Ben o Cam productions

Managed to get out for a few different projects this week, which has been good!

Firstly we filmed down on the west side of the Lizard for a wreck/dive video I have been meaning to make for ages.

Then we managed to complete the diesel engine installation on the mk2 stalwart and get that next part of the restoration video all recorded, including using the crane!

Better get ourselves back down a mine for the next one I think 🙂

New video is online !

Underground at Wheal Trewavas. Abandoned Copper Mine on Rinsey Head, Cornwall.

Deep Underground at Wheal Trewavas. Abandoned Copper Mine on Rinsey Head, Cornwall.

A couple of snapshots from yesterday’s mine trip down at Rinsey head looking at Wheal Trewavas.

The day didn’t go exactly as planned but I still ended up with some great footage to be able to make a YouTube video out of.

The drop is rather scenic and the old wall around the mineshaft is super unstable so it’s not one to be hanging around on.

I had never seen any footage from the deeper part of this mine online so it had to be done.

After arriving in a large flooded chamber which was open to the sea I managed to swing into the adit and explore the deep adit section of the mine.
There was a very old wooden wheelbarrow still left in the adit and a few other interesting bits to look at and film.

Unfortunately Eric had an issue with his kit so never came down to join the fun. This isn’t exactly one to risk it on.

The other unexpected issue was that the adit has run in shortly after the barrow so there is now not that far into the old workings you can go.

Still a good day out and it should make an entertaining video.

Been a good week.. lots of progress. Back mine exploring again for the next video though !

Stalwart Mk2 Restoration Part 2: Sand Blasting and Painting.

Stalwart Mk2 Restoration Part 2: Sand Blasting and Painting. Hiya and welcome to Part 2 of the Mk2 Stalwart Restoration.In this video the petrol engine gets removed, then the vehicle gets sandblasted, primed and then p...

Finally got around to finishing a video !

Been away with work a lot so far this year but I’m around for a while now so have more projects to film shortly including some more military restoration videos and back down a few abandoned mines 🙂

Mk2 Stalwart restoration progress part 1.

https://youtu.be/hik_zUAf3Lc

A bit of a break from mining for the next video which I have just finished and uploaded.

Had a lot of fun making this one. About 6 months worth of filming went into it 🙈🤣

Alvis Stalwart First Swim. Will it float or sink ?

Alvis Stalwart First Swim. Will it float or sink ? Restoration Project : Part 2 Hiya and welcome to part 2 of the restoration project of my mk1 Alvis Stalwart which I have finally been able to complete.If you have not already seen part 1...

How’s it all going, hope you’ve all had a great Easter.

YouTube analytics keeping me guessing these last few days.
The Peevor video did pretty rubbish the first day, with 7 people being so disappointed in it the first couple of hours they chose to hit the unsubscribe button 🙈

Yet in the last 24hours it’s taken right off with enough new subscribers now to push us over 12k !

Next video will be a short beak from mining, as we are going to see if the amphibious lorry we have been restoring over the last couple of years actually floats… 😮

Go pros and dive kit on standby !

New vid is out.

Not the best or the most exciting video we have ever made thats for sure but just for the drop alone I thought it was worth uploading.
Perhaps a revisit during the dryer summer months is in order.

Wheal Peevor Mineshaft Explore

Wheal Peevor Mineshaft Explore In this video we take a look at the mine workings of Wheal Peevor, which is a disused mine site north of Redruth in Cornwall, UK.Wheal Peevor dates back to t...

So these are some snapshots from the trip we did yesterday, all screenshots from video clips.

This is one we have been meaning to have a go at for ages. It’s Sir Fredericks pumping shaft at wheal Peevor.

Originally this reached a depth of 170 fathoms which is around 311m ! Although the majority of that will now be deep underwater.

Some friends of ours dropped this shaft around 10 years ago and said it went into some pretty interesting workings, although you couldn’t go that far, there was some big stoping to see and an interesting bottom of the shaft.
The entire site has been made safe by the council and it takes quite a bit of effort to unbolt the panel and move it out of the way which is ideal as it keeps the fly tippers and kids out.
So the panel was opened, the ropes were lowered and down we went.

The shaft is vertical for the first 45/50m, and it then slightly has a change of direction and dips off at a slight angle, another 20m or so, passing a middle adit, athen quite surprisingly to completely flooded end.

I checked out the adits but they don’t seem to go far. But what was worse was the air, you could tell straight away it was stale.

There we’re numerous pigeons living in the top of the mine shaft on the ledges, and many are nesting.
Any that don’t get the hang of flying end up in the bottom of the shaft and drown, so there was a handful of dead ones floating on the surface, and even 4 still alive ones that were sat on a ledge after falling down and not being able to spiral back up without hitting the sides.

With no way on, we had one ballance Bob pit to check out, bagged up the surviving pigeons then headed back up.
It was a long climb back out and a lovely feeling getting back to fresh air which makes me think the air was probably a lot worse than we realised.

