Wales Pen yr Orsedd. Anyone been?

mickledore

mickledore

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I tried to get to this ruin last year but got rained off in the depths of the Dorothea quarry. Now the weekend looks fair weather I might go again.
Looking at my Sat Nav and AA Routefinder they both say that the road from Y Fron to the north is the way to approach the site. But O S maps show no proper road over there meaning I'll have to approach from Nantlle which is much further round. Google Earth shows a sign restricting access to the mine from Nantlle. I'm not sure if it is still working or completely closed. Is the sign still valid and is the road closed at times? Unlikely I know.

Has anyone here been to this quarry and if so what are the roads like? How easy is access? Parking in the village looks scarce, and anyway that makes a long walk!!!
 
mickledore said:
I tried to get to this ruin last year but got rained off in the depths of the Dorothea quarry. Now the weekend looks fair weather I might go again.
Looking at my Sat Nav and AA Routefinder they both say that the road from Y Fron to the north is the way to approach the site. But O S maps show no proper road over there meaning I'll have to approach from Nantlle which is much further round. Google Earth shows a sign restricting access to the mine from Nantlle. I'm not sure if it is still working or completely closed. Is the sign still valid and is the road closed at times? Unlikely I know.

Has anyone here been to this quarry and if so what are the roads like? How easy is access? Parking in the village looks scarce, and anyway that makes a long walk!!!
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Frank, I went last Saturday!!!!

I parked on outskirts of Talysarn, and walked through Dorothea to Pen-yr-Orsedd, I spent about 4 hours total including stopping for camera work. I met a couple from Widnes in pen-yr-Orsedd who had parked in a slight layby in the unmade access road for Pen-yr-Orsedd in Nantlle and then just hopped over the gate, I walked past their car on my roundabout route, and if just going to Pen-yr-Orsedd thats what I would do. Its only a short walk from there to the levels.
 
Thanks guys. It might be immaterial anyway, for this weekend at least....I've just found out it is Bank Holiday wekend. I really don't fancy the A55 with all the snowflakes spending quality time with their little princes and princesses. And the latest weather forecast is somewhat worse than it was. Maybe I'll put it off for a week and go rooting round Liverpool's derelict docklands instead.

@JohnFar thanks for those. I'm busy working my way through Ian Robinson's excellent list and this is the last major site to visit. I've seen the Coflein website. The red blob on there is where I'm trying to get to. Both my sat nav and AA route finder direct me in from the north...
from the north.JPG
But, Ordnance Survey show tracks but nothing resembling a passable road going that way...
from the south.JPG

I don't want to be another caualty of blindly following sat navs over undriveable roads!

The other link you gave was to View from the North. I'm sure that's Andy @viewfromthenorth on here. We went to the Poison Gas factory together some time back, and Mayfield station in Manchester, so he might be along with words of wisdom.
 
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David, @Mr Perceptive think we must have parked at the same spot - by the roundabout at the eastern end of Talysarn? I went through Talysarn Hall and onto the the quarries overlooking the scuba divers. They told me the whole area had been bought and was going to be "redeveloped", but by whom and into what they did not know.
I could see Pen yr Orsedd, but it started peeing down so I beat a retreat. I thought I could see vehicles moving around which leads me to wonder if it's still working? This is the road I was thinking of going up; can it be driven?
road.JPG
 
Edit..
I've just had a look at the road from Y Fron that sat nav suggests. This says no quarry access, but it's not a highways sign, just a site sign, so maybe "ordinary" vehicles can make it through. Is it worth the risk? Probably not!
 
mickledore said:
Edit..
I've just had a look at the road from Y Fron that sat nav suggests. This says no quarry access, but it's not a highways sign, just a site sign, so maybe "ordinary" vehicles can make it through. Is it worth the risk? Probably not!
Click to expand...

Frank, Quarry not working last Saturday, The couple from Widnes drove up that road and parked a little further up on the left, after about 200m there was a licked gate, they went in/out over the gate, I came out it. Bit further up the road is a weigh ridge and then you get the first level of ruined buildings, On the second level there is a storage yard where they are obviously loading up the Lorraine's, no sign of recent activity, the modern quarry part us down from level 3, but above level 3 is all the interesting stuff.

I don't think you'll have parking issues further up that access road, but if you don't want to risk it, drive on down the lane (quarry access on your right), and you should be able to park in the lane just after the houses and the abandoned Subaru's
 
Thanks. I'm tempted to drive up and have a look see.

But not this weekend. Plan B it is.
 
Yes, that’s my site! I actually visited the quarry with the aforementioned Iain Robinson, he’s local to the area and we accessed the quarry from the Y Fron direction, I think we went down that green footpath on the right of the OS map posted earlier, can’t say for sure as Iain drove us as close as he could in his 4x4. It is / was an active quarry and some workers turned up when we were there (a Saturday afternoon), so we hid in a building for a while. Not all the buildings were accessible at the time due to the resumption of workings.
 
Give me a shout if you're down at a weekends and Ill happily be a tour guide. When I go, I park in or around Fron and walk down. There is just about room to park a car at the quarry gate at the top, but it risks being damaged by tractor and trailer access to the adjacent fields.
 
