Exploring Under Levant Tin Mine. Is there much still to see ?
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- Опубліковано 24 лис 2022
- In this Video we explore the workings of Levant Tin mine near St Just in Cornwall.
This mine is most famous for the disaster of 1919, when the top of the man engine broke while lifting a shift of miners to the surface.
The National Trust now care for the site and have restored a few of the buildings and sadly sealed the majority of the workings up.
In this video we show you some of the workings you can still be accessed although as always we would not ever recommend you try and repeat any of the trips you have seen in any of these videos.
Mine exploring can be very dangerous and this one is no exception, if you were to have an accident while inside extracting a casualty from these workings would be almost impossible.
Thanks for watching, dont forget to leave a comment, and do subscribe as i have some more mine videos in the making which will be online shortly.
Ben - Розваги
You two are out of your minds, but I'm glad that you are. The world is more interesting with people like you in it.
Haha many thanks
My dad worked the lower levels in the Geevor tin mine, just up the road from Levant. He was very vocal about the closure of the mine, talking on radio about it ETC. He was very young at the time he worked at Geevor. On the day of the closure he made sure to be the last man to walk out of the cage on the last working shift. He sadly died in 2008 but I remember him telling me what to do if your lamp died in the mine and you should not see. Just follow the flow of the water if I remember correctly.
Yes they used to make all the tunnels all slightly flowing back to the shaft so they would drain to where the pumps are. Sadly they are all full of water now so all that bits underwater. Have you looked around the museum at Geevor ? There’s probably a locker etc there with your dads name on still !
@@BenoCam I have not been to the mine yet, however I have been told I am entitled to a free tour of the mine. It was something along to lines of it always leading back to a shaft. he had a large collection of rocks he took from the mine, many with tin ore still in them. He used to keep them in a glass cabinet. I will have to get my act together and go down at some point soon.
@@BenoCamwhy have they sealed up this particular mine so well ?
Other mines not even sealed at all and Levant is fully sealed !?
Seems weird ??
@@Truth-And-Freedom
Probably to keep people out.
Yeah I think it is gargantuan and it is probably very dangerous and filled with water. People would try to explore it with scuba equipment and get lost and drown.@@BillSikes.
It’s really unsettling to think that many survived ww1 just to die there. One more thing I noticed is that the mine itself was already dangerous as they dig so near under the ocean floor. Thank you for the exploration video, I was really looking for this.
No problem glad that you enjoyed
So many thoughts and emotions, seeing this crazy adventure! As a student decades ago I was privileged to go below 2000m in a gold mine in South Africa. I chose a different career path, with much of it above ground in the RF industry and doing CCTV installations in big industry. I made friends with a Cornish gentleman who worked most of his career in South African diamond mines, he later became my father-in-law. As a miner for over 3 decades in SA, he had no scary disaster stories, but since his retirement over a decade ago, more and more disasters have occurred in SA mines.
Anxiety kicked in when I've seen you crawling in the thight section. I wouldn't want to remain stuck in there. 😅
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SAME!
I really enjoyed this video. Serious balls to go in there, especially through the tight squeezes. Thank you for taking us along to see what is there.
No problem glad that you enjoyed it
Thanks for making this. I've explored a few gold mines in Australia but nothing as complex as this. Prior to watching this I'd watched a well made video on the actual mine disaster - awful. Good thing you were in there rather than me...
Same here. I've watched a video about that disaster, and now this one. These old unmaintained tunnels are scary af. I've already watched or read enough stories of fatal accidents in mines or caves so that I would have probably some panic attack if I would somehow had to enter one of these as "deep" as to don't see the daylight anymore. 😅 And those two crazy folks did this crazy ass exploration.
Nice double rainbow in that opening shot :). Amazing mine, that shaft full of cart track is incredible. Great video, thanks very much for taking us along!
Cheers. It absolutely pissed it down about 10 minutes after I filmed it 🤣
I've watched a video about the disaster and then this one. I think that this video is even more scary than the historical one. 😅
You guys are some crazy ass folks. 😅
Greets from Białystok, Poland.
