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Report - - Dinorwic Quarry oct 18(pic heavy) | Mines and Quarries | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - Dinorwic Quarry oct 18(pic heavy)

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DayzGone

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Located between the villages of Llanberis and Dinorwig in North Wales. It was the second largest slate quarry in Wales, indeed in the world, after the one in neighbouring Penrhyn.
It covered more than 700 acres (2.8 km2) consisting of two main quarry sections with 20 galleries in each and a number of ancillary workings. Extensive internal tramway systems connected the quarries using inclines to transport slate between galleries.
The first commercial attempts at slate mining took place in 1787, when a private partnership obtained a lease from the landowner, Assheton Smith. Although this met with moderate success, the outbreak of war with France, taxes and transportation costs limited the development of the quarry. A new business partnership led by Assheton Smith was formed on the expiry of the lease in 1809 and the business boomed after the construction of a horse-drawn tramway to Port Dinorwic in 1824. At its peak in the late 19th century, "when it was producing an annual outcome of 100,000 tonnes", Dinorwic employed more than 3,000 men and was the second largest opencast slate producer in the country. Although by 1930 its working employment had dropped to 2,000, it continued in production until 1969.

The slate vein at Dinorwic is nearly vertical and lies at or near the surface of the mountain, allowing it to be worked in a series of stepped galleries. This is however not quite how the quarry developed.
The first quarrying was spread across several sites:Adelaide, Allt Ddu, Braich, Bryn Glas, Bryn Llys, Chwarel Fawr, Ellis, Garrett, Harriet, Matilda, Morgan's, Raven Rock, Sofia, Turner, Victoria and Wellington. This was a situation that lasted for many years, certainly until the mid-1830s.
The 1824 railway brought transport problems. Produce from the upper quarries was not a problem, but Wellington, Ellis, Turner, Harriet and Victoria quarries were all below the level of the railway. This was a problem solved in the 1840s when the lake level railway was built, and the quarry as we know it began to take shape.
Adelaide Quarry became a part of Allt Ddu, and Chwarel Fawr and Chwarel Goch became linked to it too. In the 'Great New Quarry' Raven Rock and Garret Quarries became one massive quarry, operating as an open hillside gallery quarry, with the lowest 2 levels being accessed by tunnels. Harriet, Morgans and Sofia quarry are all still identifiable as separate pits today, whilst Braich Quarry became a large working of 3 contiguous smaller pits. Below this, The galleries of Victoria and Wellington were joined along the hillside, and continued downwards in 2 separate main workings: Wellington and Hafod Owen. Each was eventually to contain several small Sinks too, some below lake level. The current form of the quarry is little different from that of the time of the Great War, save for enlarging of the actual quarry faces, and deepening of the Sinks. Certainly all the main inclines were in place, very little was altered until closure.
The quarry closed in July 1969, the result of industry decline and difficult slate removal. During the 1950s/60s extraction had become difficult, because after 170 years of extraction many of the unsystematically dumped tips were beginning to slide into some of the major pit workings, and after an enormous fall in the Garret area of the quarry in 1966, production had ceased almost permanently. It was however decided that some final work could be done by clearing some of the waste from the Garret fall. This involved making an access road for more modern quarry vehicles across some of the terraces, to the rock fall. This amount of slate won by this method was small and all production stopped by 1969.

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DayzGone

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Decent first report with some cracking pics and some bits I haven't seen before.
thankyou,im still learning with photography and setting of my camera and i didnt get to see all the quarry/mine as ran out of time but i be going back because its one of the most beautiful places ive ever been,stunning no matter what direction you look
 

alex17595

Down t'pit
Regular User
I went up to Dinorwic the other week and photos don't show the sheer scale of the place. I walked for an hour and a half and I was probably not even half way altitude wise. I couldn't even see down the pit so threw some stones over the edge to try and gauge how deep it was.


I saw some people walking further up and thought I can't be arsed with that.
 

DayzGone

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
I went up to Dinorwic the other week and photos don't show the sheer scale of the place. I walked for an hour and a half and I was probably not even half way altitude wise. I couldn't even see down the pit so threw some stones over the edge to try and gauge how deep it was.


I saw some people walking further up and thought I can't be arsed with that.

my plan was to set off about 8am as its a 2hour drive but i didnt set off until gone10am and traffic was bad,i would say you need a good 5+ hours to see it all its sooo big,like you say pictues just dont show the scale of the place
 

Unsympathetica

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
I went up to Dinorwic the other week and photos don't show the sheer scale of the place. I walked for an hour and a half and I was probably not even half way altitude wise. I couldn't even see down the pit so threw some stones over the edge to try and gauge how deep it was.


I saw some people walking further up and thought I can't be arsed with that.

Some of the best stuff is near the top, like the massive compressor and slate dressing sheds!
 

The Lone Ranger

Safety is paramount!
Staff member
Moderator
my plan was to set off about 8am as its a 2hour drive but i didnt set off until gone10am and traffic was bad,i would say you need a good 5+ hours to see it all its sooo big,like you say pictues just dont show the scale of the place

Nice report :thumb

Last time I was there I spent 2 days wandering around and still didn't see it all. Been a lot before too and still manage to find new stuff each visit.
 

alex17595

Down t'pit
Regular User
looks like you wandered around a similar area to what I did except my most of my photos are garbage. I wish I went up to the top instead of heading to the other slate quarry near the Llanberis copper mine.
 

DayzGone

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
looks like you wandered around a similar area to what I did except my most of my photos are garbage. I wish I went up to the top instead of heading to the other slate quarry near the Llanberis copper mine.

i might be going back tuesday if all goes well
 

Shaun

28DL Regular User
28DL Full Member
Best stuff is on Australia level head up one of the two inclines a few good stuff in the trees tho
 

DayzGone

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Been back and went higher up, it's amazing.
Went into some of the tunnels also.
Beautiful place
 

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