National Trust Loftus Alum Trail #2 Traditional Cache
Dalesman: This cache has been in need of care and maintenance for some time and as the Owner has not responded to my note I am archiving it.
National Trust Loftus Alum Trail #2
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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This series of caches, placed by the National Trust will take you on an exploration of the Lotus Alum Quarry.
The National Trust is a charity that protects special places in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, for ever, for everyone.
Today the Loftus Alum Quarry is a peaceful place to get away from it all and enjoy the cliff top views of the coast, but between 1656 and 1863 it was a centre of industrial activity.
At its height this was the most prolific quarry complex on the Yorkshire Coast, producing around 900 tonnes of alum per year. Alum was a valuable product at this time as it was a vital ingredient for the textile and tanning industries. Remains of the industry still survive.
The second cache is in an area known as the Warren adjacent to the quarry. Creating alum was a slow an laborious process. It took up to 100 tons of shale to create 1 ton of alum. First pickmen quarried the shale from the rock face. Barrowmen then took the shale to clamps where it was burned for up to a year. Liquormen washed the burnt shale in seeping pits on the edge of the quarry to produce alum liquor, which was then taken to the Alum works for further processing. The remains of the wet shale were then dumped over the edge of the cliff by pitmen.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Oruvaq gerr arkg gb oevqtr.
Treasures
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