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I agree, this video has way more detail and information. Well done.
10:15 Notes the rotten timber holding up loads of rocks, immediately proceeds to walk over a collapsed section of the mine where the timber failed. This is pretty ballsy but I enjoyed watching.
It’s probably still up now and we were only under it like 2 minutes 🙈
im claustrophobic and you guys are fricken NUTS crawling through spaces that small. it gives me anxiety when i see people do stuff like that. i actually herd the story of that place from a youtuber and my god was it tragic.. its one thing to imagine what they go through underground in a mineshaft but its a whole other thing to experience it on camera and actually see it. good lord how the hell can people do that all day?
I'm glad you guys got out of there, not sure how much longer that access will last. I have a feeling this video will catch on, more and more as the years go by.
Unfortunately one day that entire way in will collapse and videos like this will be the only evidence of what was once there.
Very interesting. My Grandad William worked at the stamps, he lost an eye from a shattered wedge. The men walked together to and from the mine to home in St Just accross the fields. The men worked hard, underground in the dust and wet, above the ground in the cold winds and wet. Visit the large Methodist Chapel in St Just, lovely inside. Enjoy a Warren's pasty!
You Fellas are absolutely incredible! I'm far too clostrophobic for that! Much love from the States!
Well done guys
10:30 The confidence in those rusty beams is high.💀
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Thanks for another great video! Visited Levant a many number of times and seeing what’s beneath your feet is always a pleasure!
What an incredible journey far into old workings. Interesting history of that particular mine like the tragedy and treacherous path along cliffs to and from work in all weather. What findings remain can be Mind-blowing such as that corroded chain and the tangled mess of rails. Looks like wandering aimlessly lost is a real risk for the unwary & amateurs!! Entering during daylight and emerging after dark underscores such stakes! Enjoy the wit and humor as you two blokes banter your way beneath the surface! Keep up the good work. Warm’n dry “creature comforts” of home await you guys after such adventures!
Cheers glad you appreciated it ! I have a few more planned when I get a chance.
Very interesting & very sad story to this mine, RIp to sll those brave souls who lost their lives in 1919. Gorgeous colours in there. Great explore Ben & Eric. Stay safe❤😊
Many thanks 👍
This is an amazing video! Went to botallack a week ago and walked down to the engine rooms! Your video has allowed us all to see inside the mines! Truly grateful! Thanks
I have a botallack video too ! The latest upload on my channel 🙂
Thanks ben will watch it in awe and admiration!👍🙏
Proper job Ben. Cheers. the Levant disaster is indelibly etched on us Cornish of the far South. Gran told me about it....Pappy wouldn't talk of it.... "See any choughs or no?" I went down to Levant with Father some years ago, and we both heard them before we saw them. The first time ever I saw them was at a place called Knockeens, Drinane, Toormore..Bantry Bay, in '83-84. There were several breeding pairs there. One pair reared four youngsters in an old barn building belonging to the property I was working at. Behind the house, on the mountain I spotted a spoil pile. There was a conventional 8x8' drive cut in on a spar stringer into the hill. It went in about 100 yards then bore right for about 30 odd yards. Where they'd cut their last round the boys had carved 'The Tormoor Explorers' ,and a date, into the foot wall. I forget the date..Up on top of the mountain was two vertical shafts cutting down out of sight and hearing for a stone drop. Both shafts were 'wide-open'. I had a great craic working out there, 'They' Republican Irish are a bit like 'we' country Cornish; 'wild and free' as fitchers. Good people.. Proper wild R A boyos they were! I was righton because of being Cornish...I hope everyone is righton.
Ha cheers Tim. I didn’t see any Choughs but I do get shouted at from time to time by the chough watchers 🤣
It’s a very interesting place down there though, lots of history. A few more videos of the area to do yet !
