When the friends you are staying with have caring responsibilities and the weather is awful, adventures are few and far between. (Parenthetically, ten of my retired or semi retired friends, all over 60, have full or part time caring responsibilities for their mothers. Makes you think.)

Anyway, there are a couple of items I have fallen across which you might be interested in.

For those of you who remember that Britain used to have a massive coal mining industry, you will also remember the Coal Board. Despite coal mining being almost obsolete, there continues to be a rump of them left, dealing with things such as subsidence and pollution. (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/the-coal-authority)

On Alston Moor – previously a thriving lead mining community – they have been building a water treatment plant (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/999439/Environmental_Impact_Assessment_Scoping_Opinion_report_submitted_to_Cumbria_County_Council_-__this_contains_information_on_ecological_surveys_carried_out_up_to_June_2019..pdf) to remove heavy metals from the River Nent. The ubiquitousness of mine spoil waste tips means that, not only are there unique plants that like that sort of thing (https://www.northpennines.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/OREsome-Botanical-survey-Nenthead-site-dossier.pdf), but the runoff goes downstream from the watersheds of the three most important rivers in northern England – the Tyne, the Tees and the Wear.

The Coal Authority have also rebuilt land drains, following their major works. Unfortunately, they seem to have got the lie of the land wrong and recent rain has led to enormous puddles and massive runoff. One neighbour with a small stream in his garden first saw it dry up, then, next time it poured, his garden was underwater. Complaints have been sent in.

The Woodsmith Mine

Based in the North York Moors National Park, just next to the villages I visited to look for my ancestors, this is a massive project by Anglo American Mining (https://uk.angloamerican.com) to take billions of tonnes of polyhalite (a fertiliser and relative of potash) through a 26 mile tunnel to Teeside. Although it was originally started 12 years ago by a different company and only recently taken over by the mega-mining corporation, I don’t remember hearing about it. The locals appear to be in favour ( https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/20225269.york-moors-national-park-benefiting-mine-firm-funding/).

Vegans, be aware that, should all farm animals disappear from the earth, not only will there be the most enormous massacre, but it is projects like this that will have to fertilise your veggies.