Blaenau Ffestiniog Oakeley Slate Quarry to Cwmorthin Slate Quarry

http://www.festrail.co.uk/

http://www.walesdirectory.co.uk/Towns_in_Wales/Blaenau_Ffestiniog_Town.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaenau_Ffestiniog

You can see a tramway to a unknown mine 

 Drain though we did not follow it

http://www.mine-explorer.co.uk/mines/Oakeley_457/Oakeley.asp

http://www.aditnow.co.uk/mines/Oakeley-Slate-Mine/?gowhere=%2fmines%2f%3fpid%3d4%26aa%3d25%26ab%3d9%26ac%3dA%26ad%3d100

http://www.grantonline.com/pugh-family-genealogy/places/slate-quarries/ffestiniog/oakeley-quarry/oakeley-quarry.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Rhion/History_of_the_slate_industry_in_Wales


http://www.penmorfa.com/Slate/oakeley.html

you can just see the waste tips from the quarries above - Oakely plus old railway line cuttings

 junction

My dad went to see the railway lines these are the narrow gauge and standard gauge tracks

 Starting our ascent

we started off here and went around a mile across the slate gaining height !

 My dad showed me how to cross this we went up around 200 meters then we went across

I found lots of old metal from the quarries above


Note from dad- this shows the angle, distance  and height we went to get to the old steps !

 start of the steps

 they used  iron to hold the walls to protect the path

 this used to help haul the slate down the mountain !

 old tramway bridge ?

 mountains on the other side

 Oakeley

 one of the old buildings can you see the stone wall protecting it ?

 old mine entrance collapsed

 railway centre !

Old wall

 more slate quarries in the distance !

 I am not sure what this was for but great decoration !

 these used to be toilets !

 what a view !

 Old trackway

 old reservoirs for the quarries and mines !

  Blaenau Ffestiniog

 Slate slabs fine grained and very smooth !

  Blaenau Ffestiniog

 old  rails

 can you see the old wall ?

 Old bolt ?

 air compressor pipe or water pipe ? they used air to run the drills !

 about to Jump !

 you have to careful the edges are often loose or about to collapse !

 more rails

 we left Oakeley to go up on the Hill tops

 

note from dad this is around 70 decrees !

 last of the winding wheels we found !

This is a through tunnel and not a mine!

the through tunnel ! not a mine !

 the other side

 well away from Oakley !

all the buildings had a tunnel under them ?

 that's better out of my hat and into running , I can ditch my underground safety equipment !

 this is knee deep bog I feel at home !

 Wrysgan Slate Quarry
http://www.mine-explorer.co.uk/mines/Wrysgan_619/Wrysgan.asp

 this was a fast run down the hill and across the Cwmorthin Slate Quarry
http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=39286
http://www.cwmorthin.co.uk/
http://www.aditnow.co.uk/mines/Cwmorthin-Slate-Mine/

Note from Dad this shows you the height of the slope and one of the techniques Jake uses to get down !

I really enjoyed this !!!!!!!!!!!

me running down the hill it took me a lot longer to get up the hill !

 some of the old buildings at Cwmorthin Slate Quarry

 a old tunnel !

 this is a Japanese garden !

 this is where they cut some of the slate

 cooling down !

 can you see the old tramway !

 running down the tramway

 they cut through the rock

more rocks