Ben
@@BenoCam Bang-on Ben! Your videos fill me with National pride. Our rich and diverse history matters, so your work is of vital importance. Be careful down there, 'tis rotten as a pear now. I bet the dry ends stink like a bats paradise. Years ago, me and John Wyatt (r.i.p), snuck into 225 fthm on a nighter after mucking-out on 360 after peacock samples. We got out after a short time. The air was evil in there. We did get a couple of samples but just hitting the side-wall had dirt popping off from the back-wall. There is old pony boxes not far from the main-shaft. Poor buggers.
I will have bad dreams after watching this! I hate enclosed spaces and those tiny tunnels? Definitely not for me! Well done!
Haha cheers
Excellent. really enjoyed it and great to see new mine films.
Good to see you back, always enjoy your content. I miss my home county 🙏
Visited Levant mine few years back whilst holidaying in Cornwall. Was fascinated by its history and its beauty.
Awesome ,Thanks for posting !
Great video Ben. The Levant story was what first got me interested as a teenager in the history of tin and copper mining in Cornwall. Levant, Geevor and Botallack always held a fascination for me. My first wife's grandfather worked at all three mines and apparently used to tell of his journey to and from work every day using the cliff paths down to the adit entrances. Sadly he was long gone (of silicosis) by the time I married into the family so never got the chance to talk to him. The St Just and Pendeen area has so much history that it has always been my favourite areas of Cornwall.
Man, that looked like work. Was great to see. Thanks for the tour.
Cheers
Just found your channel, loving the story telling, humour, quality & format. Can’t wait for more, putting the word out. Thank you for your work.
Cheers Craig, will do more when I get a chance
Enjoyed the adventure and learning about the mine, thanks! :-)
Thanks for sharing loved it
Gorgeous colors down there!
This is truly amazing! Thank you for going down there to show me (us) what it's like 😃, I don't know how you do it! It looks terrifying!
Haha cheers. It wasn’t that bad. 🙂
Thank you Guy’s, absolutely fantastic video, really interesting to see everything you have shown. Great narration and history too 👌😁
Cheers glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Thank you for telling the story of the man engine disaster.
We're planning our summer holiday this year, wanting to visit some more mining sites after going to geevor a few years ago. Stumbled across this video and instantly subscribed! Im glad you're mad enough to make videos like this so i can see inside these places.
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That's one of those rather you than me mine explores! Brilliant video always great content and a good watch,
Glad you enjoyed it. Longest one I have ever done and took a bit of effort
Another great vid Beno 👍
Jesus wept what lives these miners must have lived. Just incomprehensible. Imagine walking that cliff path to work after a skin full and a bad night’s sleep. Tough people. Tough lives.
Amazing video Ben and must be one of the most dangerous explores you’ve shared on this channel?
I couldnt believe how many mine the children employed ! Tough times back then.
It wasn’t too bad. I think it looks worse on camera than it really is. Either that or I’m just getting used to it and don’t take so much notice any more. But yeah if you hurt yourself in there your in big trouble. Almost impossible to extract a casualty.
Long term Cornwall never really gained any long term security from the toil of these men and women, almost all of the profits leeched out of the county!
Toughest folk out there !!
Cligga mine is the same - access is nuts before and after work, especially in winter with bad seas !!
Nuts
Thanks for that, a real interesting vid. I have done a lot of caving over the years and I have never really liked old mines, they always feel less stable than a natural cave. Still a great vid.
So many aspects of your journey through those tunnels were utter nightmare fuel 😂, crawling through that section was the worst of it and then walking/traversing over and under things that look like they could collapse if they were tapped the wrong way, bugger that. Thanks for doing it so we don't have to lol! Really interesting to watch!
Amazing rainbow for the introduction!
It absolutely pissed it down about 10 minutes later and I got drenched 🤣
Enjoyed that. thanks
Nice one 👍
Awesome video. At least with the watery part near the entrance you get to wash all that mud off on the way out. Love your adventures and I love exploring this area. My parents are just down the Rd in pendeen.
