What a fascinating place Peak alum works is. !  Well worth a visit.

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Alum was discovered here in 1640 and the works were build to process the calcined ore and to export the alum flour. The remains are above a beautiful bay shown here at low tide , with Robins Hood bay in the background .

The invisible quarries of the Peak Alum Works

Peak Alum works were built because of the locally sourced shale rock which could be quarried and then processed to make alum.   Today there is virtually no sign of the of the quarries that once changed the face the of the hillsides.  They have been covered by gorse and bracken and have disappeared into the landscape.

The Peak Alum works were operational from 1650 to 1860 when a cheaper route to alum was discovered.  The shale from the hillside was calcined then passed to the extensive

The shale from the hillside was calcined then passed to the extensive works.   Here with crystallisation, with urine and seaweed brought in by sea the shale was converted to alum for export.

Today the peak alum works are owned and maintained by the National Trust.
You can still see  parts of the buildings and the channels were the liquor flowed during the process from cistern to cistern.

 
The top of the transport system is still visible but I will have to make another visit and walk round the beach to see the route up from the shore.
All in all a wonderful place to visit. It shows that the recovery from such extensive industrialisation is possible as it is now  part of the beautiful Cleveland way .