Cwmystwyth Mines trips 16/05/2021 and 12/11/2022

Unless otherwise stated, camera, setups, lighting, edits and gallery effects by Tarquin. Modelling and lighting at various points will be Gary Mitchell, Jules Carter, Dan Thorne, Gareth Davies and Steph Andrews.

Cwmystwith is undoubtedly one of the biggest sites for mine exploration in Wales. Mining began in 2100 BCE, but the main era was 1693 to 1925, primarily mining lead and silver, but also some zinc. The most famous mines date from the later 1700s. The site is now maintained by a trust who have a map of the entrances and buildings on their site. In total, there are around 60 entrances in the valley around the village of Cwmystwyth, with most visitors seeing Level Fawr. Instead, we visited some impressive but less popular mines around Nant yr Onnen, at the eastern end of the site. This is a huge place, and we explored many mines, so this is a very big gallery. Yes, I could split it up, no I am not going to. This was an incredible day out (thanks Gary!) and it deserves the gallery.

Unfortunately, my aging camera's battery ran out of juice out part way through this trip, and so I have only an incomplete set of the last mine. Dan has kindly allowed me to publish his pictures from the trip to complete the gallery (thanks Dan!). After the trip, I recharged the camera to allow me to take the surface photographs once everyone else had left. However, my camera then developed a fault that caused it not to save the pictures. As a result, I again lost a bunch of photos, and went up and down the road a couple of time to retake them before finally getting the camera to work. This was a frustrating experience, and the camera will soon be retired.

1. Edge of the Desert Of Wales, the Elenydd plateau, near the Teifi Pools.
2. Nant Lledwenau, at the edge of the Hafod Forest, near Pont-rhyd-y-groes.
3. Colours of the leaves.
4. The south side of the Cwmystwyth valley is home to the South Cwmystwyth Mine, with 8 entrances.
5. Remains of a building at the western end of the mines (site 008 on the map).
6. A long row of buildings without windows (site 068 on the map).
7. The same row from the top. These look like terraced houses, but were in fact a single enormous building with 4 floors (and windows higher up).
8. View over the western end of the valley, with the two buildings and South Cwmystwyth Mine visible.
9. A relatively tall building (site 067), which was probably Pugh's building. It looks like it might have once housed a waterwheel on one side, but that is more likely to have just been a staircase.
10. The nearby Pugh's Adit (site 022).
11. The outflow from Pugh's Adit, with a flow gauge. At a guess, someone has been analysing the water quality here too, since it seems to produce a lot of metal minerals, particularly iron.
12. Huge tips lining the road, with what appears to be dressing floors down by the river. This is a very photogenic place when it's not raining.
13. The main buildings (from left to right, sites 066, 065, 064 and 069). These were still standing in the 1980s. The largest of these was an enormous mill, originally brick built, but later corrugated iron.
14. Bricked ore chute in the mill.
15. The remaining wooden structure of the chute.
16. The upper part of the chute.
17. Rear structures of the mill.
18. Water powered mill (site 064), with its obvious wheel pit.
19. What appears to be office buildings (site 066).
20. View from the top of the tips towards the eastern end of the valley, with the main buildings in the foreground.
21. Pugh's Shaft (site 001), which looks dramatic from below, but less impressive from beside it.
22. Now heading eastwards. Kingside Shaft, with what appears to be a dumped stolen car.
23. This is an impressive structure for a shaft, so perhaps it was an engine house or pump house.
24. The lower portion of Nant y Gwaith, where the stream runs between tips and tailings.
25. Office buildings at Nant y Gwaith (site 063).
26. The Nant y Gwaith has a lot of waterfalls with an impressive total height, but there is nowhere where they can all be seen at once. From here, you can see the bottom and top, so I scrambled up the gorse covered hummock in front, which was stupidly difficult, as the gorse was hiding a loose slope of spoil.
27. Waterfalls part way up Nant y Gwaith.
28. Some of the falls higher up. There are about 10 mine entrances in this picture alone, all clustered next to the stream.
