Location
SH696496
Directions
Park in the layby near the summit of the Crimea Pass from Blaenau Ffestiniog, on the A470T. It's the layby with the trees surrounding it.
Cross the road to a gate which opens onto the old road used in the construction of the Blaenau Ffestiniog railway tunnel. Follow this for about two miles until the quarry comes to view on your left.
Access
Ungated , within the national park.
Suggested Equipment
None.
Length
65 yards underground approx.
Flood Risk
None.
Mine Attributes
Slate
Description
An interesting and easy slate mine.
There is a quarry digging on the highest level with a run-in adit.
The middle level has an adit which leads to two reasonably large chambers. In the last one there is a whinze which has fallen in, linking with a level below. This last chamber hasn't been fully worked out.
There are three adits in the valley below the trackway, all run in. One at least was a further, lower level, roofing up to the middle level.
There is a fine incline and some ruined buildings. It's well worth walking on down the trackway to look at the tunnel ventilation works further along.
At the start of the walk, near the A470, there is an adit on the left which goes in for 20 yards and has the beginnings of a pit above it, this is thought to be a trial for the Chwarel Gethin.
The quarry was named after the famous local civil engineer who constructed the tunnel and many of the stations on the railway as well as many features for local quarries.
Unexplored Passages
none
