| Status: | Active, open to new members |
| Coordinator: | |
| When: | Variable |
| Venue: | Varies Check Newsletter |
We have started a new group called “Going Places”. Its a very “Ad Hoc” arrangement and as such, has no regular monthly meeting date or waiting list. The idea is to simply find events or locations, worth a visit and to organise these around numbers of members, who might wish to attend.
To minimise costs, we are trying to do interesting things within a 60 minute car journey of Tiverton. Car sharing (organised amongst yourselves is encouraged). For more ambitious undertakings, further afield, we may engage with a local minibus company, details TBA.
We will be circulating trip plans via “Beacon”, as a general email notification. Please just ignore, if you have no interest
Update August 2025
Coombe Martin Silver Mine
A very damp day at the Coombe Martin Silver mine, but nevertheless, informative and enjoyable. Our host was Gary Dennis, who retold many stories of the miners and their working lives, working in the many deep and vertical shafts dotted around the site. The shafts that branched off these are called Adit's s, near-horizontal passageways that lead to a larger underground excavation for the purposes of ventilation, water removal, or auxiliary entrance. The short tunnels are used in both mining and tunneling to access the main shaft at strategic points.
Cue Peter, the Chairman who specially drove down from Pembrokeshire to give us a detailed description of the Geology of the mine. He was a very knowledgeable guide, having informed us that he holds a PhD in Geology. He informed us that this silver mine is a lenticular body that is defined as an ore body that is intimately associated with the host rock, displaying gradation into the surrounding rocks. These bodies can have morphologies such as lenses, veins, or layers, and are commonly found in anorthosite plutons. Fortunately, his descriptions of the Beam Engine, used to drain water from the shafts was more understandable, to a lay person, like me. Our tour also included the small museum onsite. An interesting collection of Copper, Silver and Lead ore deposits, as well as interesting historical documents, telling the story of the mines ownership and origin's, going back to the middle ages.
Gary completed our tour in the foundry, where he allowed us to handle actual silver jewellery, make from the ore mined from the mine
Mayflower Water Treatment Works
Earlier this month, we enjoyed a fascinating visit to the Mayflower Water Treatment Works in Plymouth — a truly
impressive, state-of-the-art facility that replaced the old Crownhill plant.
Opened in 2020, Mayflower is the first water treatment works in the world to combine three cutting-edge technologies for purification: suspended ion exchange, inline coagulation and adsorption, and ceramic membrane microfiltration. This innovative approach means the plant can produce exceptionally high-quality water while using fewer chemicals and less energy. Our friendly and knowledgeable guide led us through the highly automated site, explaining how each stage of the process works. It was amazing to see just how much science (and water!) is involved in keeping our taps flowing - Tony
SS Great Britain and Bristol Harbourside
A visit is planned for later in the year.
Media from previous events
Presentation from the visit to the Exeter Energy Recovery Facility
Video
A brisk Bird Watching cruise, on the river Exe
Photos