29. Level Fawr's entrance, a mine with some well preserved heritage, making it by far the most popular one on site.
30. The way in is through that little tube, which passes through a collapse.
31. The western end of the Cwmystwyth Mines area, showing off the scenic valley. Nant yr Onnen is at the left edge of the photograph, and Cross Road Adit is at the right edge. Modelling by Jules, Gary, Dan and Gareth
32. The neatly bricked entrance to Cross Road Adit (site 056).
33. The start of the adit has a beautiful dry stone arch. Modelling by Gareth, lighting by Tarquin, Sol and Gareth
34. The stonework then gives way to deads stacked on timbers. Beautifully done, but much less comfortable. Modelling by Gareth, lighting by Tarquin and Gareth
35. Fortunately, the mine reverts to much better rock, and from this direction, the ceiling looks lovely, even if it is something you don't want to stand under for too long. Modelling by Dan and Gary, lighting by Tarquin, Dan, Gary and Sol
36. We pass an invisible side passage (actually we went there first, but the mine makes more sense this way, so shhh!) and continue down the main route. Modelling by Gareth, Gary and Jules, lighting by Tarquin, Gareth, Gary and Jules
37. A pair of boots left in the adit. They appear to be a modern pair of Dr. Martens, and are out of place here. Also, who leaves their boots behind?
38. And a pair of leather gloves. These also do not look very old, and are far too nice for a mine worker.
39. At a junction, the floor is missing, and we cross a hole by standing on very old wooden boards. To the left, a side passage starts as a ledge beside the hole Modelling by Gary, Jules and Dan, lighting by Tarquin, Gary, Jules and Dan
40. The hole drops into deep water, where the lode has been extensively stoped out. The exact depth is not known, but let's just go with "very", since the water is clear, and the bottom cannot be seen. It seems to continue underwater back under the junction, and off the other side. It has almost certainly been stoped out below the camera too.
41. The side passage is lined with a thick wall of stacked waste rock. Modelling by Gareth, Gary, Jules and Dan, lighting by Tarquin, Gareth, Gary, Jules and Dan
42. The deads then start overhead. They seem to be holding up well enough here, but that is a lot of rock on very old timber. Modelling by Jules and Dan, lighting by Tarquin, Jules and Dan
43. Up ahead, the deads have collapsed, and the passage is blocked. A lot of passage is hidden behind that collapse, but the later part of it can be accessed from the upper level. Note the railway sleepers on the floor.
44. To the right from the junction, the passage climbs rubble up to a tall stope. The stope seems to connect to the upper level.
45. The passage then desends to water with stemples. It is at this moment that you realise the rubble underfoot is almost certainly supported on a false floor, over the top of that flooded stope, and parts of it have already collapsed. So you carefully return to the junction. Lighting by Tarquin, Dan and Gary
46. Continuing ahead from the junction along the main passage. Modelling by Dan, lighting by Tarquin and Dan
47. Railway sleepers in the main passage Lighting by Tarquin and Dan
48. What appears to be an old crowbar. Lighting by Tarquin and Dan
49. The next junction is at a crawl. To the left, a scamble up leads to a stope, where a rope (near the camera) accesses the upper level. This leads to a crossroads; to the left leads to the top of the earlier stope. Ahead reaches day at Top Cross Adit (site 057) if you can squeeze around a boulder in the entrance. To the right ends, but a side passage enters a stope where a shaft drops into the last part of the collapsed passage from earlier. The second rope (that Jules is trying to free climb) leads to a short middle level that ends in a chamber. Modelling by Jules and Gareth, lighting by Tarquin, Jules and Gareth
50. From the junction, the passage ahead is accessed via a flat out crawl over backfill.
51. A fairly long and featureless passage, presumably a crosscut searching for veins. Miners backfill passages to save the effort of taking the waste stone to surface. For some reason though, they only bother to backfill the first few metres, wasting a huge amount of potential stacking space. The good side of it is that this passage is walking sized.
