Overview of Monktonhall Colliery Site

The site of the former Monktonhall Colliery lies a quarter-mile (0.4 km) north of Newton and a mile (1.5 km) northeast of Danderhall in Midlothian. Monktonhall was a large and modern pit, sunk in 1953, but was plagued by flooding. Despite miners investing sizeable sums of their own money, it was declared uneconomic and finally closed in 1998. It was the last deep mine in the Lothians.

The surface buildings were all cleared but an automatic pumping and treatment station was built to control underground water levels. Alkaline iron-rich mine-water is extracted into two settling lagoons and then passed through ponds planted with reeds to permit natural water treatment before being discharged.