Location
Description
Balls Green Mine (that may not be its official name if it has one) is the first mine I would recommend visiting in the Nailsworth area as it is the easiest to find, access, and navigate around. The entrance to the mine is via a large hole carved into the hillside which is easy to spot from the track next to it. There is a 1 meter drop to the floor of the mine once you enter through the hole. A metal rod protruding from the wall can be used as a step so accessing it is very easy.
Once in, there are two main passage ways that you can take. The large space in this mine makes it feel more like a cave so routes may not look so obvious, but you will soon be able to work out which ways go where. The route going left will lead to a more open area which seems to be a popular sit-down spot judging by the arrangement of old logs and a broken picnic chair. The route doesn’t go much further than this area but feel free to check it out.
The main route is relatively straight on from when you first enter. There are a couple of small offshoots initially but after that it’s just one main passage. Some very simple climbing will be needed to get over some larger boulders that have accumulated on the floor. After that, it’s quite easy to get around.
There aren’t really any junctions in the mine, but you will come across a layered stone wall which appears to go left. This does go somewhere, but not very far. It will take you to what appears to be a dead end with the option to climb up the rocks and further on. Don’t do what I did (unless you want to) and start climbing these rocks unnecessarily to get to the next passage. There is a much easier route round.
When facing the layered stone wall, you will be able to go right and ascend it onto a sort of “second level”. There is a path at the top that will lead you towards the back and into another area. The ceiling here suddenly drops quite low for a few meters but the open space returns after. Follow the path through where it bends to the left and back out to the main passage. If you look to the left at this point you will see the other side of the rocks that you could have climbed alternatively.
Go right, and from here it’s an easy walk to another (and larger) pack of boulders that make up the end of the mine (as to what I’ve found). You can climb over these where it continues for a very short distance, but it’s not really worth it. As far as I’ve seen there aren’t any further passages into the mine.