52. The featureless passage ends at a blank wall.
53. To the right at the junction, the passage immediately splits again. The left branch ends quickly.
54. The passage to the right is the main way on, passing beneath some supports for deads. Modelling by Jules, lighting by Tarquin and Jules
55. Passing below the deads' supports. Possibly they have fallen, but it is more likely that the miners gave up before stacking them properly. Modelling by Dan, lighting by Tarquin and Dan
56. Pit props, which seem to serve very little purpose. Modelling by Gareth and Gary, lighting by Tarquin, Gareth and Gary
57. The passage beyond the props. Modelling by Dan, Gareth and Gary, lighting by Tarquin, Dan, Gareth and Gary
58. Admiring graffiti at the end of the passage Modelling by Dan, Gareth and Gary, lighting by Tarquin, Dan, Gareth, Gary and Jules
59. Back at the invisible side passage near the entrance, we climbed up into it. It starts out quite uninspiring, but with a healthy dose of fresh air. Modelling by Gareth, lighting by Tarquin and Gareth
60. The side passage. Modelling by Gareth, lighting by Tarquin and Gareth
61. White crystal growth, probably hydrozincite.
62. The side passage has a short side passage of its own. This runs parallel to the main passage, heading towards the end of the main passage. Modelling by Gareth, lighting by Tarquin and Gareth
63. Shothole in the side passage's side passage.
64. The side passage's side passage ends abruptly.
65. The main side passage reaches a junction. To the right pinches out in mud fill. Modelling by Gareth, lighting by Tarquin and Gareth
66. The passage ahead chokes beneath the Nant yr Onnen stream, but is pointing towards Penguelan Shaft (site 025).
67. The passage to the left is the most impressive, passing through a stope to reach a window. Modelling by Jules, lighting by Tarquin and Jules
68. The window looks out over a stope, with a platform of ancient timbers, and a tiny ledge leading into another passage. This apparently ends quickly. Modelling by Dan, lighting by Tarquin and Dan
69. The stope below the window lands in very deep water. Modelling by Dan, lighting by Tarquin and Dan
70. Descending into the first stope to reach the bottom of the second. Modelling by Dan and Jules, lighting by Tarquin, Dan and Jules
71. Hydrozincite on the junction of the stopes.
72. From here, the stope looks nice enough. Modelling by Jules, lighting by Tarquin and Jules
73. The floor of the stope suddenly falls away into very deep water. We could see about 15 metres, but it looked like it continued much further. The floor under our feet was hollow too. Modelling by Jules, lighting by Tarquin and Jules
74. Stemples can be seen disappearing into the distance. Modelling by Steph, lighting by Tarquin and Steph
75. The boulder jammed underneath the window. It is clearly just sitting on the top of a pile of deads, stacked on a false floor in the top of the flooded stope. Modelling by Jules, lighting by Tarquin and Jules
76. We returned to surface and headed into Nant yr Onnen. Modelling by Gary
77. The whole of Nant yr Onnen is a series of waterfalls. No single section is big enough to make my list, but it is pretty nevertheless. There had been heavy rain showers for the last few days, and the stream is in spate right now. It will look less dramatic in normal conditions.
78. Pengeulan Shaft and Level (site 025) below a large tip and a small building. The last choke in Cross Road Adit ends under the left bank here.
79. The ruined building.
80. View back over the Ystwyth. The highest point visible is about 550 metres. The waterfall is Nant Cwm-du Falls, and is one of the tallest single drops in the area at 36 metres, with the total drop being about 60 metres. Modelling by Dan, Jules and Gareth
81. Burrels No. 2 Adit (site 011). Modelling by Jules, Gary and Gareth's arm
82. Freeman's Adit (site 014).
83. The middle part of the stream has some much better waterfalls, and the next mines we will visit are just before the waterfalls. Modelling by Gareth Jules and Dan
