We were a bit slow getting going today, so did not get to the Cwm Eigiau 'car park' till about 3pm. Plan - to have a look at the 1925 Eigiau Dam breach, and a look at the Cedryn slate quarry. The dam dominates the middle part of the Eigiau valley, and the tale of the disaster is told here: https://www.bangor.ac.uk/news/2025-...hat-reshaped-a-welsh-community-and-a-countrys
buddlepit.co.uk
Had a good inspection of the dam and the wild ponies that live in the Carneddau. Some distance further on, the track splits, the left branch steadily climbing towards Cedryn. This is pretty remote (although not quite as remote as Cwm Eigiau Quarry, which is further up the valley again), and worked what appeared to be some pretty atrocious slate via a pit and a couple of open terraces. There also appears to be one underground chamber with a blocked adit. From the quarry vantage point, what we took to be another dam across the valley immediately below the quarry turned out to be a causeway from the base of the quarry incline to some processing buildings across the valley.
A direct descent to Cedryn Farmhouse/Cottage leads via a boggy patch to a concrete bridge across the river. This leads to the remains of a ruined slate processing shed. The first thing noticed was fragments of a large gear wheel associated with the wheelpit on the left. Water to power the wheel comes from a small, stone-lined rectangular reservoir at an elevation of only a couple of metres higher than the processing shed. Presumably a leat (not noticed) or launder took the water to the wheel.
Power arrangements seem to be quite elaborate for such a small site. A 'lineshaft corridor' (to use user ilt's term) on the north side of the shed had a long drive shaft powered by the wheel running along the entire side of the shed. Large slabs across the corridor had ironwork that presumably supported the shaft above the slabs. Every now and again, there is a large 'window' in the side of the corridor where a drive belt conveyed power to saws in the main shed area. The main shed area has dozens of bolts in the grass floor, but nothing indicating whether they were fixed to saws or other equipment.
Cedryn Quarry and Farmhouse
Cedryn Pit and 'Chamber'
Causeway, incline and quarry from processing shed
Lineshaft corridor with shaft attachments
'Window' allowing power to be tapped via belt
Cedryn - Buddlepit Mine Database
Slate quarry in Dolgarrog, North Wales, worked from 1827 to c1880.
buddlepit.co.uk
Had a good inspection of the dam and the wild ponies that live in the Carneddau. Some distance further on, the track splits, the left branch steadily climbing towards Cedryn. This is pretty remote (although not quite as remote as Cwm Eigiau Quarry, which is further up the valley again), and worked what appeared to be some pretty atrocious slate via a pit and a couple of open terraces. There also appears to be one underground chamber with a blocked adit. From the quarry vantage point, what we took to be another dam across the valley immediately below the quarry turned out to be a causeway from the base of the quarry incline to some processing buildings across the valley.
A direct descent to Cedryn Farmhouse/Cottage leads via a boggy patch to a concrete bridge across the river. This leads to the remains of a ruined slate processing shed. The first thing noticed was fragments of a large gear wheel associated with the wheelpit on the left. Water to power the wheel comes from a small, stone-lined rectangular reservoir at an elevation of only a couple of metres higher than the processing shed. Presumably a leat (not noticed) or launder took the water to the wheel.
Power arrangements seem to be quite elaborate for such a small site. A 'lineshaft corridor' (to use user ilt's term) on the north side of the shed had a long drive shaft powered by the wheel running along the entire side of the shed. Large slabs across the corridor had ironwork that presumably supported the shaft above the slabs. Every now and again, there is a large 'window' in the side of the corridor where a drive belt conveyed power to saws in the main shed area. The main shed area has dozens of bolts in the grass floor, but nothing indicating whether they were fixed to saws or other equipment.
Cedryn Quarry and Farmhouse
Cedryn Pit and 'Chamber'
Causeway, incline and quarry from processing shed
Lineshaft corridor with shaft attachments
'Window' allowing power to be tapped via belt
