Part 2 · audioscript
Here is some information about history and nature walks in the region. They can be completed in less than a day and also be combined with a visit to Melby, a former coal mine now open to the public.
The Marsden Coastal Walk is suitable for all the family as there are no strenuous climbs. The route begins at Marsden harbour, where there are hourly ferries to and from the beautiful Hooker Island, a great place for fishing. The walk covers part of the coastal path trail. As there are clear signposts all along the way, you don't even need to take a map with you. At one point, the route goes inland slightly and passes a castle built in the 1400s near to a now-vanished market town. The castle's now just a pile of stones but it's a great place to take photos, and fascinating information boards show what it once looked like. If you set off early, you can be back in time for midday.
The Melby Heritage Walk is a great place to take photos, especially of the night sky. At certain times of the year, people come here from far and wide. They climb to the top of the valley and take pictures of the stars. In the daytime, it's completely different. As you hike through the dense woods in the valley bottom, the only things you'll hear are the sound of your own footsteps. At the highest point, you can stop to take in the views, and those with lots of energy can climb the tower that's situated where there was once a seventeenth century hunting lodge. The route continues along the tops of the hills and brings you back down to the starting point – the car park at Melby Coal Mine.
Melby Coal Mine has been open to the public for twenty years and has won awards for its visitor experience. Many of the buildings around the mine are still standing and have been converted into display areas.
Firstly, there’s an exhibition showing the history of the mine, with many original black and white photos. To see that, you go from the car park, via a covered walkway to the Main Visitor Centre. Go through the ticket office to an area where there are lockers to leave heavy bags in, and where you can borrow raincoats. Beyond that room is the exhibition.
There’s a small bathhouse where miners used to wash after their shift underground. You can see that in the building directly to the north of the engine house. The boiler has gone from there now, but there are lines of tin baths on the stone floor.
There’s a display of early mining tools from the days before mechanisation. You can find that in a small L-shaped building in the middle of the northern boundary of the site. It’s incredible to think how miners were able to use hand implements to cut through rock.
The vehicle shed, where you can find wagons of different sizes, along with some of the hi-tech cutting machines that were in use until the mine closed, is in the southwest corner of the site, and can be accessed via a covered walkway.
There is a field with ponies, which are always popular with children, on the north-eastern boundary of the site, not approached via a covered walkway.
The other building to mention is the education centre. This is where school groups go when they visit the mine, but it’s also accessible to the public as it contains a library and small gift shop. The centre is connected to the ticket office via a short section of covered walkway.