Miles is a generous bloke who realises that some of the routes may get used.
However, he will not be leaving ropes and pulleys there!

Miles is a generous bloke who realises that some of the routes may get used.
However, he will not be leaving ropes and pulleys there!

Indeed he is !

Is there an obvious circular route through these ?

Thanks for all the nice words of support guys. Chris said there was a topic on here so I've come on to try to answer some questions which I'll work through shortly 🙂

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To busy thinking up whoppers like this I dare say:

"In fact, large tracts of the route haven’t seen a soul since the 1800’s"

Most pubs receive fewer visitors! ::)

True, but papers love wording like that.

Some sections of the route really haven't been seen since NWSCO's 1899 departure, they required some reasonable bolting effort to open up. Nothing particularly interesting, just empty levels.

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I wonder if this is afiliated to the Zip-world at Bethesda and Blaenau?
Aparently a new underground Zip line course is being built at Llechwedd!

NO (as far as I know.)

No, we've no relation to Zip World. They are building an underground high-ropes course with zip lines yes, I believe it'll be open later in the year. Nothing to do with us though.

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http://www.dailypost.co.uk/business/business-news/zip-world-zip-below-blaenau-8563867 
Plenty of scope for confusion and legal action...

Our new route was always intended to be called Zip Below and we had the presence of mind to register the trade mark months ago. It Is regrettable that ST didn't research this before deciding himself that he'd like that name and announced it to the world. He's been corrected.

No doubt though it'll end up something equally as confusing.

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Highly impressive looking!

But how is Miles going to keep mine explorers off his kit?

Chris.

Where's the fun in that? C'mon, I'm a mine explorer first, business person second :)

In all seriousness, the routes we've opened up through some of the old inaccessible parts of the back vein were created entirely with the recreational explorer in mind as well as us working types.

I quite enjoy watching groups of friends having fun traversing along the entire length of B floor east-to-west, just because you can now.

There is a link to a PNG file posted on this thread that I drew up especially for regular explorers as a guide to where everything is so you can go play. You can now do quite a big round trip through the back vein, seeing pretty much all of it, with cowstails and a zip-line trolley.

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I'm a mine explorer first, business person second :)

I bow to you on that
While your accessible, there is a PM on way to you.

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The free-fall device was not there on my last visit so I can't comment on that until next time. Sounds brown trouserish though....

Do you get to try it before approval
or just watch some other sucker! :lol:

We have a Quick Jump XL machine which we take in with us and hook to the anchors of one of the pitchheads.

Works very simple. The pitch we're using it on at the moment is 15m and basically when you stand at the top, there is just a big loop of rope hanging under you.

You just jump off into the blackness of the big chamber, and completely freefall until the slack-loop comes taught about 7-8 meters down. The brake kicks in then and slows you down hard, so you land slow enough to not go splat.

I had my first go a few days ago, and I have to say it's most terrifying thing I've ever done underground. I've done loads at theme parks, high-ropes centres and climbing walls etc, none of which I found even remotely scary. But jumping from a window into a slate chamber is rather at odds to everything I've taught myself not to do, for most of my adult mine-exploring life :)

People like adrenalin though, and swapping an abseil for a free-fall certainly does that... even if it means I now have to do it regularly and not look scared...

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Cwmorthin will never be a theme park. The toll of the old men will always be respected to the highest degree, it's an honour to work in such an environment and also to be able to show it to other people. The more people (both explorers and our visitors) can see of it the better. It'll always have to be aimed at the more adventurous rather than kids etc, it's just the nature of the environment and I'm not interested in ruining it with smooth floors, gantries and safety barriers just to process more business through the door.

People don't really come to appreciate the mining environment, they are buying a fun day's adventure. But I make sure they all come away knowing plenty about the Victorian slate industry.

Cwmorthin is a very, very *real* place. Just last week I was in there with a group, and after doing some traverses, I got the group to switch their lights off and I lit an old abandoned tallow candle (I know where there are still piles of them!).

