01 September 2020

First post-lockdown underground trip

 When we were coming back from our first three household walk, the chap who had come underground with us before lockdown called. Were we interested in doing that last mine we had visited again? I figured I had too much to do, but Kate jumped at the occasion. She seemed to be dying to vanish underground again! But she hadn't taken any initiative. I wondered if she was being British about it, and I gave her a prod. And that turned out to be a good idea. She had indeed been dying to go underground! So she quickly organised a trip for us. She picked Clogwyn y Fuwch; I had only been in the bottom chamber and that's something you have seen in minutes. But it would be a nice evening walk, anyway! So we went with it. 

I drove up with Chris; we had to take a detour as Storm Francis had put a landslide on the A5. Along the way Chris told me there was much more to the mine. There were higher levels! That changed things. We met up with Kate, got ready, and started walking up. We quickly saw the lower level. Then we headed up the hill. Soon we came to a second level. It had a sizeable stretch of tunnel and lead to a lovely chamber. I was wearing my self-draining boots, as I figured that after such flooding it would be pointless to try to keep your feet dry. It turned out my new boots would never have been overtopped! Oh well. This worked. 

The top level was the most spectacular. A big chamber with a big hole in it you could clamber out of. We had a sarnie in daylight! And then we did the clambering out. And then we headed down the hill back to the path, with a detour past the Klondyke mill. That's beautiful! A lovely end to a lovely first post-lockdown trip. First for Chris and me, that is; not for Kate. I think more will follow! 


The scree slope you need to climb to get to the higher levels

Amazing chamber seen from the level


Cute random Christmas decoration

Chamber seen from below

Clambering out into daylight

Bonus: the Klondyke Mill in evening light

No comments: