mining occured on May 10th, 1897, when twenty miners were killed. Their names are inscribed on the memorial plaque, placed exactly 100 years later, on the face of the concrete capping the shaft. The shaft is now flooded, presumably up to adit level, as can be heard if a small pebble is pitched in through the ventilation holes in the face of the capping.
A large portion of the remaining buildings around the area dates to the 1950's, when a company, Metalliferous Holdings Ltd. reprocessed the Deads, or spoil heaps, using a ball crushing mill and flotation tanks. This explains the modern brickwork amongst the older stone-built structures.
The information above came from Industrial Archaeology of The Isle of Man, authors Bawden, Garrad, Qualtrough and Scatchard, a good source of local history for the casual reader. It's a pity Hill-man didn't read the book before setting out on his travels. There is much more information about the disaster as well as the mine generally in Andrew Scarffe's excellent book about the sad events, "The Snaefell Mine Disaster".
There are two main routes to this mine and cache, depending on whether you attempt it during the light or dark halves of the year.
The easy, summer route, is to take the tram to the Bungalow, follow the path down from there to the mine, then on via Agneash to Laxey.
The winter route is from Laxey up past Lady Isabella to Agneash, follow the track signposted Snaefell to the mine, then retrace your steps. It is steep up to Agneash, though tarmac surface, easier gradients but rougher walking along the side of the valley. From the valley head you can see it is a classic U shaped glaciated valley.
The cache can be found very close to the memorial plaque, please re-hide it well as this area is infested by motor-cycle muggles playing on the deads.
Hill-man advises taking great care if exploring the mine area, as some structures are unstable, there are steep drops and loose surfaces, with deep, cold water. We don't want another Snaefell mine accident!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Haqre n fgbar haqre oevpxjbex.