Westbury Brook Iron Mine

History
Westbury Brook was opened in 1837 by the Dowlais Company, and closed in 1893; during which time almost a million tons of iron ore was produced. The mine was worked on 4 levels: levels 1 and 2 from the 360 feet deep Old shaft, whilst levels 3 and 4 were driven from the 670 feet deep Westbury Brook Shaft.

Access/Location
Today only the 1st and 2nd levels are accessible; the 3rd and 4th being permanently flooded. The Old shaft was filled in the 1960s, but the Westbury Brook shaft has a concrete cap on it with an access hatch. If you are so minded you can abseil 400 feet to the water, then prussik back up again.

Cavers generally enter the system through a large scowle hole at |SO663165#t=l&map=51.84608,-2.49061|14|4&dp=841&loc=GB:51.84608:-2.49061:14|SO663165|SO663165 SO 66260 16505.

There is a locked gate; request permission and key from Dave Tuffley-01594 824343. Dave is the Permit Secretary for FoDCCAG, the "Forest of Dean Cave Conservation and Access Group".

Description
Through the gate leads down some ropey wooden steps to a most impressive sight; two huge plastic tubes surrounded by hundreds of tons of concrete. A few years back the way into the mine was starting to collapse. Because Westbury Brook is a very important bat roost, access had to be preserved; not just for the bats but for people too, so that the bat population could be monitored. Forest Enterprise contracted "Hydrock Mining" to stabilize the entrance; and this they did in some fashion.

There is a lot to Westbury Brook-too much to write here; but there are a few classic trips. A popular route is to turn right at the bottom of the tubes and traverse across a deep rift for about 40m, then follow the obvious (!) route down. Very muddy in parts, with two abseils before you reach Honeycomb Rift, where there are dozens of large pockets in the rock (often with bats in them). A further abseil takes you to the bottom of Mud Way, then turn left, up a very slippery climb to reach Echo Churn. Echo Churn is one of the larger voids that you will find underground in the Forest. From Echo Churn, find a climb up in the highest corner of the chamber and follow the route to return to the tubes and the way out. The last bit of this route is the trickiest as far as route-finding goes.

From the bottom of Mud Way, turning right leads to the limit of exploration at present-at least an hour away, more if your route-finding is found wanting.

Westbury Brook should be visited in the company of someone who knows their way around. It is easy to get lost-believe me, I've done it! The Royal Forest of Dean Caving Club will be pleased to help anyone who wishes to visit the mine.