Our Heritage Open Day at Magpie Mine has now become a well-established annual event, and this year’s event on Sunday September 10th was the most successful yet. Despite the cold and wet weather (which could have been an excuse for anybody to stop at home and not venture out), we attracted over 340 visitors – an increase of 50% over last year’s record turn-out.

The event was well publicised both on the web and in the local press, and this certainly helped boost the numbers of people attending. It also got a mention in the national i newspaper – one of 5 Heritage Open Day events nationwide that were mentioned in an article.

Visitors were given a guided tour of the site, and also had the opportunity to see a blacksmith (our own Vice-Chairman Adam Russell) in action. The Mining Museum provided a display of mining artefacts and models, together with a small sales stand. Not surprisingly, the seemingly endless supply of tea and coffee attracted our visitors to the Smithy, where they could also shelter from the rain and enjoy the warmth of the stove.

Our Open Day at Magpie Mine is one of over 5,000 events organised as part of the national ‘Heritage Open Days’ organisation. One of the key features is that there is no entrance fee, and so we are very grateful to everyone who dipped into their pockets and made a donation. Thanks are due to all of our volunteers who gave up their time to provide the guided tours, run the sales stall, serve refreshments, control the traffic, and simply talk to our visitors and answer their many, many questions. Special credit should go to Andy Gillings, who did much of the organisation and publicity in advance of the day.

In case you missed this year’s Heritage Open Day, make a note in your diary for next year: the provisional date will be Sunday 16th September 2018. We’ll try and book some better weather for next year!