Hodbarrow haematite iron ore mine was a number of shafts close to the Duddon Estuary in West Cumbria. Two barrier walls were built using dam construction techniques to protect the workings from flooding. The mine was productive from the 1850s until 1968, a significant part of Cumbria’s mining heritage.
The enclosed area has flooded and all the workings are capped and/or flooded with almost no sign of the livelihood of hundreds of people who raised enormous quantities of high quality iron ore from the carboniferous limestone.
There are extensive sandy beaches on the coastline north of Haverigg but just one sandy beach remains at Hodbarrow Point, the sands are tinged with red from the iron ore. The area between Hodbarrow Point and Haverigg is now an RSPB nature reserve and SSSI.
Many thanks to Samuel, my guide and co-hiker
Estuary of the River Duddon
Haverigg