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I have lived within 3 miles of Croft Quarry for almost 7 years, but it’s only recently that I decided to go and have a look at it. Wow! It’s stunning. Not just the quarry, the surrounding countryside is magnificent and the history of the place is fascinating.

Below are 3 pictures, they do nothing to convey the incredible scale of the workings, the beauty of the landscape or the sense of ..I don’t know, there’s a sort of timeless feel about the whole place really.




Picture1

This shows the quarry itself, here are some (I think) amazing facts.

Croft Quarry is the biggest man-made hole in Europe. It’s vast. A huge oval about half a mile across, it goes down in tiers like a mould for a gigantic wedding cake.

It produces 2 million tons of granite per year. At the bottom, along with monstrous diggers and trucks that look like toys from the surface, is a machine that is capable of crushing boulders of over six feet in diameter, every day at 1pm they blast another 24 hours worth loose. I waited patiently to see this happen and was nonplussed when it all went off with a sound like a small firework, a small crack and hardly a puff of smoke. I didn’t bother to look the next time I was there at 1pm, and this time the blast was a great KAPOW that shook the earth and caused me to throw myself face down in the grass, much to the amusement of two passing schoolboys.

The first stone was mined here over 2000 years ago, stone from this quarry has been used in Saxon churches and Roman roads, it has employed men from the surrounding villages for hundreds of years. Camas Aggregates have permission to take away a further 45 million tons, which will mean that the finished hole will be 150m below sea level at the lowest point, that’s 300m deep in total.

They pump out 250,000 gallons of water every day.

If you look at the quarry sides, (now in essence vertical cliffs complete with birds of prey riding the thermals) you can see lines of different material running through at various stages, they mark the passage of hundreds of millions of years.




Picture 2

Croft hill. It’s a beautiful place. Granite rocks poke through the coarse grass at the summit. If you sit on one of these rocks you know for certain that men from all ages, from cave dwellers all the way through to modern man has sat in that very spot. It’s quite thought provoking, and the stunning views of the quarry and miles of open countryside make the arduous climb worth the effort

Below is a potted history, copied and pasted, with thanks to the author.

  Croft Hill stands 300m above sea level in a largely flat area of Leicestershire. The Hill provides a number of habitats for flora and fauna, flora, fauna, birds and butterflies which inhabit or visit at various times of the year. It was a popular picnic area in past times for the people of Leicester, who travelled to the site via train. In the summer, children on Sunday school trips would often go to Croft hill
Close to the Fosse Way, ancient civilisations lacking modern aids to navigation established a vast network of straight tracks which enabled the traveller to navigate his way to anywhere in   Britain. At a very important site of Antiquity three Ley-lines often cross on the site. At Croft Hill there are at least fourteen tracks passing exactly through the summit.
Evidence of life around Croft Hill has been found which dates back 300,000 to 500,000 years. Artifacts authenticated as dating from Lower Palaeolithic through Mesolithic - Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron age (Celtic), Corieltauvian (Coritani), Roman, Saxon, Viking, Norman , Mediaeval, Tudor and Jacobean eras to the present day have been recorded and photographed.
The Anglo Saxon Chronicle records that in the early ninth century Croft Hill was the meeting place for the hundreds of Sparkenhoe. On one occasion Wiglaf, King of Mercia, his Queen, the Archbishop of Canterbury, eleven bishops, three abbots, and a retinue of ten descibed as 'Dux' ascended the hill. The meeting is said to have covered such things as the territory of the midland diocese to grants of land to Hanbury monastery in Worcestershire.

The hill almost became part of the hole a few years ago, as it too is almost solid granite, but was saved from blasting by a public campaign organised by the local newspapers, Croft residents and heritage groups.




Picture 3
This shows a small obelisk at the summit of croft hill, it marks the centre of England; it is apparently no longer accurate because of the effects of erosion on the south coast. The Romans btw place the centre of England a couple of miles away where Wattling Street crosses the Foss. If I were a betting man, I would wager that the Romans were closest.

There is a postscript to Picture 3, I will post it below. Make of it what you will.