84. Site 015, a very obvious opening on the bank of the stream.
85. It is very short indeed. But it's a caving trip, right? Modelling by Gareth, lighting by Sol and Gareth
86. The entrance to Alderson's Deep Trial (site 016). Modelling by Jules and Dan
87. The start of the adit has enough water that there is no chance of keeping your feet dry.
88. At least your voice gets to keep its normal pitch. Modelling by Gareth, lighting by Tarquin, Sol and Gareth
89. The walls of the mines are covered with large, dead flies. The wings really look like a caddisfly, but it is such an odd way for them to die. The wooden peg, incidentally, is used to hold things on the wall, such as ventilation pipes or wires. Modelling by Murray, lighting by Tarquin and Gary
90. The adit ends without any fun features. Totally worth getting soaked. Modelling by Gareth and Jules, lighting by Tarquin, Gareth and Jules
91. Looking out to day from the end. Modelling by Gary, lighting by Tarquin, Jules, Gary and Sol
92. An unidentified moth, and another dead fly. The moth looks very similar to a pale phase twin spot quaker (Anorthoa munda), where the spots are almost completely invisible. However, there are so many moth species that I don't stand much of a chance identifying it conclusively from this picture. Modelling by Seth and Martin, lighting by Tarquin and Jules
93. Our route then became a scramble up the waterfalls. Modelling by Jules, Gary, Gareth and Dan
94. It is really slippery close to the stream. Modelling by Jules, Gareth, Gary and Dan
95. This is significantly harder than anything in the mines themselves. Modelling by Steph
96. A little too steep to scramble in the water. Modelling by Gareth, Jules, Dan and Gary
97. Sunlit algae. Modelling by Steph
98. The final scramble. In total, we gained about 20 metres of height in this set of waterfalls. Modelling by Gareth and Jules
99. At the top of the set, it continues as a waterslide - at least while it is in spate. Normally this would just be a little stream. There was a valliant effort to have me put this one on my waterfall lists since it could be treated as a really long waterfall. I was tempted, but no. It is a stream here, not a waterfall. Because I say so, and I wrote the list. Yep. Modelling by Dan, Jules and Gary
100. The entrance to Alderson's Adit (site 022), the start of the really impressive set of mines.
101. It is gated enough to keep the general public out. Note that healthy flow of water. We would get pretty well acquainted with that water soon. Modelling by Gary
102. The adit had originally been walled off, but a hole was made to allow access. Modelling by Gary, lighting by Tarquin and Gary
103. The pipes were installed to allow the water to flow though, but they became blocked with silt, and the hole was made in the wall to allow the problem to be fixed.
104. The early passage in Alderson's Adit, with banks of sediment, and a visible old water line. Modelling by Gareth and Gary, lighting by Tarquin, Gareth and Gary
105. A pair of herald moths. Modelling by Sam and Rory
106. Herald moth. Modelling by Scud
107. The junction, where the stream comes from the main way on to the right. Modelling by Gareth and Gary, lighting by Tarquin, Gareth and Gary
108. The passage ahead is a crosscut, which never intersects anything interesting, but it is still worth a look. Modelling by Gareth, lighting by Tarquin, Gareth and Gary
109. Wooden posts again, which appear to have been used for tying wire around.
110. The formations begin. In iron mines, these are affectionately called rusticles. Modelling by Gareth, lighting by Tarquin and Gareth
111. They look like flowstone with manganese staining, but they are completely different, made from a much softer substance - they squish or crumble if you touch them.
112. A little bit of colour.
113. The floor looks like an oil slick. Either that or someone tripped while carrying the paints for a goth's bedroom.
114. Colours of the floor.
115. Beyond the formations. Modelling by Steph, lighting by Tarquin and Steph
116. Purple and black cave pearls.
117. Multi-coloured cave pearls.
118. Just a hint of colour.
119. Black stalactite at the end of the passage.
120. The main branch of the mine. Modelling by Dan, Gary, Gareth and Jules, lighting by Tarquin, Dan, Gary, Gareth and Jules
121. Hydrozincite formations at the corner. At this point, we seem to pick up the main vein. Modelling by Dan, lighting by Tarquin and Dan.
