Folklore

Odin Mine
Cave / Rock Shelter

At the foot of the incredible Mam Tor is Odin Mine, marked by a NT sign but off limits on my last visit due to F&M (April 2001).

It struck me as quite significant at the time because my visit was just after finding out that Odin was unique amongst norse gods because he got his power from the Mother Earth. Mam Tor, and at her foot, Odin Mine. Hmmm.

And after reading up on the Odin Stone on Orkney (and indeed Yggdrasilbury), it now makes even more sense; Mam Tor and Odin Mine couldn’t have been named such by the (later) invading Vikings, for the Vikings had abandoned the ‘Mother Earth’ completely. There’s a good chance, therefore, that their relationship could be based in antiquity.

Could this be another example of the ‘norse’ myths being eternally played out in the British Landscape?