We live in the middle of a world heritage site. It’s got this status because it was once one of the most industrialised parts of the UK. Tin, copper, arsenic and silver were all mined here or hereabouts. Although the world heritage site status applies to the nineteenth century mine workings, there has been mining activity here for certainly many centuries and possibly even thousands of years. You have to look a bit closer at the landscape to see evidence, but once you know what to look for it’s obviously all around you.

This is one such bit of evidence, not that you’d know it today, looking innocuous, flat and otherwise plain. In fact though, beneath the snow is ice and beneath the ice is a water-filled hole about a metre deep and a couple of metres across. It’s the result of surface mining from many hundreds of years ago, long before the industrial revolution gave local miners access to the seams of copper and tin that are hundreds of feet below the ground. Prior to deep shaft mines, people would simply turn up, dig a hole and look for ore. I’m sure it’s more complex than it sounds but that’s the basic gist of it. Still, I’m sure it was a lot less dangerous than the nineteenth century mines. In 1850, the life expectancy of a man in this area was 23 years of age. I think that terrifying statistic says it all.

There are thousands of such holes all over the moor and they are usually filled with tea stained, peaty water for most of the year. They look like devil’s teacups. As a general rule they have a bit of this stuff around them, some gorse and some what I call marsh grass although I’m sure it has a real name. This relic of a bygone age has filled with water that’s drowned the roots of the gorse – it’s a good job it doesn’t mind being immersed too much and will probably survive. The water levels on the moor are deeper than I’ve ever seen them. However long we live here, I remain amazed at how much water is lying around on the moor when we are at the top of a hill. It seems to defy the normal laws of nature. Now though, it’s worse than ever.

I know this isn’t the best image in the world – it’s just not quite sharp – but it has a sort of surreal quality that I really like.