I cannot remember all the details but there was a case years ago where a lad fell off a steep path and was significantly injured and his family tried to obtain compensation saying there should have been signs/barriers but they lost the case as the dangers were ordinary and obvious. This may of course not apply to quarries where the dangers may be hidden, unusual, and unexpected.
Similar thing in Ireland, a woman won a case after slipping on some railway sleepers, on a path in the Wicklow Mountains National Park.
She finally lost in an appeal.
http://www.thejournal.ie/hillwalker-...44946-Feb2017/
From a Mountain Rescue point of view. we do a lot of training in a local quarry. kids play in and around it at times...
This happened last week..
https://www.facebook.com/WoodheadMou...UCmBhc&fref=nf
5th July
Woodhead Mountain Rescue Team
5 July at 05:17 ยท
...
CALLOUT: The team were called out last night at 20:36 to Thurlstone Quarry to assist Yorkshire Ambulance Service with an incident that ranks no1 in the lucky to be alive charts!
Two friends had been planning some climbing routes in the quarry previously and tonight decided to do a little cleaning on the crag face by abseiling down.
They had set up a belay at the top and was about to clip in when the whole of the top of the crag gave way beneath one of the climbers sending him plummeting to the bottom of the crag some 7m, unbelievably the climber managed to stay on the rock avoiding the unthinkable and lay in wait for the emergency services to arrive.
He was treated for suspected spinal injuries and a possible leg injury, transferred into a vacuum mattress for immobilization and onto the stretcher for the carry out of the quarry to the ambulance.
In attendance tonight was also Yorkshire Air Ambulance crew and the Hazardous Area Response Team ( HART) along with Yorkshire Ambulance Service.
Great multi agency teamwork for one lucky lucky rock surfing fella!
Interestingly, the warnings from the police about Longcliffe quarry focus on the dangers lurking in the water at the bottom of the quarry, and don't refer to the rock faces. On the other hand, the author of the document that I linked in my original post seems to be primarily interested in rock-climbing; he displays pictures of climbers in the quarry, and concludes with a reference to the Peak District Minerals Strategy referring to restoration of old quarries:
”The creation of appropriate recreational use of disused quarries e.g.liaise with minerals operators over the end-use of quarries(where not already determined) to leave quarry faces in sound condition suitable for future climbing sites or to leave spoil mounds suitable for mountain bike or vehicular off-road courses.”
Clearly, "leave quarry faces in sound condition suitable for future climbing sites" hasn't been done at Thurlstone!
that sort of illustrates the point perhaps: it's only really 'safe' (even then it's obviously not risk-free) if someone qualified has taken responsibility for making it safe. otherwise, how does anyone know if it's safe to play on just by looking at it?
Originally Posted by anthonykay
I'm not sure that's the reason.. things degrade over time.
Interestingly last night at an exercise at a crag it was noted that there was lots of loose rock about due to the ground shrinking because of the lack of rain..
Boulders well set into the earth had big cracks around them.
Two news items that I have seen today: a 17-year-old died while swimming in a quarry lake in Warwickshire, and a 14-year-old is missing having gone swimming in the sea off Clacton. A rather tragic illustration of the fact that both quarry lakes and natural water bodies can be dangerous.
With regard to Longcliffe quarry, the subject of my original post: I have discovered that it is going to be used for dumping ash from an incinerator, I mean "energy from waste facility", that is going to be built in the nearby Newhurst quarry. So an area that is great for outdoor recreation as well as having a fair amount of wildlife is going to be destroyed.
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