Mudlarking and Mines 

Here is a Link to Deans music from the video. It has a vocal on it. Give it a listen 👍 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-xpjhbk0Srms.html

I have been in that tunnel, it is part of brindleys siphon system, the tunnels nearby lead to the underground canal system, speak to llan davis at leigh heritage, he used to do underground tours.

The piece of wood with loads of holes is all that is left of a brush.

What I love about your videos Martin, is your honesty and passion. Your video of the clock tower in Manchester made me wish I was Mancunian, and I'm a Londoner born and bread. It just shows you what a broad, diverse and historic country we take for granted fella. Nationalism is not a dirty word, remember that people. Be proud of whatever country you reside in, even Germans 😉 I await the trolls...

Mudlarking with nicola white is a pretty good RU-vid channel for anyone who finds it interesting 👍 Great vid Martin

Martin this is yet another example of your art, and Dan's painting was the cream on top. Thank you for sharing. You have turned Manchester from somewhere I have avoided into somewhere that I want to visit

Martin, the oyster shell you found was fresh not old. that one had been opened by a bird wanting something for lunch. If it had been buried in a trash or rubbish dump it would not be that new looking. there are fresh water oysters and clams so that is probably what you got there.

Martin and Danny thanks I really enjoyed this video Loved the music sombre and respectful of People and a times gone past. A cheap mini Drone would be fantastic for exploring inside the mines? But crash and all lost. Cheap sacrificial mini-drones don't exist yet but who knows maybe soon. My Dad and Uncle worked down Agecroft Pit also Bradford My Grandfather Died of a heart attack down Bradford Pit.(i never met him) I could Have entered mining as a trainee Miner at Agecroft in the early 70s. Dad talked me out of it as all pits would shut down. So got an apprenticeship as a Plumber. £75.00 I think as a trainee miner £20.00 as an apprentice plumber 1973/74 16 years old. Dads 80 now drives his car like Sterling Moss and loves a pint of Boddingtons I'm very proud of him I never wanted for anything. He still has traces of coal scars on his back and arms from open cuts /wounds filling with coal dust.

Martin, in 72 years, I've hardly ever been to Lancashire but I think your history videos are wonderful.

Hi Martin, Danny's obviously a very talented artist, that's an awesome painting. So many cool finds from your mud combing expedition, that little statue is so cool. Those mine tunnels look so inviting and very intriguing too, maybe you could ask permission to go down there escorted and with your hard hat and an oxygen/gas meter. Thank you for taking us along on your adventure along the Irwell. x🙏🏻💖

The bend in the Irwell we used to call “Balls Bend” when we were kids. Any ball kicked into the river higher up used to end up sat in the eddy where the water is calm. Hours off fun when your young 😂

Martin, for future reference the "bucket" part of a pipe is known as the "bowl", and the long thin part is the "stem". Please keep up these fascinating glimpses into our past.

This was my neck of the woods when I was little. We camped out down there sometimes a few times. And I explored down near the river. Japanese Knotweed is all over the river banks in hotter months, or atleast was years ago. Cheers for another interesting video!

Lovely video. I love weird holes in the ground like those adits. Nice one. A tobacconist in town - it's a well loved shop, even for non-smokers, used, until very recently, to sell clay pipes. When I was at school, a mate of mine used to smoke clay pipes when fishing. The stems would break, and the pipe would get shorter and shorter, until he'd get to the point where the bowl was almost under his nose. He'd chuck it in the river, and get another pipe from an old wooden box in his creel, and start over.

As usual I feel like Ive been on holiday. Not much to mudlark in Pretoria and its too dangerous to explore old buildings. I remembered an old dump and will try and get there. Love to you all, Danny keep painting you have talent.

Fascinating area you were spoilt for interesting relics from the past. Many thanks Martin.

Hi, Martin. Many years ago, myself and a couple of friends explored some of the tunnels, before they were gated off,and somewhere I've got some photos. I know the area well as I used to work there.