122. The stoping begins, with a forest of stemples. Modelling by Gary, Gareth and Jules, lighting by Tarquin, Gary, Gareth and Jules
123. The stemples high up support a false floor of deads. Oh joy. It is hard to see if there is a solid roof above that, or just another false floor. Lighting by Tarquin and Dan
124. Returning temporarily to solid ceiling. Modelling by Dan, Gary and Gareth, lighting by Tarquin, Dan, Gary, Gareth and Jules
125. Beautifully coloured minerals. Possibly hydrozincite, ochre and manganese. But there is every chance that they are something else. Modelling by Dan, lighting by Tarquin and Dan
126. The big stope starts, with thick stemples, the ceiling soaring out of sight, and the reverberating sound of a waterfall. Modelling by Dan, lighting by Tarquin and Dan
127. The water pours in from over 20 metres up, filling the passage completely. One of the most electrifying things I have ever seen in a mine. Modelling by Gary and Gareth, lighting by Tarquin, Dan, Jules, Gary and Gareth
128. There is no getting away from it, the way on is to put up your hood and walk through it. Modelling by Gareth, lighting by Tarquin, Gary, Jules, Gareth and Dan
129. One by one. Modelling by Gary, lighting by Tarquin, Jules, Gary, Gareth and Dan
130. The stope then lowers afterwards. Those stemples look quite pointless. Modelling by Dan, lighting by Tarquin and Dan
131. Formations at the end of the passage. Again, white is likely to be hydrozincite, black might be manganese, yellow or orange might be iron oxide, such as various ochres.
132. Formations.
133. Formations.
134. Formations. Modelling by Gareth and Gary, lighting by Tarquin, Gareth and Gary
135. Formations.
136. Formations. Modelling by Tarquin's toes
137. The formations are not only soft, some are also gooey, quite like snot or other mucus. If you touch these, they wobble and return back to their old shape. They are called "snottites", and are made from bacteria. In the mines, these are more often seen as a white dribble hanging from the ceiling by little dribbly threads, usually glistening with water droplets.
138. Formations.
139. Formations.
140. Formations. Totally worth the soaking.
141. We return to surface and head further up the stream, where the cascades continue. Modelling by Dan and parts of Gary
142. Remains of what appears to be a small hearth and chimney opposite Herbert's Adit.
143. The main Herbert's Adit (site 017), on the same side of the stream as before, with a small stream pouring out.
144. Another gate with a similar approach.
145. Another wall, another hole. Modelling by Dan, lighting by Tarquin and Dan
146. Crosscut passage. Modelling by Dan, lighting by Tarquin and Dan
147. The stope starts as soon as it hits the lode. To the left, a waterfall showers in. Modelling by Gareth, Jules, Dan and Gary, lighting by Tarquin, Gareth, Jules, Dan and Gary
148. Source of the waterfall. Except of course, this is not a waterfall, any more than this is a cave. It's all artificial.
149. Why is this wood leaning across the passage, and why is there a tiny stone wall? Modelling by Gary, lighting by Tarquin, Gareth, Jules, Dan and Gary
150. To remind you that the floor ... is not a floor. This is a false floor of wooden boards resting on rotten stemples, above a very deep stope filled with water. Through the gaps between the boards, we could see several metres down, but could not see the bottom. This must sit above the stopes in Alderson's Adit, and yet it holds water. Modelling by Gareth, lighting by Tarquin and Gareth
151. The cap seems to be only over a shaft, but there really is no way to know if it continues like that under the rubble. Modelling by Steph, lighting by Tarquin and Steph
152. We followed the passage to the end. There is no reliable and safe way to know if it ever gains a solid floor, so the entire way we stood uncomfortaby near the walls, trying to reduce the leverage on the stemples. Modelling by Gary, lighting by Tarquin, Dan, Jules, Gareth and Gary
153. To the right, the stoping continues. Not particularly high. Modelling by Gary, Dan and Jules, lighting by Tarquin, Gary, Dan and Jules
154. The floor in this direction definitely looks solid, but there are stopes under here with what appear to be wooden ceilings, so there is a chance that parts of this floor are false. Don't worry, just ignore it. Modelling by Gary and Dan, lighting by Tarquin, Gary and Dan
155. The grandure of Herbert's Stope starts. This is the most impressive space in any of these mines, and worth every bit of the effort to reach it. Modelling by Dan, Jules and Gareth, lighting by Tarquin, Dan, Jules, Gareth and the evil day star
156. Herbert's Stope. Modelling by Steph, lighting by Tarquin, Steph and Sol
157. Hydrozincite formations on the wall.
158. Base of Herbert's Shaft, at the start of the stope. This is about 30 metres tall, and looks every bit as natural as a Yorkshire pothole.
