Jake of Winter Hill Adventures

Saturday, 5 May 2012

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

Saturday, 28 April 2012

I had to cut short my run today I was not feeling well , But I met up with Mal Frith and a runner who recognised me from the the fell runner forum
http://forum.fellrunner.org.uk/index.php
the wind was very strong and I was not feeling well , so we cut short our run today ,
I went to the two lads then to hole bottom then towards Adam Hill
http://forum.fellrunner.org.uk/showthread.php?17281-Jakeofwinterhill-says-hello-to
here are the photo's from today

We noticed Mal and went up to see Mal and his dogs

http://jakeofwinterhill.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/two-lads-meeting-with-mal-and-kite.html
http://justramblingon.co.uk/
https://plus.google.com/u/0/115067517513197991613/posts

Playing with Mals dogs and a plastic bottle these are Brett ,Sam and Molly,

Mal in the distance with Brett,Sam and Molly

from the two lads

back of the two lads

Reebok stadium

my new coat but still the same spikey hat
note from dad
we were due to go to Rivington Pike, then to Winter Hill trigg but Jake was not feeling well, so we took our time to come off the hill, it is better to stop and there is always tomorrow !