Is that the one where you arrive at a nasty bit of false flooring and a long drop to water?
Also seem remember an old stone enclosure quite near it.

thats the gated adit as i remember. The open stope above the bunk house is dry but i have'nt made it to the bottom yet

http://www.hendrecoed.org.uk/wms/newsletter/69.pdf 

Dave

thats the gated adit as i remember. The open stope above the bunk house is dry but i have'nt made it to the bottom yet

Cannot remember a gate (late 80s) but it was definitely the one in this image.
[photo]417[/photo]

Also seem to remember it was clearly visible from Dinorwic but not so easy to spot from the lake road.

We went into some workings here.
Parked in the lay-by at the end of the lake and went up past the obvious red tips.
Entering some small workings up to the right which were just a small jumble that you could scramble through.
(Sorry but that is my best description.)

The next day both of us had blisters on our arms (just tee shirts!)
Chemical burns from something there that took a long time to heal., but we never went back to investigate.

Any ideas what burnt us?

There has been a recent exploration by CAT, JonK has been kind enough to upload pictures, of special interest is one of the Engine Shaft at adit level on north lode.

The route was a descent of the open workings high up but immediately above the hut. It was described as extremely dangerous due to deadwork supported by nothing which you had to abseil past, this is from memory of Jons account. If he reads this can you please give us an accurate description Jon.

I have seen a photo of Jons of the north lode adit portal just inside the entrance which is buried under scree at the side of the lake. It is stone arched and must be set in the base of the very high retaining wall supporting the road above. It is also dry and a bit muddy.
The Engine Shaft may have been pumped by flat rods running inbye up this adit. How they were actuated mystifies me. Jons photos shows rollers set in the side of the level which implies to me a wire rope. This system was used at Temple Mine in mid Wales where wire rope was combined with iron flat rods to pump from a waterwheel just outside of the adit.

South lode is descended from the level high above the lay-by and is not too bad, exit is prevented by the grill.

I was with Jon on the Sunday of his weekend exploration. North Lode had been done on the Saturday, this being the one I was especially interested in, and he would not go back as he considered it too dangerous. Jons opinions should be taken seriously, he knows what he is doing.

I was going to accompany them down through South Lode but had difficulty getting into one of the pitches with all the bloody kit of camera, flashes, tripod and kitchen sink, so turned back.

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Sulphuric acid from the decomposition of pyrrhotite - those red tips at Llanberis are full of that mineral! The water at Cwmrheidol No.9 can affect those with sensitive skin too.

Thanks John
That's what we suspected at the time.

I have seen a photo of Jons of the north lode adit portal just inside the entrance which is buried under scree at the side of the lake. It is stone arched and must be set in the base of the very high retaining wall supporting the road above. It is also dry and a bit muddy.

Please excuse quoting myself but have found copy of the photo. Its not dry, there is a few inches of water and studying it, the water appears slightly deeper towards the camera position which is inbye. It must be shallower towards the entrance due to run in, a figure is stooping slightly.

I cannot upload the photo without Jons permission but the level is stone arched for about 10 or 12 feet from the portal inbye, and then horizontal slabs supported by heavy block packwalls. In other words it was made up by cut and cover.

Outside there is a substantial height from the top off the scree slope to the road level so I would say that the road was widened in later years by building up the retaining wall and increasing height by filling with waste rock from blasting out the increased width of a new road.

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Hi Roy

Give me a couple of days and I'll get something together.

Jon

Ti's a lovely mine. Not been in for a long tome mind. Would love to see more photos!

Any idea who owns it?

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'Acid burns'? Nearby Glynrhonwy Slate Quarry was used as a WW2 ammo store. It is known that Mustard Gas bombs and shells were stored there.

Indeed, there was a Mustard Gas bomb / shell filling and maintenance facility on the shore of Padarn below the quarry. The old buildings are still there on the left as you approach Llanberis from Cwm y Glo.

I can remember RN destroyers in Port Penrhyn in the late 50's - they were taking dodgy bombs and shells from the bomb store to be dumped in the Beaufort Dyke between Scotland and N Ireland. It's known that Mustard Gas shells / bombs were amongst the consignment. It was the 1970's before Glynrhonwy was finally emptied of its horrors.

It's not beyond the realms of possibility that dodgy shells / bombs or off-spec Mustard (Runcol or Pyro) was dumped down a convenient, close-by abandoned mineshaft in those far off days before elf'n safety...

Take care around Glynrhonwy of the copper mine just in case!

Clive

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As it happens it was not uncommon to find incendiary bombs in the slate quarries above glynrhonwy. Hard to find now though. Most of them went onto bonfires, dangerous but amazing fun. I suggest that if this you find one, bury it. They are totally inactive if left alone.

As it happens it was not uncommon to find incendiary bombs in the slate quarries above glynrhonwy. Hard to find now though....

Found these a few years back when the Thursday Nighters spent a few weeks scouring Glynrhonwy Uchaf and Glynrhonwy Isaf....

🔗74775[linkphoto]74775[/linkphoto][/link]

All sorts of debris lying around but it's been a good few years (late '80s?) since I saw anything "whole" still lying around there. Tread lightly folks.... KABOOM! :lol:

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Roy I have uploaded a few photographs. I will add some notes tomorrow.

Thanks for the photos, really nice to see.

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Found a mortar-shell up by Cregennen (N side of Cadair Idris) in late 2015 - badly corroded and shoved under a large boulder. It was quickly sorted through official channels following previous experience with such matters. Years ago Simon Hughes and I did a lot of excavation work at Van prior to the reclamation and I found this strange metal object that looked just like a very big pestle (as in pestle and mortar). It rolled around in the cab of the mini digger I was driving and then took up residence in the back of my Landy for a few weeks, until one afternoon when Si decided to give it a clean. It turned out to be a spigot-bomb in excellent condition. I can still see the constable's face as Si walked into the office unscrewing it to explain how it worked! But we never did find the white phosphorous bombs at Van. That bit of luck befell a later contractor and he was most fortunate to disturb an outlier: nearby there were many in equally good nick, as the Hereford boys discovered. Bloody Home Guard leaving litter around....

I recall pulling an aluminium cylinder out of the sand on a Scottish beach some years ago, and realising that there were the remains of fins and a ring of yellow paint on it. At this point I slid it gently back into the sand; a look at a Coastguard poster in the pub later showed it to be a phosphorus bomb!:o

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Thanks for uploading the photos Jon. But some questions.

The arched section where Mark is standing in the adit on North Lode, (western workings), Jon do you feel that this could be the portal.? I think it is.

The engine shaft in the same workings. Any idea how it could have been pumped?
Was the engine shaft straight up to day or did it end in one of the upper levels?

I note that the rollers are in the adit on South Lode (eastern workings). I find this odd. Any sign of a rising main or whatever going down through the (now flooded) stopes?

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How deep do you think the engine shaft would be below the free drainage horizon? Does the mine have a big make? Be a nice summer project to drain it out.

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