17 December 2021

Quarrying

Yesterday I was in Matlock, Derbyshire and the neighbouring settlements of Matlock Bath and Cromford. Largely hidden from view at Cromford, there is a huge limestone pit called Dene Quarry.  It dates back to 1942 and ever since then men have been digging away through the layers of geological history filling huge lorries. These laden vehicles drive off with loads that are vital for road building or the manufacture of cement.

On foot, I circumnavigated the quarry and thought about the millions of years in which marine deposits settled there upon what was once an ocean floor - long. long before dinosaurs. What secrets must those lorries be carrying as they drive away?

In Matlock, looking to the tower of what was once Smedley's Hydro

After my walking and photo taking was done, I had an appetite for fish and chips. Matlock Bath boasts several  fish and chip outlets. It was 2.30pm when I ordered mini fish and chips with mushy peas and a mug of tea in The Riverside fish and chips restaurant. What a treat!

And then Clint transported me back to Sheffield - singing "Take It Easy" together as we tootled along from Darley Dale through Chatsworth Park and Baslow all the way back to this great  but often overlooked northern city. It had been another grand day out with paths to plod and sights to see but it is the quarry that I will mostly remember and the infinite layers of marine debris.

23 comments:

  1. It's different here where the last ice age deposited all kinds of debris on the surface. Eskers have gravel and wind across great distances . Bed rock can be several thousand feet below the surface.

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    1. Wow! Several THOUSAND feet! That is awesome.

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  2. The quarry is huge when you compare it to the size of the excavators. Looks like an interesting walk with some good fish and chips thrown in. Sounds like a good day.

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    1. It's nice to get away from home and domestic habits once or twice a week.

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  3. I find quarries fascinating. We have plenty of Limestone quarries near our home in France. They are always finding huge fossils which they proudly display (and probably sell).

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    1. I am sure that would also be true at Dene Quarry. I would love to see some of them - fresh from the limestone layers.

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  4. I find geology fascinating, last but not least because time has an entirely different meaning and dimension when it comes to geology, compared to the mini bits of time the average human being covers on this planet.

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    1. In the 24 hour clock, humans have only been here for the last thirty seconds.

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  5. Can you imagine Levon's delight if he could only come and watch earth being removed by those giant machines?
    Is that a pool of green water? Is that what I am seeing?
    Pretty cool, Mr. P.

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    1. I watched the work for a while - like an overgrown Levon up on the ridge. Pretty mesmerising and yes that is a manmade pool.

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  6. For some reason, the middle photo really tickles my senses. I guess the large hill rising out of the background is just so unexpected. I ponder what some future archeologist 1000 years from now will make of that giant hole in the ground.

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    1. They might say that a huge meteorite hit that spot and wiped us all out.

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  7. The cottage had a large area of gravel and you could often find belemnites mixed in the stone. Ammonites very occasionally as well although we had a collection of them. Quarrying disfigures the landscape but rather in an awe inspiring way.

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    1. Trouble is the modern world needs the products that are transported from limestone quarries.

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  8. That's a mighty big history hole!!

    The other day I was in a local restaurant, and they had fish and chips on the menu and when they were served to a lady at the next table she was furious that it was potato chips but French fries. Even after she was told where fish and chips come from and what fish and chips are, she kept blathering about being told it was chips and getting fries.
    Ugly Americans exist in America, too!

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    1. Good job that you sat there more worldly wise than that grumbling lady Bob. Were you eating a cheeseburger? Perhaps America's greatest gift to international cuisine.

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    2. I was having a Reuben Sandwich because I cannot pass up a Reuben!!!

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  9. What was Smedley's Hydro? That's an interesting tower.

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    1. It was a Victorian hydrotherapy centre - part of a spa complex - now used as Derbyshire County Council Offices.

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  10. People don't want nuclear power stations, quarries, prisons or oul terminals on their doorstep. But they create jobs and maybe even materials for our beloved dry stone walls?

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  11. Anonymous8:54 am

    As one Ms S Lee said, layer upon layer upon layer.

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