Haha very true. It’s an interesting and very beautiful part of Cornwall ! I love it down there.
Thank you for exploring history this was an amazing expedition! Always be safe! ^_^
Thankyou always good to hear 👍🙂
Incredible effort and excellent footage. Enjoyed that with a big mug of tea and a slab of cake. Some of those tight spots looked very challenging. Top notch stuff.
Haha thanks.
Ben, you have my friend Piltdown Flanksman, or whatever he calls himself, to thank for this new subscriber!
@@alpinewonders I don’t think people from the midlands are allowed… just us west country folks.
@@filtonkingswood he loves me really Ben
I remember these mines when they were still open and working ie back in the 1960s I collected many rock samples from the spoil heaps. The public roads were often a wash with mud dropped off the old lorries.
Fascinating! But rather you than me boys! Stay safe ✌🏼
Another great video ben my absolute favourite part of Cornwall levant and Botallack
Cheers Tim
Building up to Botallack but sadly there is not much there to get in !
You nutters!! Incredible video this one Ben. A real squeeze at points and a nice deep exploration. Great to see from the comfort of home 🤣🤣
Reminded me of some tech dives in Thailand years ago, squeezing through wrecks to get inside!
Haha cheers. It was a bit of fun to film. It perhaps looks a bit worse on film than real life. Either that or I’m just used to it now 🤣
7:28 …and my claustrophobia kicks in just from the video.
🤣 haha yeah maybe I should have put a claustrophobia warning
You guys have got some bottle. In the old days I imagine anyone exploring cave systems or old mines would run out a chord and follow it back. How do you navigate old workings?
It’s far too far for that, you would need a massive ball of string ! Every junction is actually unique, you just study where you have been going, or if it gets confusing put a marker down (I usually carry a bunch of small glow sticks ) or scratch arrows in the mud or make arrows out of bits of wood lying around. It’s very rare we do get confused and lost but it does happen. Lots and lots of battery’s and spare backup lights and some food and drink is the way to go 🤣
Those gorgeous blue rocks ooof
So glad that there are people like you going in and filming these mines so cowards like me don't have to go into them :)
Haha no problem glad you enjoyed.
When you think YOUR job is hard 😅 just take a look back in time. Incredible
Wow that looks very interesting
It’s an interesting place to go look at on surface even before you go underground. Lots of history.
@@BenoCam I’ll have too have a look around when next in Cornwall thank you great videos I’m working my way through them
One of the best vids yet Ben. Well done and thanks for your efforts. Lots of artefacts in that one. It would have been nice to see on the map where you actually ended up, how far inland and how deep. I guess recycling steel wasn’t such a thing back then. All those track rails would fetch a few quid these days.
Trying to overlay it on Google earth, looks about a kilometre and a half ! I couldn’t put up the main mine chart full image as it shows the way in 🤣
Oh man I was hoping you'd do this one👍
Amazing video Ben I had a bit of stink from the NT about flylng my drone down there so giving you the heads up on that one mate
It’s ok they hate me already. I literally turn up and they are on my case straight away. I had to park elsewhere another day and walk in to get those shots 🤣
@@BenoCam yeah they don't like me anymore mate because I like pushing my boundaries but we knew that was going to happen anyway lol
very interesting,thanks for risking your lives going in that far.....🤕
No problem glad you enjoyed
Cudos to the men who worked there for years and years. What a terrible existence
Crazy to think how much is under there that is not explorable anymore. I assume most of it has to be filled with water since it is so near the ocean, but it is essentially a tomb at this point. There are probably a lot of old tools and items people would love for history, but its just too dangerous to go down in there.
2:55 wild to think that so many men for decades used that little path and spent their entire days down below the Earth. It was probably very soothing and calming to finally hear the ocean again and be out of there.
I am going to guess at 11:00 you guys were only on the very top levels of this mine that goes down below for an incredible distance. I can't imagine being at the lowest levels, it must have been insanity.
