Final part of my North Wales Round-up...
1. Pont y Pandy (Ynysypandy) Slate Mill, Cwmystradllyn
Completed in 1857, the mill, owned by the ‘Bangor and Portmadoc Slate and Slab Company’, was built to process slate slabs from the unsuccessful and short-lived (just eight years) Gorseddau Quarry nearby. The slate mill was sited here due to lack of a suitable water supply at the quarry itself. It was powered by an 8m diameter waterwheel and was served by two tramways: one bringing slate from the quarry, the other taking the finished product to the port at Porthmadog. The company went out of business in 1871.
Visited this place many moons ago and returned back in July this year. It’s a lovely way to wile away half an hour or so. It hadn’t changed one bit. But then again, given it’s just a shell now, it wasn’t likely to have!
First an old film picture:
The rest are from my recent visit:
2. Old garage, Blaenau Ffestiniog:
Not too much to this but some nice view across to the former slate workings:
3. Parys Mountain Copper Mine, Amlwch
Parys Mountain is a former opencast copper mine in north-east Anglesey, located south of the town of Amlwch. A mass of copper ore that was discovered there in the late 1760’s prompted large scale mining, with yields so great that Amlwch came to dominate the world copper market for a decade. It became known as the ‘Copper Kingdom’. Copper is still extracted to this day, but the former “Great Opencast” is now returned to nature and it’s a nice place for a relaxed wander round.
The Great Opencast:
The active mine in the background:
The engine house and chimney:
Looking up the chimney:
And finally, the windmill at the top of the hill:
4. Melin y Borth Windmill, Amlwck
Built-in 1816, it was the tallest of Anglesey’s windmills, and with 7 floors stood approximately 60 feet high with a diameter of 30 feet and housed four pairs of millstones. Overlooking the harbour of Amlwch Port, it was initially owned and run by John Paynter, a local corn merchant. The mill closed sometime in the early 20th century and was an empty shell by 1929.
1. Pont y Pandy (Ynysypandy) Slate Mill, Cwmystradllyn
Completed in 1857, the mill, owned by the ‘Bangor and Portmadoc Slate and Slab Company’, was built to process slate slabs from the unsuccessful and short-lived (just eight years) Gorseddau Quarry nearby. The slate mill was sited here due to lack of a suitable water supply at the quarry itself. It was powered by an 8m diameter waterwheel and was served by two tramways: one bringing slate from the quarry, the other taking the finished product to the port at Porthmadog. The company went out of business in 1871.
Visited this place many moons ago and returned back in July this year. It’s a lovely way to wile away half an hour or so. It hadn’t changed one bit. But then again, given it’s just a shell now, it wasn’t likely to have!
First an old film picture:
The rest are from my recent visit:
2. Old garage, Blaenau Ffestiniog:
Not too much to this but some nice view across to the former slate workings:
3. Parys Mountain Copper Mine, Amlwch
Parys Mountain is a former opencast copper mine in north-east Anglesey, located south of the town of Amlwch. A mass of copper ore that was discovered there in the late 1760’s prompted large scale mining, with yields so great that Amlwch came to dominate the world copper market for a decade. It became known as the ‘Copper Kingdom’. Copper is still extracted to this day, but the former “Great Opencast” is now returned to nature and it’s a nice place for a relaxed wander round.
The Great Opencast:
The active mine in the background:
The engine house and chimney:
Looking up the chimney:
And finally, the windmill at the top of the hill:
4. Melin y Borth Windmill, Amlwck
Built-in 1816, it was the tallest of Anglesey’s windmills, and with 7 floors stood approximately 60 feet high with a diameter of 30 feet and housed four pairs of millstones. Overlooking the harbour of Amlwch Port, it was initially owned and run by John Paynter, a local corn merchant. The mill closed sometime in the early 20th century and was an empty shell by 1929.
Last edited:
