Harelawhill Quarry & Rowanburn Miners' Project

Pre-booked tours only. Harelawhill Quarry was in use from the 1770s until 1966. In the 1940s-50s it rang with the noise of pneumatic hammers, the boom and clatter of the empty �tubs� descending the mine and the grinding of the limestone crushers. In those decades the village of Rowanburn looked to the mine for employment after the depression years of the 1920s-30s, and the workforce extracted thousands of tons of limestone, most of which was crushed to make agricultural lime.

Yes

Book onto a tour and walk through the now tranquil woodland to explore the atmospheric depths of the mine led by the engineer who worked there. Hear the stories of gelignite hammered into the rock walls by hand, the �make do and mend� approach to engineering problems after the War, and search by torchlight for shell fossils in the shale. Teas are available afterwards in Canonbie Village Hall, together with an exhibition from the Miners Reminiscence Project. Prior booking is essential. Please phone Solway Heritage on 01387 247543 on Monday 8 September, between 9.00-17.00. Stout boots and torch recommended.