Took a minute to burn off the 120 years of damp since it was last lit, but it took. I squished it into a clay ball and got a woman to drill a 1" diameter shot hole in the face with a star-drill and copper mallet, to the pitifully dim glow and the faint aroma of Victorian bacon fat.

She told me nothing she'd ever read, seen on telly or in a museum came close to that experience of what a quarryman or miner really did, how it actually was. Especially when I told her that her shot hole had to be five foot deep by snap time :)

It's amazing for me and certainly the best part of the job, witnessing people really getting into it and taking something away from the day far more than they were expecting.

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What`s the reasoning with the Copper Mallet for striking the drill?

I'm guessing you had to jump through many hoops to satisfy Gwynedd Council planning department to get a 'change of use' to set up this up in Cwmorthin. You must have the patience of a saint to deal with them Miles!

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I'm guessing you had to jump through many hoops to satisfy Gwynedd Council planning department to get a 'change of use' to set up this up in Cwmorthin. You must have the patience of a saint to deal with them Miles!

SNP and N Wales Minerals actually, but as with everything there are always loads of hoops to jump through.

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What`s the reasoning with the Copper Mallet for striking the drill?

Spark? Unsure. I just use one for my drilling and splitting demos. They were probably more commonly Iron back in the day.

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What`s the reasoning with the Copper Mallet for striking the drill?

Spark? Unsure. I just use one for my drilling and splitting demos. They were probably more commonly Iron back in the day.

Suppression of noise, vibration and spark...... But not really an issue when you have a tallow candle buning 6 inches away from the hole. ;)

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Cwmorthin will never be a theme park. The toll of the old men will always be respected to the highest degree, it's an honour to work in such an environment and also to be able to show it to other people. The more people (both explorers and our visitors) can see of it the better. It'll always have to be aimed at the more adventurous rather than kids etc, it's just the nature of the environment and I'm not interested in ruining it with smooth floors, gantries and safety barriers just to process more business through the door.

People don't really come to appreciate the mining environment, they are buying a fun day's adventure. But I make sure they all come away knowing plenty about the Victorian slate industry.

Cwmorthin is a very, very *real* place. Just last week I was in there with a group, and after doing some traverses, I got the group to switch their lights off and I lit an old abandoned tallow candle (I know where there are still piles of them!).

Took a minute to burn off the 120 years of damp since it was last lit, but it took. I squished it into a clay ball and got a woman to drill a 1" diameter shot hole in the face with a star-drill and copper mallet, to the pitifully dim glow and the faint aroma of Victorian bacon fat.

She told me nothing she'd ever read, seen on telly or in a museum came close to that experience of what a quarryman or miner really did, how it actually was. Especially when I told her that her shot hole had to be five foot deep by snap time :)

It's amazing for me and certainly the best part of the job, witnessing people really getting into it and taking something away from the day far more than they were expecting.

We have the same approach at Carrs Mine, Nenthead. Hammer and jumper really gets people gripped...must add the candle idea..

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I like Carrs Level :)

Are you busy with it?

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Last year we had once a month public days - usually got around 30 visitors on average. Also took private groups at other times. All the guides are volunteers and one of our team bakes cakes. The donations cover our costs and more..

Demand is there for more open days but we would be in danger of exhausting our volunteer goodwill if we opened more.

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I quite enjoy watching groups of friends having fun traversing along the entire length of B floor east-to-west, just because you can now.

Well we certainly appreciate it Miles. And hopefully we can help a little by pointing folks to your website when they ask about things to do in the area.

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To get the right effect (other than atmospheric) I hope you made them wait 15 mins or so with the lit candle for their eyes to adapt - it's amazing just how much you can see by candle light!

One of these days, I'm going to bring my daughter and her fiancee to see Cwmorthin - before they get too immersed in college work.

All power to your elbow Miles, for doing all this, and in the right way.

Grahami

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