April 1of2??

[cornettracing80]

never seen a mine with steps up before .....guessin thats probably not a mine then

[kitkit]

just something that poped into my head when reading the clue Puzz gave.. something to do with Great Expectations? like a building that was mentioned or a place in the story, that still exists now?
just checking it out now, kind of completely random thought though! lol

[thelightjockey]

Too busy at work to take part in the whole Adventure thing... months since I geo-cached, roll on the October holiday!
---
Took some time to think about this last week and remembered the Mars Inc advertising line
Galaxy "Smooth as Silk".

Silk mill... anyone???

Found a few just by goggle searchin' but no-doubt folks could do better than me. The construction looks fitting to the period and may also go to link the beam/rod holes in the wall.

That's me spend my 2d of thought.

[Driver]

There was a Galaxy ad that said 'why have cotton when you can have silk'. It does emphasise the silk connection but also brings cotton in to play. As to the holes, they are round and look to be about 50 to 75 mm in diameter, certainly not big enough to be location positions for any kind of flooring joist. To my way of thinking the holes must be drainage holes to help prevent water ingress into the entrance underneath.
If my theory about the size of the drainage holes is correct then the entrance would be man width.
As to the idea that it was some kind of creep, I can’t see many people going to the trouble of keeping a creep dry.
The tree looks like it could be a weeping willow which prefer a more moist environment, this would tie in with there being a wetness issue at the other side of the wall.


That’s my tuppence worth in to the pot.

Anybody else

[Toxophilite]

Just a thought : Needle and Thread - MEND, Lower - DIP, so could possibly be in The Mendips.

If Galaxy is a Star Wars reference i.e. In a Galaxy Far Far Away etc. could HMMMMMM be that nasal roar
that Wookies make. So possibly the villages of Wookey or Wookey Hole.

[steve]

If the holes were drainage holes there would be green marks running down the walls below them, so it would make sense if they were postholes for supporting a structure such as a waterwheel, just a thought.

[cornettracing80]

i really like the support poles idea and the water wheel idea...could it have been a walk way held above the holes?..like windmills?...like a deck around the upper level.....just daydreaming

[steve]

Holes for a walkway, mechanism or something like that, not for the waterwheel itself, the holes for that would be out with the photo.

[Toxophilite]

Another idea I've been toying with is that it is quite a low water channel or leat such as this one
on Flickr at Rievaulx Abbey:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mercuryvapour/1062783149/in/photostream/

I think the image may be deliberately cropped at the bottom to create a false impression of a
higher doorway. This might fit with "lower your expectations". I've juggled with the image in
Paintshop and I'm not convinced there are any steps. There is a definite course of lighter bricks
on the right hand side sloping upwards, but it could be a sloping water channel. You need to be
careful if you magnify the image in IE7 using <ctrl>+ because it uses an algorithm to generate
additonal pixels that makes the holes appear very circular (as if drilled). If you do a true zoom
in a graphics package the original image is very blocky, only a few pixels per hole. I still think
they're drain holes though.

[cornettracing80]

ya my initial thoughts where that that was not a stairway..more like a aquaduct type thing

[Jeffdsolo]

Hi all,

I'm a new member, I've been dying to post my thoughts, but had to wait to get activated!
I've spent quite a bit of time on this one, trying to find pics etc that match up in some way.
I too concluded that there might be some 'mill' connection although mills usually are very utilitarian structures (very square), whereas the wall running off in the top left of the pic seems to be at quite an odd angle, more something that you would expect to find in a castle.
However, one mill that at least has kind of similar stonework is 'Staups Mill'. (Google Image it)
This mill is just a ruin, but our picture looks a lot less of a ruin really.
In fact there is nothing in the picture to suggest that its not a whole structure.
As for the holes in the wall, I think that they are almost certainly drainage holes, there is some stainage below a couple of them. This would suggest perhaps a retaining wall? Or maybe part of a bridge or viaduct?
On the other clues, I've not read Great expectations, although it did come to mind, Someone should check that out if they have the book.
The 'Galaxy' clue is difficult. Try hard enough and you can make one word link to just about anything.
On the Chocolate theme though, I believe the current Mars factory is in Slough.
This would put windsor castle as a nearby old stone building, but I'm pretty sure there wouldn't be ivy growing on the walls there like that.
Anyhow, just wanted to put my 5 eggs in, I'll keep working on it, and now I can post my ideas straight away!

[Batkaz]

Welcome to the hunt Jeffdsolo,
Your thoughts on charlestown for the similar stone work is fair, if you check the web site you will come across a building that as water coming out of a square hole and a tree over hanging the wall

The galaxy hmmmm is chocolate and I remember the ad "why have cotton when you can have silk" needle and thread could be cotton, silk or maybe bread (cockney slang) each one can lead to a Mill
I have read Great expectations and its set in a make believe village in Kent, then London.

I asked Puzz for the clue! letting him know that I have been seaching in Derbyshire and up north, I think that the location is lower than Hope in the peaks

I also think Ade gave me a clue but its damn hard to figure out.

once again thanks for joining in

[Jeffdsolo]

Just looking at the picture again.... It almost looks like the right wall of the 'tunnel' is plastered.. you have the large stones on the corner of the opening, then it looks like a smooth white surface. This would again suggest that the building is in use or at least maintained.
Also I get the feeling that the ground must drop away on the right of the photo, beyond the wall that runs away from the opening, as there is no ivy on the wall there, and it would be a reason for the wall,... to stop people/water from going down the drop/slope.
It's impossible to see clearly how high the opening is, but the lighter stripe running up at the right of the opening does look kind of like a handrail.
The search goes on....

[haggis]

This one is a real stinker...

I like the "mend dip" suggestion somebody mentioned.
My initial thought were of an aquaduct and Im not sure the lintle above the door would be thick enough if it was a doorway. But then again Im not a structural engineer so who knows..

Was the 'Galaxy' comment really a clue?

Haggis

[Toxophilite]

I've moved away from the Mendip idea. I noticed that Galaxy is derived from the Greek word for Milk.
Lower could be Under and expectation - Would, giving Under Milk Wood ? One of the main
protagonists in this play is a Seamstress

Dylan Thomas came from Swansea and the village in the play is believed to be based on Laugharne and
New Quay (South Wales). Can't find anything that looks remotely like it though. I keep assuming that
the picture must exist on the Internet. The fact that nobody seems to recognise it makes me wonder
if its on one of the coastal islands like Lundy or somewhere ?

Yet another thought - Isle of Man - The last two syllables of Galaxy sound like Laxey and the
Great Laxey Wheel was named after Lady Isabella Hope. The water wheels at Laxey served
to pump water from the mines (seam suggested earlier in this thread). There is a Lower Laxey
wheel - anyone on the Isle of Man have any thoughts ?