This is just round the corner from where l live now...further along and on the other side from where you are was Ringley Woods a great area when l was a kid from Whit Lane area of Salford we used to camp there ....the SP you described on the map near Giants Seat was in fact a spring that flowed from the Radcliffe area down through Giants Seat and then through to the Irwell....we used to drink and cook with that spring water when camping in Ringley.....there were lots of " Caves" on the side you were on around the Gated entrance.....some were left open , some were " Bricked up " but some had been opened up by the lads and lasses who were " exploring "...we went down into one cave and was gingerly making our way when all of a sudden the only one with a torch screamed STOP...he had stopped us from falling down a somewhat massive hole ....Phew.l often go back up to my old haunts for a look down there at my memories of my youth....great times from 60 + years ago..... by the way my mate Paul Kelly can help you with anything to do with Irwell Valley and other Mines , he is an ex Agecroft miner and runs a site called Irwell Valley Mining Project ....a mine ( no pun intended ) of information , also there are 2 monuments commemorating the miners who lost their lives in the pits at Clifton Hall and Agecroft ,,,contact Paul at pkellyivmp@gmail.com he has access to mining maps and is the go to expert on mining not just round here but Nationally.........

The more i whach you're videos the more i realise the river wos so important to Manchester it wos the heart of it

The small finds only become worthless if the location they are found is not recorded. That is what you seem to be doing, the location can say a lot. Thank you both of you for making this video. It's making me want to go back out and do some exploring. I have found a few adits when wandering around but they are always bricked up or collapsed for me.

Another fascinating video there Martin, thanks 👌🏼🧱👍🏼

Surprised that you have not developed gills, Martin. Illuminating content, once more. Well done.🇯🇪

Thanks again Martin. Great video and info. Best regards from Chicago

I can not thank You enough for preserving those last pieces of history on pictures! That mine, especialy when i try to imagine it whit that old tree on top and the vent. tunnel still intact with that tiny waterfall, looked as it came straight out of a fairytale from my old kids books grandma used to read when i was a little child. :) There realy are something extraordynary with those old sites that i hardy can reconstruct in my country, we always used the latest tecnology and but also being very fast to get rid of our past where i live, not as in those places with layers upon layers of solid history weawed together with aincient mythology, magic and preserved sagas, i realy feel we lost much in my country by newer realy care about our modern history until pretty recently, i think they did back in time, but a lot of it got lost in the 1960-1980s when all that was concidered old and "dirty" remains of those parts of our past many people only saw as embrasing and "dirty" and concidered it as undesirable reminders they just wanted to get rid of, now, it's all lost forever and people start to realise how rootless everything has became if we begun to almost deny such big parts of our past and what it realy ment to forge what our country has became today and alkso a great part of our identity and daily life so many people are totaly unaware of but still affect their lifes in the same way as it does on mine. It realy feels like the last minute for a lot of it to still be documented today, othervise the generations to come probably hawe to start all ower again.

Just read up loads about the Wet Earth Colliery, really interesting article for, a group that entered the tunnels in 2003 with pics and explanations. That big iron pipe thing for the turbine, there’s a very good diagram if you Google it and explaination on how it works and is really interesting. Great vid, on to the next one 👍🥂

Well enjoyed great finds great video Martin 👌👌👌👌

Oysters were very cheap a penny or two for a dozen, youll find zillions on old victorian tips, they used to be one of the main ingredients in lancashire hotpot. The little head is from a doll. Great video pity you didnt find any pipe bowls . Very interesting about the mines. Cheers Martin and Danny, just absolutely love your painting of gate street its really excellent, you have much talent! :-)

Thank you for another escape .

You do more to show Britain its country side its other side history that so many around world crave be it there gran folks did or came from. To its majestic engineering past that was copied worldwide than any big mainstream media touristy guide do. We all know big attractions but so many crave this side of UK history past cheers thanks many regards from Ireland.👍🇮🇪☘Godbless/peace🙏✌

Oh how fun! Mudlarking on the River Irwell! I watch a few mudlarkers on the Thames now and then. Good finds today! I wonder what that wooden bit of tool was. The lady head is off of a china doll, by the look of it. Hollow and sewn onto a linen body filled with batting. Sometimes they had china arms and legs, sometimes not. Love all the pottery and china shards you found! Such beautiful patterns! Thanks for the explore! Those old mines are fantastic! That last one you poked your camera into looked spooky!

I was a littttle bit spooked by the bits where you pointed the torch down the tunnels Martin 😄. Really liked this one! Love a bit of mudlarking

Great video again mate. Always very informative...Cheers Martin.

Front bucket bit.Keep it coming mate. cheers.

Great job as usual.