I would love for you to upload a full video of all your mine recordings from this trip just to see how long it actually was without editing. I was also hoping to see a map of where you went at the end, but didn't get to see that.
It would be very long ! As you say those were just the highlights but I think we were underground about 4 or 5 hours
I wouldn’t have made it 1/4 of the way you did that’s terrifying lol
It’s probably the first and last video you will ever see of it online 🤣
Nice one Ben, it's a shame about lavant Adit not going
There were a group keen to dig it but the NT put a stop to it. Shame really
@@BenoCam Why can't the NT work with mine enthusiasts like they do with the Derbyshire caving club at Alderley edge copper mines
@@keithrimmer3 because to them the whole site is a massive liability and we are the bad guys !
it was a terrible accident,, ive been here ben
EXCELLENT VIDEO!…You guys are Awesome Explorers!!…Is the shiny parts on the walls the tin the miners used to mine for?
Yes that is what’s left so it’s pretty low grade. The good stuffs all gone but there are a lot of traces of where it’s been
Wow, you all are crazy. Neat video though.
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7:40 im getting panic attacks just looking at you guys crawling in there. I cant imagine doing this myself.
🤣👍 it’s ok, you don’t need to, I filmed all the good bits so you can see it from the safe comfort of your home 🙂
@@BenoCam thank you! I enjoyed it 😂 Glad to see you guys made it out safe. What an adventure
Love these videos. I’ve watched plenty of similar videos, just in American mines, the American mines seem to be better organised and constructed, with more structure etc.. is this a fair comment? Or are the Cornish mines so old/ closed off that all of the mine cart tracks & general structure of the mines aren’t visible?
3:10 That walk...nooooo wwaayyy.
Ha it’s actually a lot worse it real life than it shows. After those steps you need to climb down on the wet slippery rocks but I couldn’t film and climb at the same time 🤣
That really is a dodgy old mine, and fck crawling through those tiny gaps. I did pot holing in the peak district once many years ago and there were a couple of bits where I had to crawl through on my belly, but fck doing that in that old mine.
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This must be one of the craziest things on youtube 😂
It’s been online over a year but it’s only these last couple weeks most people have started watching it !
The algorithm works in mysterious ways. @@BenoCam
No idea if that path to the lower adit is as bad as it looks, but there is NO chance I'd go down there without being roped up! The actual adit itself doesn't look too bad, but the access path is virtual suicide!
Haha it’s pretty bad but maybe the camera makes it look worse, either that or I have just got used to that amount of exposure 🤣 actually the worse bit is just below where I filmed where you need both hands to climb so I didn’t film that. 😬
Not me... nope nope nope nope nope!😬
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Hi, loved the video, really interesting. A different type of archaeology for me. Please tell me, the shaft with all the cart tracks and metal, why did they do that? Seems a waste of material and plus which shaft was this, not THE shaft?
Hiya cheers. This isn’t the disaster shaft this is a fair distance to the north. I don’t know if those tracks were thrown down from working above to clear a adit or maybe they had a pile at the top near the shaft which was worn out and in the way etc. Years ago scrap metal was worth a fraction of what it is now and mine shafts have always been used as dumping grounds once the mine has shut. It’s possible this is from them cleaning up top side and at the time just seemed the easiest option of getting it out of the way.
Would love to see you try and get access to the lowest levels
Would love too too but sadly they are all deep under water
Nuts! But fascinating. How do you ensure that you can find your way out agajn though?
We have mine plans, go steady and take careful note of where we are going and have been.
Omg its ben
Frightening.
Fascinating, but so scary. What a hard way to make a wage. Are you not worried about it collapsing around you. ? Those small crawl spaces would terrified me.....
Its always on the back of your mind ! You just have to think it hasn’t collapsed in the last couple hundred years it would be pretty unfortunate if it went for the couple hours you were in there!
How do you guys know which way to go and how to retrace your steps? I would lose direction in two mins
I love these fiilm clips , my Dad Was CORNISH My Grandmas house Looked out over South Crofty mine in Edwards street CAMBORNE !
