waveydave
Out & About Exploration
After torrential rain two weeks previous and then a blow out on the motorway the following week we were hoping it was going to be third time lucky. Leaving Rochdale and the 30° temperature behind we headed for Wales and about 2 1/2 hours later we arrived at our destination. After abandoning the car as near as we could we followed the track into the unknown.
Dorothea quarry is slate quarry in North Wales and was opened around 1820. In it's heyday it was one of the world's largest. Originally made up of several smaller quarries it was inefficient and eventually it became one. As the quarries grew the pits got nearer and nearer to the village of Talysarn so the village was relocated leaving only the hall and a few other buildings. A narrow gauge railway was used onsite. Initially using horse drawn carts. The pits got deeper and deeper, down to depths of over 300ft. Spoil heaps tower over the site on all sides, some held back by giant bastions, made of waste slate piled up creating enormous dry stone walls. in fact everything on site is made from waste slate including the giant pyramids used to anchor the cables for the inclines.
Unfortunately it was this waste that was finally the undoing of the quarry. With no real system the waste was piled on top of good rock and despite the shuffling around of railway tracks and other features it was too expensive to keep quarrying here. The quarry finally closed in the 1970s and nature started to take back what was left.
Walking round here you can't fail to see the giant pyramids and the tall pumping house but stray from the track and you feel like you could be in a set from Lord of the rings. Buildings almost totally covered in moss and trees lie in all directions. Perilously deep rail cuttings sit close by with no fencing and one wrong step could lead to disaster.
In recent times, as the pit filled with water, it has become a magnet to divers and although prohibited it has still cost the lives of over 20 people. Ironically the danger notices arent much bigger than postcards with some ideally placed to trip you over the quarry edge.
After a circuit of the main pit we were knackered but had only seen a small proportion of the area.
In fact i missed some things that ive been itching to get back too since.
One of the awesome pyramids which in fact is little more than a pile of dry stone
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The first building was possibly a lodge for Talysarn hall
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The entrance to what was once a stable block and kennels , later modified to a shower block for the quarrymen
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Kennels
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Talysarn hall
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Cant resist....
Must go in......
The tramway tunnel....
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This is a redundant tramway which ends with a collapse. Annoyingly i now know that a small passageway leads off to the right just before the collapse...and i missed it. Looking at the old maps it appears that the tramline was moved as talysarn quarry grew and i think the tunnel would now exit in the quarry face (not good) so the collapse may be deliberate.
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This was a really nice escape from the intense heat. The amount of work that went in to creating all the features here is mind boggling, and thats not counting the quarry itself
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A pyramid. Subsidence is starting to destroy this incline
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Look...No mortar
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A dressing shed....
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The engine house....
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Some randoms......
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I absolutely loved this place and this barely scratches the surface.
Parting shot....
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Thanks fer lookin
Dorothea quarry is slate quarry in North Wales and was opened around 1820. In it's heyday it was one of the world's largest. Originally made up of several smaller quarries it was inefficient and eventually it became one. As the quarries grew the pits got nearer and nearer to the village of Talysarn so the village was relocated leaving only the hall and a few other buildings. A narrow gauge railway was used onsite. Initially using horse drawn carts. The pits got deeper and deeper, down to depths of over 300ft. Spoil heaps tower over the site on all sides, some held back by giant bastions, made of waste slate piled up creating enormous dry stone walls. in fact everything on site is made from waste slate including the giant pyramids used to anchor the cables for the inclines.
Unfortunately it was this waste that was finally the undoing of the quarry. With no real system the waste was piled on top of good rock and despite the shuffling around of railway tracks and other features it was too expensive to keep quarrying here. The quarry finally closed in the 1970s and nature started to take back what was left.
Walking round here you can't fail to see the giant pyramids and the tall pumping house but stray from the track and you feel like you could be in a set from Lord of the rings. Buildings almost totally covered in moss and trees lie in all directions. Perilously deep rail cuttings sit close by with no fencing and one wrong step could lead to disaster.
In recent times, as the pit filled with water, it has become a magnet to divers and although prohibited it has still cost the lives of over 20 people. Ironically the danger notices arent much bigger than postcards with some ideally placed to trip you over the quarry edge.
After a circuit of the main pit we were knackered but had only seen a small proportion of the area.
In fact i missed some things that ive been itching to get back too since.
One of the awesome pyramids which in fact is little more than a pile of dry stone
View attachment 505763
The first building was possibly a lodge for Talysarn hall
View attachment 505764
View attachment 505765
The entrance to what was once a stable block and kennels , later modified to a shower block for the quarrymen
View attachment 505767
View attachment 505768
Kennels
View attachment 505769
Talysarn hall
View attachment 505770
View attachment 505771
Cant resist....
Must go in......
The tramway tunnel....
View attachment 505772
This is a redundant tramway which ends with a collapse. Annoyingly i now know that a small passageway leads off to the right just before the collapse...and i missed it. Looking at the old maps it appears that the tramline was moved as talysarn quarry grew and i think the tunnel would now exit in the quarry face (not good) so the collapse may be deliberate.
View attachment 505773
View attachment 505775
This was a really nice escape from the intense heat. The amount of work that went in to creating all the features here is mind boggling, and thats not counting the quarry itself
View attachment 505776
View attachment 505777
View attachment 505778
A pyramid. Subsidence is starting to destroy this incline
View attachment 505779
Look...No mortar
View attachment 505780
A dressing shed....
View attachment 505781
View attachment 505782
The engine house....
View attachment 505783
View attachment 505784
View attachment 505785
Some randoms......
View attachment 505786
View attachment 505787View attachment 505788
View attachment 505789
I absolutely loved this place and this barely scratches the surface.
Parting shot....
View attachment 505790
Thanks fer lookin
