So after seeing this on BBC Hidden Wales, a spare and very sunny afternoon in South Wales was put to good use with a solo explore of this amazing site.
With only 3.5 hrs free I decided to head directly for the main event, the coking ovens and huge superstructure itself. Access to the site, thanks to some advice from LittleOwl was easy and once inside I was not troubled by dogs, security or anyone else. In fact the only living things to keep me company for the whole explore were the numerous resident birds, occasionally startled by my presence, and an amazing large black fox with a white tip on it's tail that scampered out from the undergrowth ahead of me. I've since found out that these black foxes are really rare apparently yet one of these unusual beasts seems to be living happily inside the Cwm works. It was too fast for a photo unfortunately.
Being a solo explore I was ultra careful about where I went. An accident was not an option. The metallic clanking coming from one of the conveyor cladding above was disturbing at first but I soon settled down to the explore and found the site strangely peaceful and relaxing to walk around. There was what looked like a CCTV camera attached to one of the high conveyors, facing towards the top of the coking ovens so I was careful to try and minimise time spent in this location. I was also planning to climb the tall charge tower but it is clear that the concrete steps up the side of this would have put me in full view of the security office so I decided to not risk it.
The site is very overgrown to the rear and navigating around at first was difficult due to the density of foliage. Pathways of sorts soon appeared though and by the time I had climbed up onto the coking oven superstructure, the higher vantage point soon made the location of everything a lot clearer. The area around the coking ovens was fascinating with rusty metalwork and piping everywhere. The external platforms lead both to the dark and gloomy basements, some of which were flooded, and also up into the large loading/charging tower high above the works.
The site proved to be easy to navigate but plenty of dangers lurked to catch the unwary. There are partially open lift shafts inside the darkness of the huge charging tower. There are numerous holes in floors, some boarded over, some open and some flooded with deep and polluted water. There is some exposed asbestos coming off damaged pipework. There are trip hazards and loose/dodgy railings everywhere along with the usual smashed glass and other detritus. There are also some exposed charging holes (down into the ovens) up on the top platform. Partially obscured by leaves and foliage these could easily trap a leg or worse. That said, most of the access ladders and steps around the site seemed in reasonable condition and I felt safe using them.
I loved my time here and as you can see, rather than spend ages taking photos I concentrated on exploring as much as possible. As a result, and also because of the very bright sunshine that day the photos are not the best.
EDIT
So I had posted up some slightly Photoshop edited photos here but as you can see from the comments below, these quickly fell foul of the Photoshop Police. I was worried that if I left them up on here any longer then I might have received a late night knock on the front door from these people. Stood on the doorstep armed with a set of pink rubber gloves and a warrant to probe the most intimate parts of my hard drive perhaps? So to avoid what would surely have been the most brutal of interrogations, I have now replaced the edited photos with the original unedited examples. Phew, just in time and hopefully I will now be able to sleep at night
Hope you like them (this time)!
View attachment 799079
With only 3.5 hrs free I decided to head directly for the main event, the coking ovens and huge superstructure itself. Access to the site, thanks to some advice from LittleOwl was easy and once inside I was not troubled by dogs, security or anyone else. In fact the only living things to keep me company for the whole explore were the numerous resident birds, occasionally startled by my presence, and an amazing large black fox with a white tip on it's tail that scampered out from the undergrowth ahead of me. I've since found out that these black foxes are really rare apparently yet one of these unusual beasts seems to be living happily inside the Cwm works. It was too fast for a photo unfortunately.
Being a solo explore I was ultra careful about where I went. An accident was not an option. The metallic clanking coming from one of the conveyor cladding above was disturbing at first but I soon settled down to the explore and found the site strangely peaceful and relaxing to walk around. There was what looked like a CCTV camera attached to one of the high conveyors, facing towards the top of the coking ovens so I was careful to try and minimise time spent in this location. I was also planning to climb the tall charge tower but it is clear that the concrete steps up the side of this would have put me in full view of the security office so I decided to not risk it.
The site is very overgrown to the rear and navigating around at first was difficult due to the density of foliage. Pathways of sorts soon appeared though and by the time I had climbed up onto the coking oven superstructure, the higher vantage point soon made the location of everything a lot clearer. The area around the coking ovens was fascinating with rusty metalwork and piping everywhere. The external platforms lead both to the dark and gloomy basements, some of which were flooded, and also up into the large loading/charging tower high above the works.
The site proved to be easy to navigate but plenty of dangers lurked to catch the unwary. There are partially open lift shafts inside the darkness of the huge charging tower. There are numerous holes in floors, some boarded over, some open and some flooded with deep and polluted water. There is some exposed asbestos coming off damaged pipework. There are trip hazards and loose/dodgy railings everywhere along with the usual smashed glass and other detritus. There are also some exposed charging holes (down into the ovens) up on the top platform. Partially obscured by leaves and foliage these could easily trap a leg or worse. That said, most of the access ladders and steps around the site seemed in reasonable condition and I felt safe using them.
I loved my time here and as you can see, rather than spend ages taking photos I concentrated on exploring as much as possible. As a result, and also because of the very bright sunshine that day the photos are not the best.
EDIT
So I had posted up some slightly Photoshop edited photos here but as you can see from the comments below, these quickly fell foul of the Photoshop Police. I was worried that if I left them up on here any longer then I might have received a late night knock on the front door from these people. Stood on the doorstep armed with a set of pink rubber gloves and a warrant to probe the most intimate parts of my hard drive perhaps? So to avoid what would surely have been the most brutal of interrogations, I have now replaced the edited photos with the original unedited examples. Phew, just in time and hopefully I will now be able to sleep at night
Hope you like them (this time)!
View attachment 799079
Last edited:
