Dorothea Quarry, Wales

Another little one from me.....

I wasn't very enthusiastic about visiting this one, it was on our list of plan b's in case we could squeeze a little something extra in.....if you've been here you'll know this isn't 'little.' Everywhere you turn there is a building hidden amongst the green and having researched more once returning home, we have only just touched the surface. It's absolutely riddled with interesting finds; underground, overground and underwater.

I would definitely recommend a couple of days to explore the area. We only did a circle of Dorothea along ground level. As much as our minds were dying to explore further, we'd just come from Dinorwic Slate Quarry so our legs and feet were objecting to anymore hard work. We settled for a leisurely stroll in beautiful sunshine instead.

"Dorothea Quarry commenced working in the early 1820s, though there were a number of smaller workings on or near the site before this. By 1848 it had become the dominant quarry in the area, employing 200 men and producing 5000 tons of finished slate. Production peaked in 1872 at 17442 tons. In the 1930s over 350 men were employed at Dorothea. Production dropped significantly after the start of World War II and the quarry closed in 1970.

Since quarrying ended in 1970, the Dorothea Quarry has flooded and become a popular site for scuba diving (even though there are no facilities provided, and diving is officially banned in the quarry); the unregulated nature and depth of the site has encouraged some divers to overestimate their capabilities – in the decade 1994-2004 21 divers lost their lives in the quarry."

Here is a selection of the photos......

Dorothea Quarry-2 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Dorothea Quarry-3 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Car part buried/part corroded, couldn't make out what it was!
Dorothea Quarry-5 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Dorothea Quarry-7 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Dorothea Quarry-8 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Dorothea Quarry-9 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Dorothea Quarry-10 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Dorothea Quarry-11 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Dorothea Quarry-12 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Dorothea Quarry-13 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Dorothea Quarry-14 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Dorothea Quarry-15 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Dorothea Quarry-16 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Stairs to no where....?
Dorothea Quarry-17 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Love that the tree has grown through the building, becoming a tree house!! Love it.
Dorothea Quarry-18 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Dorothea Quarry-19 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Dorothea Quarry-21 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Dorothea Quarry-22 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Dorothea Quarry-23 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Dorothea Quarry-24 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Dorothea Quarry-25 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr
Dorothea Quarry-27 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Dorothea Quarry-26 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Dorothea Quarry-28 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Dorothea Quarry-29 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Dorothea Quarry-33 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Dorothea Quarry-34 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Dorothea Quarry-38 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Dorothea Quarry-40 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Dorothea Quarry-41 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Dorothea Quarry-42 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Dorothea Quarry-43 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Dorothea Quarry-44 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Dorothea Quarry-47 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Dorothea Quarry by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Another absolute stunners of a report. Wales has got so much to offer..

I'm too old for roughing it in a sleeping bag but that quarry is tempting, I think it's gonna get a few folks visiting Wales, you made a grand job of of it Mel, Many Thanks

An excellent report. But, alas nature is taking over.

Superb report and your images are the bees knees.Thanks for sharing.

Mega
Me and fluffy did this place a couple of years back and it's awesome.
The picture colours are sweet, I put a report up about it.

You missed the tunnel.......

You know you have to go back again.

Cheers newage

These photos are amazing, thank you for sharing

I love the colours here. Amazing place! Great photos Malenis.

Great set of images (and great quality too) many thanks for the post.

Newage said:

You missed the tunnel.......

You know you have to go back again.

Click to expand...

Oh, trust me I plan to return.

You've really captured the essence of the place. I had a short walk round a couple of years ago and couldn't believe it. It was like a huge film set. There's so many tramways and tunnels in there it's easy to get lost.

As you say, it's a whole day explore at least.

I like your take on this Malenis, looks to be plenty to see, will definitely have a look one day.