Unfortunately just to make this even worse, part of my gear I had tied to the end of the rope refused to pull back up, and I ended up going back down to free it 🙈 proper rookie mistake, I had not seen a metal staple sticking out of the wall right at the bottom and of course my gear had caught on that and was never going to pull up.

So back down to the very bottom I go and back up I climb, and up to that lovely fresh air once more.

I ended up with some good footage so will be able to throw something together out of that for YouTube, and it was all good fun and good to catch up with everyone.

More exciting stuff on the way shortly.

Someone’s finally been mine exploring today !

Although it turned out not to be a great trip, but no one got hurt and no kit was lost so shouldn’t complain. It was still nice just to get out and see everyone.
I have enough clips to put together some sort of video but it’s not going to be very exciting, will have to see what I can do with it.

More details on the trip tomorrow evening when I sort the rest of the pictures.

Not another one 🙈 Nangiles is like 8m deep!
I don’t know who it was, just sharing.

Don’t go down a mine without a backup plan !

Completely off our patch I found myself up near Bath last weekend with an evening to spare.
We haven’t been in Box mine for around 10 years and since then sadly a lot has changed, with the pub there no longer offering keys to the access point we used to use and all the other ways in welded up solid.

We did eventually find a way into another nearby mine which at some point we will return too for a proper explore as we didn’t have any safety gear or backup lights with us at all so we didn’t venture far in.

An interesting place though.

Still loads to do back home in Cornwall now just been busy with work but will try and get something planned 🙂

🙈 Anybody know who it was ?

Latest video !

Abandoned Iron Mine with Military Dump

Hoping to get down a few over christmas too and do some more filming, few ideas to follow up!

Abandoned Iron Mine with Military Dump Hiya and welcome to another mine video.In this one we take another look at Gravel Hill mine also known as Penhale Iron Mine.Its an interesting place although...

New video finally ready to online !

In this one, myself, Nat and Tom explore an old iron mine which in more recent years has been used as a dump for unwanted material from a nearby disused military base.

Should be online by the weekend. I will put a link below.

Managed to squeeze in a quick mine trip over the weekend !
Never been in this part of it before although we have dived the lower section.
Unfortunately it didn’t go all that far although some interesting military dumped junk in the bottom and some unusual geology for a Cornish mine !
Video to follow… not even looked through the footage yet though.

I just remembered the footage we took earlier this year of Dolcoath mine. These pictures are screenshots from a video of dropping the shaft.

I had intended to make this into a full YouTube video but we were never actually able to find any workings to get in so the video never seemed interesting enough to finish. Maybe we should have another go at it this winter when we get a chance.

The shaft in question is of interest as it’s Williams shaft, the deepest mineshaft in the south west of England, reaching a depth of 3300ft which is just over 1000m !

The shaft itself was completed in 1912 and is a total work of art, it’s 17ft in diameter and is brick lined with steel girders running across the centre at regular intervals.

The whole site was overgrown when we first looked at it a few years ago and the shaft itself quite well hidden but it’s all been cleaned away now and is much easier to find, which was awfully kind of them.

We had a look down to just over 120m where the water level now sits, it’s crazy looking down from the top and thinking that this is only the top 10% of the mine shaft, as already it’s a huge distance.

Interestingly we were told there were no workings above water table in this mine, but you could clearly see a adit or entrance into some workings from the main shaft maybe 10m or so up from water level.

Unfortunately this was on the opposite side to our rope and it was difficult to see if this actually went anywhere but it did seem to be draining ochre stained water which is always a good sign.

There is also a large amount of water raining down from above and I have no idea what the air would be like down there, there is no sign of any ventilation and it’s an enormous distance to climb back out so it’s definitely not recommended in any way.

An interesting bit of footage to look at though I’m sure we can incorporate it into a future project. 🙂

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What a busy few months it has been… and sadly I don’t mean for the YouTube channel but just in life in general.
Mostly this involves being away with work and going slightly crazy sat in a hotel room most evenings getting lost in the world of other people’s YouTube videos.

But the good news is I have some great ideas in place for some new videos of my own.

So with a bit of luck within the next few weekends we should be able to once again venture underground to the abandoned mines of Cornwall and get some more unseen footage from our underground adventures.

I have maybe 5-6 seperate video ideas, although we are always open to suggestions if you ever have any mines you are interested in which you would like to see us try and explore… leave a comment or send me a message.

Picture is from a few years ago exploring Phoenix united mine up by Bodmin moor which is a fantastic explore.

Perhaps another to get back to when we have a chance.

It’s going to be a busy winter 🙂

Just putting together my next video which will sadly be the last dive video of the season.

In this one we look at the wrecks which are accessible off the beach at Gunwallow on the West side of the Lizard Peninsula.

The sites that side will be getting an absolute battering this week, it will be interesting to dive them as soon as conditions will allow to see if anything has uncovered or been damaged by the recent storms.

The video should be online shortly.

I will post a link here: Stunning Shipwreck Sites Off A Cornish Beach
https://youtu.be/Xt-qSMv_7uE