Im stuck in Bristol , wishing i was Home , Maybe one Day Eh .
A well deserved pasty and a pint or 2 afterwards
not sure if you're brave or just plain NUTS?! and then you got ole Eric wearing shorts?! how do his knees not get all cut up??? anyway, just learned of this mine and its tragic history today. very haunting footage. thank you!
I do love these videos but the bits when you're crawling in very tight spaces makes me very anxious. I really don't know how you do it 😀
Haha that’s why I put those bits in! It’s not so bad when you can see it gets bigger up ahead. I wouldn’t fancy crawling into one that didn’t look as though it got any bigger.
@@BenoCam OK I believe you 😮
Great, get any mineral specimens?
I didn’t see many but then I don’t really like to start bashing away at the roof/tunnel sides. Always seems a bit dodgy !
how do you find your way back?
Have you a link for the video you said was the worst trip? I couldn't understand the name
Brutal 1.5 mile wet mine adit trip to access several sets of old Cornish mine workings and shafts.
ua-cam.com/video/srocV7-Kjlk/v-deo.html
@@BenoCam cheers
Did you work out how far inland you made it to?
I know where we got on the plan I just need to overlay it on Google earth and see how far it is !
I remember looking round the NT site as a kid on my holidays. Now as a caver that looks fascinating though I’m not the biggest fan of mines ha! Who closed up the adit? Would it be unacceptable to remove it? I guess if it’s holding back a load of water or done because of the tragedy I guess not.
I think it’s all been sealed up for a reason and probably should remain so.
There’s a pipe in bottom of the concrete letting the water through. But it’s not concrete block it’s mass pour concrete so would be thick and very difficult to remove. Might even be holding the roof up !
@@BenoCam best not then eh?! Great video
Why were the north workings walled off like that? I wonder when that was done.
Supposedly it was done to create an underwater reservoir, so the pumps had a head of water or similar… that’s what the story goes…. Personally I think it was to keep us out !!
@BenoCam Thanks :-) Really enjoyed the video, BTW.
Crazy! What if you get lost or there's a collapse
Well there’s a very low risk of getting lost because we are careful and experienced and there’s also a very low chance of a collapse. These places have been there for hundreds of years with no collapse what is the chances of it going when your there? The answer of course is that if it’s ever going to collapse it will be while your under in (vibrations/touching props or sides etc) but it’s still a very small chance which I think is worth the risk to be able to video document these places.
To be down in that with candle on your head, them must have been some hard-as-nails men to do that day after day. Up and down ladders or a dodgy man engine.
How long did it take you to go in and back out again, you don’t get a sense of time from the footage other than daylight on the way in and pitch black when you get out! 😄
We didn’t go in until the afternoon but I would say we were in a good 4 or 5 hours . I had to obviously cut the crap out of it to fit it down to a watchable video people don’t get bored of. This was just the highlights really. 🙂
Fuck me Ben that tight spot had my flesh creeping… I got stuck in a cave in cheddar gorge where I slid between two slabs of rock that tapered and if I had been by myself wouldn’t have been able to pull myself out… done my bit for cave exploration lol 😝
Haha yeah it was a bit grim, although there does seem to be a spot like that in many of the trips we do 😬
Some are worse than others and they always look slightly worse on camera I think.
When your walking through the water how do you not know there's a hole or big shift the next step ?
Ummmm we don’t. But we can both swim 🙂
@@BenoCam 👌😆
fook going down there, probably haunted
It’s ok though, we’re not children so we don’t believe in that sort of thing 🤣🤣🤣
How did the original miners know how far under the water to dig tunnels?
They mostly just followed the ore or as they called “lodes” and had some pretty clever ways of surveying as they went, so they knew how deep they were and did some pretty accurate mine plans of the workings along the way.
I'm assuming that the area that the man engine was inaccessible?
The shaft still exists but is well locked up by the national trust, and is collapsed a certain way down too. The majority of it would also now be deep underwater I would imagine.