This is the third of three geocaches which are on an obvious walk up from Darton railway station across the waste ground that used to be Woolley Colliery below Woolley Grange Village. It follows in parallel to the railway line.
This trail of three geocaches takes you along the bottom of the villages and through the area of the old mine workings and pit head.
We recommend that you follow Gizmo's W geocache's too starting at Darton Railway station where you can park, and then walk up the hill. Once you have finished our Mine walk, you can continue up to Archie's Stash at the top of "The Grange" near Windhill Lane.
This cache is a clear plastic container marked as a Geocache.
Woolley Colliery
The Colliery opened in 1850 and by 1980 it employed 1514 men underground and 428 on the surface. 17,000 tonnes of coal were produced each week and it grew to be one of the biggest coal mines in the UK.
It had 3 coal seams that were called Lidgett, Fenton and Thorncliffe. Lidgett seam was only 0.9m thick.
65% of coal mined went to electricity and 25% to coke.
The mine close in 1987 and was demolished in 1993.
The houses on the hill are in two counties. The houses to the right are Woolley Colliery Village, known locally as 'Mucky Woolley' as a tribute to its mining heritage. These are the old miner's cottages. A pit head statue is at the entrance to the village. This small village is in Barnsley in South Yorkshire.
The newer houses to the left are Woolley Grange village which was built on the site of the former coal mine. These are in Wakefield in West Yorkshire.