Apedale's pit wheel was erected in 2004 as a memorial dedicated to mine workers in Staffordshire. The land here was an opencast mine as recently as 1998 and has since been landscaped to become Apedale Country Park.

A 60 second exposure of Apedale pit wheel at nightThe wheel has been painted recently
but I wasn't as lucky with the cloud formation

The wheel itself originated at Annesley Colliery in Nottinghamshire. It took 3 lorries and assistance from the Territorial Army to transport its 30 foot by 19 foot 7 tonnes to Apedale. Keith Meeson, an ex-miner, can be thanked - he was one of the people responsible for setting up Apedale Heritage Centre and paid what sounds like a bargain £100 for the wheel. It was a bit more expensive to get the wheel here; a £15,000 Countryside Agency grant helped fund its restoration and placement.

Apedale pit wheel memorial and coal tub in winter

The plate on the coal tub reads "This pit wheel commemorates those of all ages who dedicated their lives to coal mining in Staffordshire".

Apedale wheel through sunlit grassThe wheel backed by AlsagerBlack and white through grassI only noticed after I'd taken this photo that the woman's hair and clothes closely matched the colour of the rust, paint and coalSo we've now established I like photographing the wheel through grassThrough grass again...Aaand again, spooky...Photos taken with the Canon Powershot S5 IS bridge camera (apart from the first two and last two - Canon Powershot G1 X compact).

Back to top ↑