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 a bargain £100 for the wheel. It was more expensive to get the wheel here; a £15,000 Countryside Agency grant helped fund its restoration and placement.

Apedale pit wheel memorial and bench in snowApedale wheel through sunlit grassThe wheel in mist and snowBlack and white through grassI noticed after taking this photo that the woman's hair and clothes closely matched the colour of the rust, paint and coal

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

So we've established I like photographing the wheel through grassThrough grass again...Aaand again, spooky...One of the many paths up to Apedale WheelPhotos taken with the Canon Powershot S5 IS or Canon Powershot G1 X.

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