This was my third visit to Magpie Mine, a former lead mine in the Peak District national park. You can see some other posts from previous visits (where I shot 30-year-expired film, and large format) here, here, and here.
This time I was shooting my Nikon F80 with my Tamron 28-300mm zoom lens. As I mentioned the other day, I haven’t been impressed by the sharpness of the lens, and while it’s not too evident in these images, there are others from the roll that I wish had been sharper.
Magpie mine is described here as:
[Magpie Mine] was the last working lead mine in the Derbyshire orefield and is one of the best surviving examples in the UK of a 19th century lead mine. The mine has a fascinating history spanning more than 200 years of bonanzas and failures, of bitter disputes and fights resulting in the “murder” of three miners, and a Widows’ Curse that is said to remain to this day.
Thankfully there were no murders while I was there, and no sign of the widow’s curse. I did however witness another visitor’s dog race off across the fields next to the mine when a hare appeared. The hare made it’s escape hopefully none the worse for wear.
Nikon F80, Tamron 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD on Kodak Tri-X. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°.
Taken on 27 December 2025







