Geograph - photograph every grid square

Opencast mining the Victorian way! Miners looking for rich lead deposits in the North Pennines would dam a small stream until a large amount of water was stored, then release it down the valley where it would strip the topsoil away, exposing the underlying rocks. This hush has returned to nature, the thick layer of moss covering everything gives it a strange unreal feel and appears to deaden all noise in the area.