No new caches, just a couple of events have been published since our last post:
GCAB75D The great garden of Gwynedd by Young Heed Event D1/T1.5
When: Monday 24th July 2023
Where: Garth Point Garden, Bangor
Time: 5-5.30pm
Young Heed is attending a conference in Bangor and would like to meet local and not so local geocachers.
GCAB70R 9US Celebrate International Geocaching Day 2023 by 9 Usual Suspects Event D1/T1.5
Where: Plas Gwernoer, Nantlle
When: Saturday 19th August, 2023
Time: 2.00pm-6pm (the bar will remain open until the last person leaves!)
Games Start Time: 2.30pm
BBQ: 5pm
Trackable Raffle Draw: 5.30pm
9 Usual Suspects invite you to join them in the beautiful Nantlle Valley to celebrate International Geocaching Day, the theme for this years event is ‘An Afternoon in the Pub’. There will be darts, dominos, a quiz, and other activities, fun for everyone.
Event Reminder
GCA7B67 The Chens on Tour 2023 – Llandanwg by The Chens Event D1/T1
When: Saturday 15th July 2023
Where: Y Maes Caffi, Llandanwg LL46 2SD
Time: 11-11.30am
The Chens are touring our area and would like to meet local and not so local geocachers.
Dorothea Slate Quarry Captured on Film
Dorothea Quarry is a fascinating place full of industrial history which as the buildings and structures decay is slowly being reclaimed by nature. We have recently had 5 caches published here, anyone who has or is about to visit may find the links below of interest.
The following film links and text is taken from the National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales.
https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-men-against-death-a-story-of-peril-in-our-time-1933-online
The year is 1933, ‘C H Dand, a publicist and scenario writer, here turned his hand to film- making and produced what is believed to be the first sound film made and set in Wales. He used Dorothea Quarry, Tal-y-sarn and the men employed there to enact a dramatic story, the (lost) second reel of which would show a rock taking its revenge on the men for blasting away its supporting slate by collapsing. The quarry’s assistant manager makes a daily risk assessment of the “angry rock”.
Dand’s film shows the scale of Dorothea Quarry in the Nantlle Valley, possibly the deepest man-made pit in the northern hemisphere, the equipment used and the dangerous nature of the work. The film was premiered at the newly opened Plaza Cinema in Pen-y-groes, its audience the very quarrymen who had taken part in the drama, together with their co-workers and families.’
https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-rails-to-talsarn-1962-online
The year is 1962, Horse-drawn railway: ‘Prince’ and ‘Corwen’ pull slate wagons from Pen-yr-Orsedd quarry to Tal-y-sarn station, guided by Mr Oswald Jones, guard/driver.
‘The horse-drawn railway from the station at Tal-y-sarn to Pen-yr-Orsedd quarry was part of a longer line – originally all horse-drawn – that ran from the quay at Caernarfon to the quarries of the Nantlle Valley. ‘Prince’ and ‘Corwen’ pull the wagons on this section that closed in 1963. They were probably the last horses used by British Rail. They are guided by Mr Oswald Jones who uses wooden sprags in the wheels as brakes. Oswald’s father, aged 81, helps out at Tal-y-Sarn.
The Nantlle Railway was the first quarry railway to provide a passenger service also. The section from Tal-y-sarn to Pen-yr-Orsedd quarry continued until 1963, the only British Rail horse-drawn line. This footage was shot and is narrated by David E Sutcliffe, a Bull Bay-based BBC stringer (i.e. he would provide the BBC with newsworthy footage from his area) and local cinema operator, not long before the railway ceased operation altogether.’
For a history of the Nantlle valley quarries visit penmorfa.com