(Day 205) Digging rock

No, not the musical variety, although I am a fan. Along the route to my son's place there's an old abandoned quarry. You can just see it briefly over the double-barbed wire fence in a spot where the edge is close to the road, before it's hidden from view again by tall weeds and scrub brush. I've caught that glimpse many times and have often wondered what was down there and whether it was accessible.

You know the drill by now - today was the day to go and see. I parked on the opposite side and walked along the road looking for access. Climbing the barbed wire-topped fence didn't look appealing and I wasn't sure there was a way down. However, I'm sure the fence was only meant to keep out the less persistent. Presently I came to a large gate. Thinking it must lead to a way down, I climbed it and carefully made my way through weeds that were as tall as me. To my right there appeared to be an old access road and I pushed through the weeds and made my way to the bottom.

I thought I'd post some photos in b&w and others in colour to give you an idea of what was there. I don't know the history of the quarry, but given the large number of old stone homes in the area, built by the more affluent, it's conceivable that the quarry supplied the material for them. Given what I've found on our property, rock could have been dug here just as well.

Note: all photos were shot with an 18-55mm lens with an aperture of f14 (for depth of field), at shutter speeds of 1/10 to 1/100 sec, ISO400.

Sample of rock quarried here:

timber from an old building ?

There was evidence that the quarry had seen use as a dump:

The walls were a bit imposing from the bottom. Not the sort that rock climbers would appreciate, I suspect. And I certainly wouldn't have entertained the thought of climbing down - glad I didn't fall over!