Love a bit of mudlarking Martin. I used to dig up pottery fragments in my Grandmas garden years ago and then throw them all back at the end of the holidays so we could find them all again the following year 😂😂 you can tell we had to make our own fun in the 1950s! Another great video starring the Irwell, stay safe .

Great warning about gas. I never knew that. Thanks for mentioning it. I'm sure many others wouldn't have realised either - especially the part about it not always having a smell.

Great vid. You highlighted a few spots I wasnt aware of. I will be paying them a visit soon.

Looked like a timber spike you picked up . The turbine probably ran a pump to pump out the mine drainage or a generator for lighting and lifts , conveyor system or air compressor or ventalition fan etc . Nice !

Enjoyed the video Martin! Love Danny's painting, very talented! There are some great mudlark youtubers who mudlark mostly on the Thames foreshore, they find a lot of clay pipes. Thank you for sharing...take care!

I LOVED THIS ADVENTURE. How blessed you are to have your health Martin! Yeah wellies are not for hiking lol! Thank you again for bringing me along!

Ahhh Swinton, a wonderful place. My hometown yet I don’t know much about it. Great video as usual Martin.

Sublime. James Brindley made water travel uphill via the syphon. The amount hewing through hard rock, monumental. 👍

Hi, looks like a small Victoria dolls head. Look it up they where numbered and came in various sizes. Love the show.

Great video, thanks.

I bet postman had a job getting there ! Great Vid !

The tunnel at the 16 minuet mark is indeed the tailrace tunnel from wet earth colliery.I have been in that tunnel all the way to the loading basin next to the colliery.That was on a guided tour around 25 years ago.The tunnel was used for all manners of drainage ,including the boat repair area around where the loading basin met fletchers canal.

On my DSLR I always use a screw on filter, usually a polarising one or just clear, to protect the lens. Also lens hoods are handy as well

The vertical pipe was intriguing as it's cast iron on the bottom and perhaps riveted boiler plate on the top. Keep up the good work!

Me and the kids were mudlarking (never heard that term but I like it) by the River Croal in Moses Gate Country Park last week. My five year old came home with her pockets full of old pottery. (Moses Gate was the site of an old paper mill and colliery, as well as paper mills and cotton mills all nearby the river) We saw oyster shells too and wondered how they might have got there. We'll have to keep a look out for clay pipes from now on. Thanks for a brilliant video.

great vid as always seems better vids when you have your favourite rivers near by they seem to give you a buzz. loved it tks DAZ..great pottery give Nicola White a nudge on what you might have found

Amazing video thanx

This is all great stuff.

Well done chaps, fascinating stuff. Lovely to see nature reclaiming the things that man has left behind. (Danny's 'Lowrey' is excellent too.) Thanks again.

I mudlark the River Calder and there’s always stuff to find! Some interesting things Martin 😊I think the head could be a doll, which was possibly attached to a soft body 🤔

Sunday night entertainment sorted thanks so much Martin

You should get a few 'uv filters', basically clear glass that screws on your lens and protects it Some tripods have a hook at the bottom of the centre column, ideal for hanging your backpack on for weight. That oyster could be from the sea, but there are also freshwater oysters. The turbine pump is most likely to suck air through the workings, i wouldn't be surprised if the adits you foind were mainly for air inlets on the other colliery, they could also act as drains. If there's any artifacts you're not sure of, pop into your local history museum, if they can't identify it, they can put you in touch with a historian. Keep up the great work :)

J and h gwynne iron works hammersmith London 1892

Very Awesome Video Dude. The little things you Find Ay Amazing

Another crackin video Martin love your as it is no bullshit approach to things.

Excellent vid your usual high standard. Anything on local area goes down well. Memory says the gas is what old miners called Fire Damp, methane as I understand, very explosive and killed more miners then one could count. There was a position of Fireman in the mining industry. My uncle did this and it was his job the set the explosives used to dig out the coal. A very responsible job. I was told that in time gone bye the job of the Fireman was to cover himself is wet sacks and search out pockets of fire damp with a lighted Taper. True or not I do not know but in times gone bye life was cheap. Thanks. John

Thanks Martin cheers loved watching this one to Jacqui :)

Excellent video Martin. Very informative and educational as usual .we have an amazing history and people such as yourself bring it back to life as if it was yesterday . Your background knowledge and insight is truly essential for the next generation of historians/explorers such as yourself to capture and log all lost manufacturing and diverse companies that used the local rivers and tributaries to despatch their goods .as each year our history and heritage are slowly eroded from history. Keep up your amazing work. You are one of you tube true heroes. Very much appreciated. 😃👍

Nice one mate keep em coming 👍

Fantastic as always keep them coming I never miss an episode now.

great stuff

In a hundred of so years from now, I hope that there is someone like you to document the remains of United States factories. Sixty years ago I could find the wood locks from the 1850's, went back decades later, all gone.