159. Racks of deads above the walkway, each of which supports many tonnes of rock. The stemples still look fairly good, thankfully. The rows of stemples above them form layer upon layer of potential stacks of deads, climbing ever higher up the stope. The top of the stope cannot be seen from here, but is about 35 metres up. One of the most awe inspiring places under Mid Wales. Modelling by Jules and Gareth, lighting by Tarquin, Dan, Gary, Jules, Gareth and Sol
160. The water showes in from the top of the stope, and flows out through a hole in the floor, below the shelves of deads. Modelling by Dan, lighting by Tarquin, Dan and Sol
161. The water pouring in at the top of the stope.
162. The water flowing out through the hole in the floor. This is the top of the waterfall seen in Alderson's Adit.
163. Under the deads. Modelling by Dan, Gary and Gareth, lighting by Tarquin, Dan, Gary, Gareth, Jules and Sol
164. Under the deads. Lucky the wood is still strong, eh? Modelling by Steph, lighting by Tarquin and Steph
165. Water pouring in from above.
166. Base of the "waterfall". There is a short stub of passage behind it.
167. Deep water at the end. There appears to be a way on under that rotting basket of deads, but none of us trusted it enough to check it out. Apparently it ends almost immediately.
168. We headed back out, then up the stream past some building remains. The fence up on the right is around Bonsall's Adit (site 003), while site 032 is a collapsed adit up to the left of the buildings. Modelling by Gareth, Dan, Gary and Jules
169. Bonsall's Adit, or at least the collapsed remains of it.
170. Galena at Bonsall's Adit. This is what the lead ore looks like, once all the good bits have been removed. Modelling by portions of Tarquin, Gareth and Jules
171. Herbert's Shaft (site 018) has a very substantial fence around it. The shaft is almost invisible in the gorse, and is 30 metres deep.
172. The top of Herbert's Stope, just as impressive from here as it is from the bottom. The stream is natural, and falls about 45 metres to the bottom of the stope. The fall itself is all artificial, a stope that reached surface. The rock bridge is clearly a false floor, so standing there is ... interesting. The stope is fenced off. Modelling by Dan
173. The false floor, which used to lead onwards into the stope. Modelling by Jules
174. The less well constructed part of the floor has fallen in, and is no longer accessible.
175. The ledge of rocks, sitting on logs, above a 35 metre deep hole. Modelling by Jules and Gareth
176. Examining the lead flecks on the wall of the stope, on the far side of the false floor. Modelling by Gary
177. Lead flecks.
178. Small tortoiseshell butterfly. Modelling by Pili-pala
179. High in the top of the stope, 35 metres above the floor, is a ledge of deads, poised and ready for action.
180. Above Herbert's Stope, the stream continues, with more waterfalls, and a few more mines.
181. Distant view of Bryn Dafydd (568 metres) and Trawsallt (over 570 metres), part of Waun Claerddu, on the other side of the valley. The highest part of the moor cannot be seen.
182. Returning down the valley. The fenced enclosures on the left are King's Adit (site 005) and site 029. In the valley fold on the right are Day Level (site 010) and Jackilas Adit (site 026). Modelling by Gary
183. Below King's Adit, the little valley passes through site 011 at the stone wall.
184. The next fence below is site 009 and Queen's Adit.
185. Site 009 makes a lot of noise, which is caused by a stream dribbling in through the ceiling. It can be seen falling into a narrow gap. The water emerges at the path below.
186. The entrance to Queen's Adit.
187. Descending the Queen's Adit Tip Modelling by Dan, Gareth and Gary
188. Some very richly coloured lichen.
189. Orange crystals. This is probably just quartz stained with iron oxide. Modelling by Tarquin
190. The last mine we visited is Taylor's Adit (site 024). It is worth noting that this mine has had serious bad air problems, with one incident in particular badly affecting explorers. It is essential to carry an air meter (which we did), calibrated outside the mine before the trip, and keep the symptoms in mind, such as dizziness, headache, nausea, confusion, or acting drunk. Increased heart rate is also seen, but that is not useful while exercising. Modelling by Dan
191. The start of Taylor's Adit. This previously had a lot higher floor, but it has been partially dug open. Modelling by Dan, lighting by Tarquin, Sol and Dan
192. The water very quickly becomes uncomfortably deep. The depth varies seasonally, and can be waist deep. It used to be chest deep. This is a good thing, because it means the artefacts are intact, and this mine is a great place to see them. Modelling by Dan, lighting by Tarquin and Dan
