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Outdoor Activities

The Lecht Mine

Lecht Mine

1.5km/1 mile return.  Allow 30 minutes to 1 hour.

There may be sheep along this route but it is unlikely that cattle will be encountered.

Start NJ235153

The path starts from the Well of the Lecht car park, where nearby a small quarried area from which the quartzite stone used to construct the mine buildings was removed. Follow the path across the burn and then alongside it to the site of the Lecht Mine. The crushing mill is the only building to survive. It was restored and reroofed in the 1980’s. To power the water wheel a stream a quarter mile up the valley was dammed and a mill lade constructed. Across the burn on the hillside are the foundations of some other buildings along with three quarry pits and extensive dumps. The dumps are piles of iron ore that were extracted and piled on the surface as the men dug deeper looking for the rich pockets of manganese ore.

Return to Car Park by same route.

History of the Lecht Mine