THE unique industrial heritage of Threshfield Quarry, near Grassington, can now be explored by following a recently completed trail.

Accessible, surfaced paths now link to a longer unsurfaced circuit around the quarry and for those with more time on their hands, and wanting a longer walk, to the wider network of public footpaths in Upper Wharfedale.

Dr David Johnson, who has recently published a book on the history of quarrying in the Pennines, led a walk around the trail last Saturday to mark the formal hand over of the trail by the Yorkshire Dales Landscape Research Trust, which carried out most of the work for the Heritage Lottery funded project, to the Threshfield Quarry Development Trust.

The project involved the clearing of hundreds of tons of rubble to reveal unique remains of the lime kilns, and the construction of more than a kilometre of new footpaths. Narrow gauge rail track, similar to the tracks originally used in the quarry, has also been installed on the railway inclines in the quarry with help from the Sustainable Development Fund. In addition, three Hudson V-skips, the cable-pulled carts that were used to move stone in the quarry, were acquired on long -term loan from Leeds Industrial Museum and can now be seen, cleaned up and re-painted by volunteers, on rail track at the top of one of the inclines.

To help visitors out, information panels and a self-powered listening post will help to explain the kilns’ unique construction.

And, winding the post’s handle will play a short introduction to the trail, or short extracts from recorded memories of the quarrying and lime-burning operations at Threshfield. Photographs and videos of the working quarry were generously made available to the project by several local people including ex-quarryman Peter Wood. These can be seen in a free smartphone app which can automatically bring up relevant information at different points around the trail. A booklet about the history of the quarry, first produced in 2008, was extended and re-printed by the project. To find out how to obtain a free copy please contact Dr Roger Martlew on themartlews@aol.com.

.