On our way down from Cefn Cam (previous posts) we spied a footpath sign leading off into the forestry. When we got home, I decided to have a look on the map- and sure enough, there was a footpath, but much more interesting- there was a mine. Further research on the Merioneth Manganese site revealed that this was an interesting place, worth a stroll to see what was left. Although, thinking about it, perhaps my use of "stroll" was a little optimistic. This is the Rhinogiau, after all! Some red herrings We parked the car at the gate where the Woodland Trust notice is, at SH683209. Funnily enough, there are two other mines with inclines or tracks fairly close to this spot. On the left, after passing through the gate and walking for about 100 yards, you come to a pillar and a footpath sign. The pillar is the remaining masonry of a bridge that went up to the Votty Manganese mine. Over the stile and past the footpath sign, the track follows an old incline. Beware though, there is so much forestry mischief that it's almost impossible to make much out. On the right of the road is the modest but once fascinating Cae Mab Seifion mine. We have tried several times to find this, but it's not much fun struggling though conifers. We did find a fine adit, but although it's two years ago, the memory of the sitka and bramble hell is still fresh. Back on track Leaving those digressions and walking up the road, we passed Cwm Mynach Isaf farm on the left, then went through a very well-oiled gate. This was the start of Cwm Mynach proper. It's quite a way yet, steadily uphill. The road gradually deteriorates and recent tree felling has made the area a bit of a mess, but it's still a great walk with lovely views. The footpath sign and vestigial remains of a loading bank are at SH68002321. If you have eagle-eyes you might spot some chunks of spilled bluestone from when the ore was transferred to horses and carts here to be taken down the track. Finding evidence like this is a wonderful link to the past; it feels very satisfactorily like detective work. The path/tramway leads through a delightful bosky cutting before coming to a stone causeway. There are some strange mini-stockades made of felled timber and brashings along the way which are intended, I suppose, to protect young trees from fallow deer. We did see quite a few deer in the woods.. Pretty soon, we crossed a stile and got to terms with the rock and heather landscape of the mountain. It was easy going so far, and in a few minutes, we spotted the powder house on the left. Not much left of this- testament to the weather in these parts. It was a heck of a walk for the person tasked with carrying the black powder up to the mine. So far, the tramway had been gently climbing towards a sheltered area underneath the first bastions of Diffwys. There was a nice slate bridge, then the track headed towards what looked like a dead end. I suppose without Dave Linton's Merioneth Manganese site, we might have (eventually) worked out that there was a ropeway here, but it would have taken a lot longer, so thanks, Dave! Here at the bottom of the ropeway, there were two anchor eyes- one for each rope as it was a dual wire operation. There's a diagram on the Merioneth Manganese site which makes sense of this very nicely. The climb up to the ropeway staging point was a little gnarly. I wasn't so worried about going up, but coming down would be something else with my mountain ravaged knees! The stone upper ropeway platform was still intact- and there was an amazing view from the top. Now the tramway made progress using inclines, with short pitches of level causeway inbetween. Before we started up the inclines, we paused for lunch and I took this improbable comp shot...the upper ropeway station is at the left. The incline began to ramp up a bit, although it was good underfoot. The causeway is filled with grit, faced on the outside with stone. It crunches satisfactorily as you walk. There was a superb view across Cefn Cam and the eponymous slate mine. You can see the yellow "Johnny Breakaleg" grass from here. Every mile a lifetime of agony... From this point the tramway became what the guides describe as "airy". It was delightful, especially on the day we had. It reminded me a little of the Moelwyn Manganese tramway, but the curves and diversions around crags made it far better. The wildlife was great too, with larks, stonechats and Chiffchaffs singing, while the call of the cuckoo rose up from the forest below. Until now, this had just been an amble along gently sloping inclines, apart from that section by the ropeway. But things got real after the contoured section- the inclines rose up as if trying to imitate slate mine inclines. It was tough work for a few minutes until we reached the bottom of the workings, where a small pile of bluestones sat beside the crimp. Suddenly we could see the workings in their entirety. An incline goes up to the right beside a series of adits and opencuts which have all run in. The waste tips are in the centre. It is still possible to see that a lot of work was done here at this rather exposed location- the miners must have been tough. I suppose, in terms of archaeology, it's not the most exciting mine. But the tramway and inclines provide the most wonderful way to see some amazing scenery. On a good day, that's all you can ask for, especially after lockdown!
The factoids: Although the records show no output from this mine, the number of men employed and the extent of the waste tips suggest that a substantial amount of material was mined here. The records are very sketchy- the mine was supposed to have been in operation only between 1886 to 1887... something that's hard to believe given the impressive infrastructure. At the most, 15 men were supposed to be working here. Perhaps there was some sleight of hand to avoid having to declare profits? Sources: Merioneth Manganese web site C G Down, The Manganese Mines of North Wales, British Mining No. 14, Northern Mine Research Society, 1980, ISBN 0901450170 Location: Cwm Mynach, Bontddu, Dolgellau. Comments are closed.
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