To promote a wider interest in the science of geology through organised lectures, field excursions and social activities.
To provide a link between the amateur, the student, the teacher and the professional geologist.
To foster interest in geological sites within the area with a view to their study and wise conservation.
To establish and maintain good relations with organisations that have common interests.

Brief report on our excursion to Dartmoor

Sunday 22nd June 2003

Leaders: Mick Atkinson, Workers Educational Association and

Nick Walter, Kelly Mine

Click on the thumbnail picture to get a larger size image.


The gathering of the Clan near the Warren House Inn	Passing on the background about mining on Dartmoor	Telling us how tin was mined	Our first objective - the Birch Tor Mine


On the road towards Birch Tor	We are in one of the most industrialised landscapes of the 19th Century	In the mine office	Nick Walter at the Kelly Micaceous Haematite Mine

One of the old adits at the mine	In the crushing works	The crushing stamps	The business ends of the stamps

Our excursion to Dartmoor took place on a lovely sunny day and, as a result we had a large turnout. Mick Atkinson of the Workers Educational Association, who is an Industrial Archaeologist, took us to what he described as one of the landscapes of Britain which most shows the work of man. Most of the streams of Dartmoor have been diverted to provide water power for the mining trade. Valleys have been created as tin veins have been extracted. Every valley has been used as a dump for the waste products of the mines. Acre for acre there is more debris dumped than in the South Wales Coalfield! And yet we consider Dartmoor as an unspoiled area of natural beauty! Mick told us of how he has to correct archaeologists who mis-identify tin ore washing floors as Stone Age Hut Circles! After lunch we went to the Kelley Mine at Lustleigh. Nick Walter of the Kelly Mine Preservation Society, told us that the mine produced micaceous haematite. This was mostly used in paint for warships. Its modern equivalent, using artificial micaceous haematite, is much used on motorway bridges, where one can see the mineral glinting in the sun. The mine is remarkably well preserved with all aspects of mineral extraction separation and preparation on display. The enthusiasm and dedication of the Preservation Society are manifest. Also manifest is the tough conditions in which the miners and workers had to earn their livings. The mine is well worth a visit for many reasons - not just the geological.