Report - Penrhyn-gwyn Slate Quarry (Wales, Nov, 2021)

[urbanchemist]

Another slate quarry/mine in the Mawddach area, from when I got stuck down there by Storm Arwen.

As usual for these small places there isn’t a great deal of information available and no underground pictures.
According to Coflein it once had several underground areas, but probably wasn’t very productive, closing around 1900.
It’s easy to get to, being pretty much on a footpath up to Cadair Idris, a well known walking destination.

A couple of water-related things on the way up.
A water wheel at the end of someone’s shed - it doesn’t look like it connected to the inside.

Inlet pipe for a water turbine - my little heart beat slightly faster.

But no turbine - this may be where it lived.

Now approaching the quarry we have the remains of a mill with the waste tips behind.

Incline, with a ruined drum house at the top.

Some more ruins a bit further along.

Into the only interesting underground bit.
The access tunnel is quite long, leading to half a dozen modest-sized chambers.
There are also several short trial tunnels heading in different directions, but no ‘artefacts’ whatsoever.

Further up near some waterfalls is what looked at first sight like another underground bit.

But this turned out to be just a short access tunnel to the bottom of an open pit higher up.
It ends in a pile of rocks but there’s enough space to squeeze up and emerge on the floor of the quarry.

Looking back down into the quarry, probably the oldest part of the site.

View back over the waste tips.
The lumpy hill on the skyline has another slate quarry on the far side, with the Golwern/Henddol quarries out of sight to the left.

 

[TheJungleBeast]

Great pics dude

 

[wormster]

Nice one, not seen that quarry in moons.

 

[CantClimbTom]

Urban chemist, this is exactly what I enjoy about this site, pure slate-porn.

Sadly due to domestic circumstances I'm not getting out much at the moment and this is exactly where I'd rather be, so living vicariously through your most excellent pics!

Was the 3rd underground pic taken by yourself remote or time delay? If it was a solo trip that's an excellent pic! Greatly enjoyed the report.

 

[urbanchemist]

Urban chemist, this is exactly what I enjoy about this site, pure slate-porn.

Sadly due to domestic circumstances I'm not getting out much at the moment and this is exactly where I'd rather be, so living vicariously through your most excellent pics!

Was the 3rd underground pic taken by yourself remote or time delay? If it was a solo trip that's an excellent pic! Greatly enjoyed the report.

That pic was a 20 second delay (the longest my old camera seems to do), scuttle off and wave the torch around. Looks like I left something to light the foreground a bit too.

 

[jezzyboo]

mint photos there opened up in to a fair size as well

 

[NastyNeasden]

Hi Urban Chemist. Thanks for the posting and for the memories it triggered. Me and a couple of colleagues fitted that corrugated tubing into the entrance in the early eighties, although the gate looks different and probably replaced the timber one that we fitted. We were all based at the Outward Bound School at the time and using quite a few slate mines in the area for our groups, and were always on the look out for new ones. This was one of the mines we used to explore as staff initially, as it was near to the Ty Nant campsite and we often had spare time waiting for groups to arrive. We eventually invited a retired mine manager from either Corris or Aberllefenni, to do a safety survey with us, and he gave it the thumbs up from a that perspective (apart from this entrance). He recommended the forestry drain tubing which we duly installed and locked, at the request of the landowner. For a time we did take groups in there, including overnight stays (not Underground Glamping by any means, but great fun). We didn't have the cameras and flash guns to photograph it then but I do recognise some of the shots, and the chamber with the person stood in was the one we slept in I think, as it was quite dry.

As I recall, there was a short upper series that also went off from one of the chambers which we 'rediscovered' and explored. It was right in front of our eyes but easy to miss and involved a short climb. From memory it then went via a short crawl into to some other chambers and in the other direction to a collapsed adit which we thought came out somewhere near to the stream. I recall that as being a bit shaky, so not to be used with our students but I will now have to go back and revisit it sometime. Cheers Richard

 

[urbanchemist]

Hi Urban Chemist. Thanks for the posting and for the memories it triggered. Me and a couple of colleagues fitted that corrugated tubing into the entrance in the early eighties, although the gate looks different and probably replaced the timber one that we fitted. We were all based at the Outward Bound School at the time and using quite a few slate mines in the area for our groups, and were always on the look out for new ones. This was one of the mines we used to explore as staff initially, as it was near to the Ty Nant campsite and we often had spare time waiting for groups to arrive. We eventually invited a retired mine manager from either Corris or Aberllefenni, to do a safety survey with us, and he gave it the thumbs up from a that perspective (apart from this entrance). He recommended the forestry drain tubing which we duly installed and locked, at the request of the landowner. For a time we did take groups in there, including overnight stays (not Underground Glamping by any means, but great fun). We didn't have the cameras and flash guns to photograph it then but I do recognise some of the shots, and the chamber with the person stood in was the one we slept in I think, as it was quite dry.

As I recall, there was a short upper series that also went off from one of the chambers which we 'rediscovered' and explored. It was right in front of our eyes but easy to miss and involved a short climb. From memory it then went via a short crawl into to some other chambers and in the other direction to a collapsed adit which we thought came out somewhere near to the stream. I recall that as being a bit shaky, so not to be used with our students but I will now have to go back and revisit it sometime. Cheers Richard

Yes, there is a bit, up on the left I think, with a length of rope coming down but I didn't try to scramble up.

 

[NastyNeasden]

Thanks for replying. I used to be a low grade climber in those days, so I think we just free climbed up to where the rope is now, but it is good to know upper part is there and not just a befuddled memory. Like you, I was surprised at the lack of artefacts in the mine but given the relative cost of tools and materials in those days, not unexpected I suppose.

I have recently started mine exploration once again after a long break due to kids and career. I have been delighted to discover how many people are interested in this part of our heritage and am currently working my way through the local mines up here in Cumbria. My aim is to revisit North and Mid Wales soon and I will post my findings and photos here. My tick list in that neck of the woods includes the ones we used when at OB and the smaller mines we explored as staff - the names Ratgoed, Hendre Ddu, Corris Uchaf, Friog, Bryneglwys etc., all spring to mind. Cheers