I almost didn't post this; it's out of character for me. However, here it is, draw your own conclusions.

I was sitting atop the hill next to the obelisk. It was beautiful summer day and I was admiring the magnificent views and revelling in the solitude when something rather strange happened. I'm always aware of the birdsong, so I noticed straight away when they suddenly stopped singing. As I was contemplating this, a small cloud passed in front of the sun, and for a minute or two the bright hilltop became an altogether different place, one of deep shade and long dark shadows. A light breeze sprang up, tugging at my shirt collar and instantly lowering the temperature by a degree or two. Then, a soft but clear voice said, “It wasn't me”

Was it a real voice, one that I heard in my ears, or did I just hear it in my head?
Just then the sun came out, and the birds started singing again, I started to make my way home, but I thought about this incident all the way. When I got back, I did a little research on Croft hill, and among the other things I've already posted, I found this passage
 




“ It was also the site of a Gallows and the hill was the setting for 44 hangings. It is reputed to be haunted…”

very interesting stuff tom and great pics  :)up

you are bonkers.

but quality story all the same.

Is that near to the racing circuit?   I have been there  a few times

Great story Tom, you believe then?

Great post Tom, I love a spooky bedtime story too   ;booder;

Awesome stuff Tom.

You should try & visit Middleton Mine, near Wirksworth, in Derbyshire. (You can google it).

It it essentially a limestone mine, under a hill/mountain. It has 27 miles of underground roads, & huge "galleries" inside. The roads inside are so wide that two tonker trucks can pass in opposite directions with plenty to spare. It's 4 miles, via underground road, from the Middleton Entrance to the Hopton Entrance. It is not a "deep" mine, they are just hollowing out the inside of the hill/mountain really.

Vehicles in the mine are obliged to have exhaust scrubbers fitted. No plant life, animal life or organic matter exists inside the Mine, & it's strictly prohibited to take food into the mine.

The temperature hold steady at 4 degrees C, always, winter & summer, never varies a fraction, & the humidity is almost zero. So the worked-out areas of the mine are rented out to the likes of British Aerospace, who store Aero-Engine Components in there.

You cannot enter the mine without a miners helmet & lamp, & you have to collect a "token". I did Contracting in there for many years, Civil Engineering, & used to spend endless days up there, just in awe of the whole place.

Thanks for posting. Quarries are amongst my most favourite things. Filled with undiscovered treasure:) The voice is a strange one. Have you ever had that type of experience before? I would have freaked!

everyone loves shaggy, even ghosts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0auMZTRR1o (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0auMZTRR1o)

That's going to be a hell of a swimming pool when they've finished it.

And the voice was probably just the wind - you've already said the breeze picked up and tugged at your collar, so there was air turbulence near your ear which, in the extra quiet birdsong-less atmosphere you'd have been more aware of than normal.

I didn't do it either

Great stuff Tom. Whilst I think views like that quarry are awesome, I can't help but think that humans are again leaving great wounds in the planet that won't heal.

It's a "clean" wound though Robert, all that employment and productivity with relatively little pollution.

Camas, the quarry owners, have also donated and landscaped many acres of beautifully diverse woodland and wetland in lieu of the scar. not a bad trade-off IMHO.



Mad. Yes, I have had that kind of expedience before, but I always find a rational explanation, (a la Andrew T) but my mother reminds me that this is part of my heritage and tells me not to fight it.

It wasn't OJ Simpson's voice by any chance was it ?  ;shame;

 rotflmfao

Red, do you ever go up to Bradgate Park? fond childhood memories of a obelisk/mermorial at the top of the Park

I see it now when driving past J20/J21 on the M1 and keep meaning to go back again 

Yes, though like you, not for ages. Beautiful walks and stunning wild scenery. (The obelisk is a war memorial)

Not these days Robert. When quarries or "workings" are exhausted, they use them for Landfill, & then in 20 or 30 years, the land is re-claimed. LBC (London Brick Company) had scores of redundant "holes" in Bedfordshire after extracting the brick clay/marl, then Hanson had the bright idea of buying the company for a song, & using the holes for landfill, so they made a bloody fortune by charging £30 a load for landfill! And from that idea was born Hanson Aggregates, whose sole reason d'etre is to use all their gravel pits & quarries as a means of creating holes by selling the content, then charging to have them filled up via Landfill. Then selling the land. How neat a trick is that? Probably the second best business idea I've ever seen. Running a Car-Park tops the list, of course, especially an Airport Car-Park. Count all those £15 a day cars, & think how little hassle the owners cause. Park, pay, go.