Amazing, the impromptu nature of this adds to the enjoyment! All your hard work, you deserve your own TV program. More importantly you bring Manchester and its history to life, via the very things we walk past every day...Thank you!

Hi, I'm pretty sure the small ladies head is from a small (china/porcelain) doll. They often would make the heads like that and have a cloth body that they would put the head into. Nice video as always.

There are just so many 'hidden' treasures, but you need to be fitter than I am to get to them! Thank you Martin! :-)

Another great video Martin , love how the industrial blends back with nature great finds again pal

And yet another fascinating video from Martin Zero. You have this natural knack of making things that people find in general day to day life very interesting, thank you very much.

Excellent video. Very interesting patterns on that pottery. Turbine pump a nice find too. Grat little painting by Danny.

Love Danny's artwork at the end! Great work!

Love it

Hi , Brilliant Vid! I pretty certain that's a very old dolls head you found , my daughter found one exactly the same in a field once , lovely bit of social history

I suspect that rather than the river depositing your finds on that beach area it uncovered them. Domestic waste was often tipped onto river banks and consequently people often go bottle digging on river banks. I noticed at one point you discovered a boot sticking out of the bank.

Martin would love to see you down South at the Stewartby brickworks in Bedfordshire It closed around 12 years ago and will be demolished over the next few years. Lots of history with old train lines, sheds, the old kilns chimneys and warehouses from the 20s are still standing..

Well Martin love all your videos but this is my fave. Some fantastic finds there. Gosh wish I was there looking thru river, great stuff. Thanks so much for taking me along

I got me shovel an hot cup a coffee.............. heading to the creak for a look around.

Loved the vid. FYI, where the Etihad is now, before the pit and surrounding area was redeveloped you could find lots of those clay pipes around Sarah Ann Street, Beswick right up to the 70s and 80s.

I remember the glass works well,a good teacher you are!

Loved this vid. Mudlarking what a great twist.

Now that was very interesting! Some quality gems you found there lads! Great vid!

Good bit of Sunday evening entertainment Martin, amazing to see how much even that small part of the river has been industrialised over the years

I know that place! Of course, approaching from the north from Ringley Road I would know the area as Giant's Seat, as far as the north bank of the river. I didn't know it was called Clifton Country Park on the south bank. Every day's a school day!

Hi Martin.loved going on the walk with you, amazing to find the tunnels.... I've found clay pipes when digging my back garden yrs ago. Have one the the cup end. Pottery also. I've saved them all. New to ur channel love it. Regards from us here in Nottingham

I dug in the carlisle castle moat to lay cables for flood lights in 1980s, hundreds of clay pipes in there

I enjoyed your latest video Martin. Many thanks for all you do for us🙂🍻👍🏻

Great insight into our industrial past I really enjoyed watching this documentary of your findings thanks for taking the time to share it

Another joy to watch that was alot of water comming out of that sewage works had there been storms the river looked quite high. You were right to stay clear of the mines who knows what gases are inside

Enjoyed that Martin ! Bring us some more please , Cheers from the USA .

As others have said, the porcelain head is definitely a doll's head. You can tell by the shape of her shoulders. She'd have been sewn into a cloth body. Great video!

wonderful martin, another sunday watching your incredible work. thank you.

wonderful trip for us all martin and danny thank you so much all the best from trev and christine down south

Martin you’r the best!👌🏻

Amazing, Martin you’re such an inspiration to us!

Another great video for Sunday evening viewing. Well done Martin

i love history, the mysteries and the endless questions it makes you think about. Just trying to imagine what people were like back in the time that those finds were in use. The turbine pump for instance, just trying to imagine what the men were like that built it, the tools they used etc. History is such a fascinating subject. I love the way it gives you these mysteries to try and solve. Very interesting video.

4:00 That looks exactly like a porcelain dolls head.

you and danny look bloody frozen in your wellies, but it was all in a good cause! hope your feet have thawed out by now!