193. Flowstone in the canal. Modelling by Dan, lighting by Tarquin and Dan
194. The seasonal or old water line.
195. At the first junction, we take the left branch first. This is a relatively modern mine, and it has a lot of modern conveniences. This is a pulley for the ventilation system, needed because this mine has only one entrance. The smaller pipe on the wall is a pressurised pipe for pneumatic tools. Modelling by Gary and Gareth, lighting by Tarquin, Gary and Gareth
196. Deads above the passage.
197. Railway in the side passage. The metal hook on the side is for holding the piping. The hook is held into the wall using one of those wooden pegs. Modelling by Dan, lighting by Tarquin, Dan and Gary
198. Stoping. One of the very few places in the mine that has any. Modelling by Dan, lighting by Tarquin and Dan
199. Stemples in the stope. Modelling by Gary and Gareth, lighting by Tarquin, Gary and Gareth
200. Hydrozincite on the walls.
201. Ore vein in the ceiling of the stope.
202. After the stopes. Modelling by Gary and Gareth, lighting by Tarquin, Dan, Jules, Gary and Gareth
203. Winze leading to the lower level. This is very extensive, about as long as the rest of the mine, but we had no equipment for exploring it. There are in fact two shafts between the levels, but we only noticed one, which means that we have walked over an invisibly capped shaft somewhere. Modelling by Gary and Gareth, lighting by Tarquin, Gary and Gareth
204. The winze is guarded by rails, but the pneumatic pipe appears to have been original. Modelling by Jules, lighting by Tarquin and Jules
205. There is a carry mat here, implying that someone was sleeping here. Takes all sorts. Modelling by Tarquin's welly, lighting by Tarquin and Gary
206. Hydrozincite on a rock.
207. Rails at the end of the passage. Lighting by Tarquin and Dan
208. Last section of passage. Modelling by Gary and Gareth, lighting by Tarquin, Gary and Gareth
209. A final bit of stope at the end of the passage, complete with a few bean cans. This is where my camera decided that the gallery was too long. Modelling by Gareth and Gary, lighting by Tarquin, Gareth and Gary
210. We head back into the main passage, passing the next side passage on the right. The main passage has a lot more mining heritage, including this pile of discarded railway rails. Camera and setup by Dan, modelling by Tarquin, lighting by Dan, Tarquin and Jules
211. Railway sleepers. Camera and setup by Dan, modelling by Tarquin, lighting by Dan and Tarquin
212. A large pipe, which was the main trunking of the ventilation system. Air gets blown down this to the end of the passage, and that causes the entire passage to have fresh air. Camera and setup by Dan, modelling by Tarquin, lighting by Dan and Tarquin
213. Rusticle in the main passage. Camera and setup by Dan, modelling by Tarquin, lighting by Dan and Tarquin
214. The air ducting continues for most of the passage, held up by large metal hooks. This must have been a really annoying place to work, because it sits exactly where your head wants to be. Camera and setup by Dan, modelling by Tarquin, lighting by Dan, Tarquin and Jules
215. Loads of artefacts at a crossroads. The pipe is flexible pneumatic pipe. Only the core has survived, but there are a couple of pieces of rubber sheath. Behind it are a pneumatic coupling, a square bucket (for someone's lunch?), a grease bucket with grease in it, a drink bottle, and another bucket. Camera and setup by Dan, modelling by Tarquin and Jules, lighting by Dan, Tarquin and Jules
216. Using the grease paintbrush to grease the joints in the ducting, keeping it air tight. Camera and setup by Dan, modelling by Tarquin and Gary, lighting by Dan, Tarquin and Gary
217. The passage on the left ended immediately in a formation filled stub (but I was the only one to visit it, so there are no pictures). So we continued ahead, where there was a lot more ducting. Camera, setup and lighting by Dan
218. The passage then also gained a lot of formations. Our air meter's reading immediately began to rise. This is worth noting; the bad air seems to be produced by these formations as they decompose, so the more of them there is, the higher the concentration of carbon dioxide, and the lower the levels of oxygen. Camera and setup by Dan, modelling by Gareth, Jules and Tarquin, lighting by Dan, Gareth, Jules and Tarquin
