In reply to UKC Gear:
We got shouted at when we went, so I wrote the owner the following letter:
To the ANGRY man in the land rover.
Dear angry man. We were delightfully amused at your way over the top ranting and swearing at us when you intercepted us as we strolled down from the slate mine at the beginning of the month. You seemed to be in a terrible flap. May I recommend that you visit a doctor to check your blood pressure? Safety first and all that…
On the subject of safety, you appeared to be under the mistaken impression that we had been in some sort of danger whilst in the mine. This couldn’t have been further from the truth. We are all veterans of many hundreds of hard caving trips in many of the country’s most severe systems, and, with the exception of one of us, have rock climbed to a high standard across the UK and in the Alps for over 15 years. Indeed, had we not caught up with a very slow group just before the first Via Ferrata section, we would have continued (without safety equipment) around the circuit.
The main concern of your frantic outburst seemed to be that in the event of one of us sustaining an injury, all (30?) of your employees would end up jobless (and hence their families homeless etc). This seems to suggest to me that you are failing to do a proper job and should maybe be replaced by someone with a touch more foresight. Do you honestly believe that with a road directly to the UNLOCKED mine entrance, 2 small keep out signs will prevent 100% of your visitors from entering the mine? If what you say about the future of your employees is true (and I very much doubt it), then quite honestly you can only be described as very foolish and totally negligent. Get a gate on the entrance and don’t take out your frustration on the odd few who just happen to be a bit curious.
During your shouting fit, you asked if we had considered the possibility of our setting off any dynamite that we happened to come across. It occurs to me to ask whether you have considered the repercussions to yourself and (30?) staff of blowing up a whole group of innocent day trippers that happened to come across the dynamite that you appear to have very carelessly left around your mine. If I were you, I would get it removed in the very near future.
Im sorry we didn’t stop to give you our names, addresses, phone numbers, registration numbers, blood groups and IQs. You seemed so eager to take this information, but when we got back to the car you were nowhere to be seen. I suppose you might have just been all mouth and no balls but I’d like to think not. As for threatening us with police action, I suggest you examine what the law has to say about trespass.
One more thing springs to mind. It might be a nice idea to try to limit your swearing when you are in the company of children. The lad in the land rover with you might appreciate that.
Anyway, thank you for a lovely day and we hope to see you again next year.
I have attached some pictures of our visit.
Yours Simon N.
![[ EAT LIKE A CHAMPAGNE-LOVING CAVEMAN MOUNTAINOUS PORTIONS AND YOUR OWN SLATE GUARANTEED #1, 2 kb]](http://img.ukclimbing.com/t/143275.jpg "[ EAT LIKE A CHAMPAGNE-LOVING CAVEMAN MOUNTAINOUS PORTIONS AND YOUR OWN SLATE GUARANTEED #1, 2 kb]")
It's a black tie dinner on Friday 21 May with a radical difference: set in the cavernous glory of the 900 year-old Honister Slate Mine, deep in the heart of the Lake District.