Even better are the adhoc carparks in London on otherwise unused blocks of land. One guy gets there early and charges each car as they come in. The car park fills up by 8am and the guy's work is done - off he goes home with a four figure sum in cash in his back pocket.

Howard "The Magician" Plant started his Car-Parking business that way, in Manchester. He'd "transform" Office Car Parks near Old Trafford on Match Days into pukka Car Parks, a fiver a car, & took £thousands every match. One day the Office Block owner arrived & Howard asked him to pay for parking in his own office block car park! So after that, they struck a deal, & split the income. Howard went on to eventually own or manage 9 Car-Parks in Blackpool. Very nice! He goes round daily to empty the machines, takes a wheelbarrow for the cash I imagine. He gave - gave - his brother a tow-truck, & told him he'd pay him no wages at all, but instead, he got £50 for towing away, to a compound, every illegally parked car in any of his Car Parks. That kept his Brother up to the mark, & naturally he was very zealous at his job, totally wage-free to Howard. Howard then charged £150 to "release" the car.......Howard is a genius. Tells a tall story or two, as well, so maybe this is a bit embellished, but at least Howard has 6 stories, whereas Mad Marty only has 3. Good ones, mind......the first 27 times.

In NE Wales I was told by some cavers that there are loads of underground mining tunnels there. They run from where we were at the time all the way to the coast nr Holywell. Approx 10 miles long. No here is the crux for tikay: There is an underground railway, and the cavers operate their own deisel locomotive down there.

Now as a small boy I found myself walking with my mother who was pushing my two year old sister along in her pushchair along the path that winds itself through the park from one gate to the other. It is a beuatiful walk through the park. At one specific point there is a what I now know to be a small outcrop of volcanic rock.

Being seven it just had to be climbed. Got stuck. A mothers dilemma. Seven year old screaming stuck on rock, two year old stuck in pram.
parental nightmare!!!!

"small obelisk" - aint these called trig points?

Being seven it just had to be climbed. Got stuck. A mothers dilemma. Seven year old screaming stuck on rock, two year old stuck in pram.
parental nightmare!!!!

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I would guess that your mother made you post the BB every hand until you got down  ;whistle;

She didn't get him down until he'd taken his 'fashion shoes' off and put on a proper smart pair.

If you believe that as people we leave a 'footprint' when we shuck our mortal coil. Then why not have certain people who can 'feel' this 'footprint'. As probably a descendant of Tuatha De Danann, trust your mother she knows best......

I was always told meridan was the centre of England in fact there is a monument there saying so and various business with the name "centre of England florists" etc. ???

Looks like one to me. Does it have a metal circle on top with 3 points off it?

Centre of England is in Leicestershire.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre_points_of_the_United_Kingdom (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre_points_of_the_United_Kingdom)

Meriden did consider itself the centre for many years, but that was before people could measure things properly.

Yeah, just googled it myself, seems it's 11 miles away but they include the islands in the calculation (dunno what difference it makes).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2271925.stm

I agree with your mother. you should culture it, not fight it. Dont get me wrong, even though i would be scared if i heard something, i would be happy as i like to think we all have these kind of abilities but just dont develop them. we have lost a lot of the old ways:(

I agree with the wound bit. It annoys me when i see acres of forrest ripped down and the scars that makes on the land is not a clean wound. The beauty i see in the quarry is  the inner layers of the rock and the formations. Then the images in my head about how it got like that. Its so interesting but most people dont see it. A lot of folk dont stop to study a blade of grass or a budding flower and pay no attention to the simple things around us. We have closed our eyes to things that actually matter in the world and mother nature in my opinion is under-valued in todays society by many........................