219. Flowstone with a crystal pool. Camera, setup, hints of modelling and lighting by Dan
220. A little crystal pool that had a hole in the base like a geyser. It even bubbled when we stood on the floor next to it. Camera and setup by Dan, modelling by Tarquin, lighting by Dan and Tarquin
221. Heading towards the end, with a lot more ducting. Camera and setup by Dan, modelling by Gareth, Jules and Tarquin, lighting by Dan, Gareth, Jules and Tarquin
222. Formations at the end of the main passage. There was also a pneumatic coupling here, for use with a pneumatic drill. The air had got very stale, but the meter had not screamed at us yet. Camera, setup and lighting by Dan
223. We headed down the passage to the right at the junction. This is an amunition box containing two fuse boxes, and a lot of fuse spilled out into the outer box. The fuse just looks like small rods. Camera, setup and lighting by Dan
224. Box lid and a miner's shoe. This would have been a hobnailed boot, with a horseshoe shaped heel. Camera and setup by Dan, modelling by Tarquin, lighting by Dan and Tarquin
225. Formations in the right passage. Our air meter finally got upset, and sounded its alarm. Oxygen was at 19%, while carbon dioxide had reached 5000 parts per million (ppm), both of which were the limits on our meter. We kept an eye on it, and it reached 17% and 7000 ppm before the end of this passage. With such short exposure this was not bad, but at those numbers, you would not want to be here long. Camera and setup by Dan, modelling by Tarquin, lighting by Dan and Tarquin
226. Formations near the end of the passage. Camera and setup by Dan, modelling by Tarquin, lighting by Dan and Tarquin
227. Planks and an ammunition box at the end of the passage. Camera and setup by Dan
228. We returned to the final side passage near the entrance - the first one on the right. Here we recalibrated the air meter (it would have been better to do that outside) so that we could see whether the air became any worse along this passage. Camera and setup by Dan, modelling by Tarquin, lighting by Dan and Tarquin
229. There are signs warning about bad air in this passage because this is where the incident occurred. However, it is worth noting that while our meter saw the numbers changing, it did not detect numbers anything like as high as in the other passage - our recalibration makes the numbers invalid here though, so we were only able to use it as a relative measure. Camera and setup by Dan, modelling by Tarquin, lighting by Dan and Tarquin
230. Stub of passage on the right, which passes through a small stope. The ongoing crosscut is only a few metres long. Camera and setup by Dan, modelling by Tarquin, lighting by Dan and Tarquin
231. More rails at a junction. Camera and setup by Dan, modelling by Tarquin, Gareth and Gary, lighting by Dan, Tarquin, Gareth and Gary
232. Bucket, long chisel and other artefacts in a side alcove. Camera, setup and lighting by Dan
233. A second alcove containing shotholes and a large bundle of fuse wire (on the right). Camera and setup by Dan, lighting by Dan and Tarquin
234. The passage ends with a beautiful set of gour pools. It chokes beyond. None of us were willing to check out the very end, since the air quality will be at its worst there, and this choke is likely to be where the incident happened - diggers had pushed through into a new chamber, and the bad air from that chamber flowed out and swamped them. The formations are also worth preserving. Camera and setup by Dan, modelling by Tarquin, lighting by Dan, Gary and Tarquin
235. Heading back out to day. Camera and setup by Dan, modelling by Tarquin, lighting by Dan, Tarquin and Sol
236. Another dead fly in the entrance passage. Camera and setup by Dan, modelling by Tarquin and Bill, lighting by Dan and Tarquin
237. Heading back past Gors Lwyd in the upper Elan Valley. The hills in front rise to just over 500 metres, remaining at that height or higher for most of the plateau. None of the big tops can be seen from here.
238. Head of the Elan Valley reservoirs, with the Craig Goch reservoir starting ahead, and the meandering Afon Elan on the right. The high points are Crugyn Ci (533 metres) on the left, Craig Dyfnant (539 metres) ahead and Carn Ricet (511 metres) on the right. Again, none of the big tops can be seen.