@Alan Clogwyn ...Alan, That's great. Have you now changed jobs? I saw a post about car parts!!!
Striking while the iron is hot - the weather is reasonable for Saturday. If I leave early and aim to get there for 9AMish are you up for that?
I presume you'll want to meet at Fron? I still have your phone number if you want to talk.
Let me know.
 
@Mr Perceptive. Thank for that map. When I went I was in the very bottom LH corner of Dorothea. I took the track under your red arrow up to the old Blondin towers. They look like one good frost will send them tumbling into the lake on top of the scuba divers! Then I carried on round the spoil heaps etc. until it started peeing down when I beat a retreat. I never reached the bulk of your map area.
Some of the scuba divers drove in from Talysarn on your green path, but I understand that is now blocked off. The others came in past the Subarus.
 
mickledore said:
@Alan Clogwyn ...Alan, That's great. Have you now changed jobs? I saw a post about car parts!!!
Striking while the iron is hot - the weather is reasonable for Saturday. If I leave early and aim to get there for 9AMish are you up for that?
I presume you'll want to meet at Fron? I still have your phone number if you want to talk.
Let me know.
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Frank, new set of average speed cameras on quite a long stretch of A55 going westbound (including going down the hill to the bacon butty van) - just keep an eye on the speedo!!!
 
Yes. I've seen them but they were non operational. Cruise control comes in handy.
 
mickledore said:
Yes. I've seen them but they were non operational. Cruise control comes in handy.
Click to expand...

They are certainly in use now! Westbound only from the Travellers Inn, right down the Rhuallt Hill as far as the Trefnant Junction.

GC
 
TBH they are probably a good thing. Some guys (and women) do blast down that hill. Didn't everyone's favourite copper - Brunstrom - once operate his own private speed gun from inside a horsebox in the butty van layby?

Can't see why 50 mph though. The road is quite safe at 70. No doubt the wet lettuce brigade have been wittering on.
 
Yes I can make that I think. Yes to new job too, 9-5 Monday- Friday and bank holidays off! I can't remember if I've changed my phone since I saw you last, if it starts with 07410 it should be current. I'm now in the Black Civic too as opposed to the red FTO!
 
Good. Phone begins like that and ends in 4. You still got mine? If not I'll PM it.

Meet in Y Fron? Google Earth shows a lot of parking near where the mine road branches off.

Meet 9AM ish and take it from there? Doesn't look too far to walk in.
 
Great, yep still got yours saved. There is indeed a big parking area in Fron but the last few times I've been it's always been full, there are plenty of spots at the side of the road on the way down into the village though if necessary. I might pop round tonight for a nose, I'm heading over to Brynkir in a moment.
 
mickledore said:
Can't see why 50 mph though. The road is quite safe at 70. No doubt the wet lettuce brigade have been wittering on.
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It's still a 70mph limit (for cars), can't remember the exact figure but it netted tens of thousands ££ in the first few months! Agree that it's good, the bends on the hill can be deceptive and it is an accident black-spot.

GC
 
70 for cars. That's great and sensible. I never go much above that anyway - honest.

There's a stretch near here where they put average cameras. Lots of publicity yet in the first month they caught 1200 drivers. That was a bit of a racetrack and needed bringing down to 50.
 
mickledore said:
Anyway.....as you're local you can come along if you fancy.
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Looks a great place and thanks for the invite, unfortunately I'm at the other end of the country this weekend.

Look forward to seeing the results!

GC
 
Looking good for tomorrow, had a small thunderstorm and massive downpour earlier all cleared now and looking like this from my window:
T2AJ3285.jpg

Mynydd Graig Goch in the middle, Mynydd Cilgwyn (where we're going) just peeping over the left of it and yr Wyddfa on the right, basically looking good in Nantlle!
 
Now you're talking my language.
Alarm set. Gear packed.
9AM somewhere in Fron. I'll be there.
Now time to relax:beer:
 
Thanks @Alan Clogwyn That was a most enjoyable 6 hours. I "only" took 187 shots, but I won't be processing any tonight.
Journey home took a trouble free 2.5 hours so all in all a good day - even better when I found out it had been pouring down all morning here:D

You gave me the official name for the Blondin Tower. Henderson something or other IIRC. Can you tell me again, please? My memory isn't what it was. (Just like everything else of mine!)
 
Sorry, only just seen this! They were Henderson's Patent aerial cableways. However, they got modified in service, very little of Henderson's original machines survive - the towers were originally wood. I've spent this weekend perusing os 25inch maps of the quarry and environs,fascinating place!
 
Thank you.
As you know I'll be going back soon. If there's anything suitable for the camera I'll be interested.

I've heard about Yr Eifl. What do you know about that?
 
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GRRRR. I've been. To the quarry. Thought it was called Trefor. Agreed there's not much to photograph there. This is the best I came up with...

Trefor by Frank Yates2010, on Flickr
Even Iain Robinson liked it!
Think there is more photogenic stuff in the harbour!
 
Bugger.
They always wreck things.
That was a perfectly good ruin.
 
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To be fair I doubt it would have survived another winter, it was pretty far gone! Did you get back to Penyrorsedd?
 
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