"Hi, my name is Vince Lennox. I'm a ranger with the Forestry Commission. We are at the site of Teversal Colliery, or as it was called, Butcher Wood. All you can see now are 2 balancing ponds. These were not here originally and that was where the colliery buildings actually were. The 2 balancing ponds you see are collecting water off the top of the spoil heap which flows down into the first pond, goes under the track and into the second pond, then either evaporates or goes down through the overflows, down into the stream, down to the road.
"When the collieries were originally here the spoil heaps would spontaneously combust with the types of materials and pressures involved and locals would often say it was like looking out at night time into hell! The hillside would be glowing hot and smoking and then when the collieries was finally disused and knocked down there was a period of desolation. Black, grey, full of holes and a very dangerous place to be. It cleaned up over a period of 4 or 5 years and then converted into the woodland you see now. The site is managed for the public and wildlife, of course. The paths have to be kept clear and the trees, when they get too big, will have to be felled to keep pathways clear and some of the conifers you see on the hillside, when they are old enough, will be harvested for timber products like chipboard, MDF, newspapers etc."