Blaenau Ffestiniog

 Cob toll house at Penrhyn

 Asbestos roofs always grow
moss.

 and over the ariva rail line and Penrhyn holt.

 road works ahead  and the traffic is at a halt for the train to cross the main Ffestiniog  to Penrhyndeudraeth  rd

 

The return journey on the 30th November,

19th-century industrial sites

The whole area around the northern edge of Blaenau Ffestiniog is an extensive industrial landscape. The two main quarries, which have seen little active production since the mid-20th century, Diffwys and Votty and Bowydd, survive as relict landscapes in their own rights. They preserve a number of features identified in studies grant-aided by Cadw (see above) and those carried out by Plas Tan y Bwlch. Maenofferen Quarry is an unusual survivor in that it has only recently passed out of use (and may be revived) but has never been modernised, and continued to use its uphaulage incline, railway system and traditional slate mill. It is believed that all the equipment survives, though its condition is likely to have deteriorated. Many of the features on this site have been listed and a number scheduled.

The former Oakeley site, now trading as the Ffestiniog Slate Quarry under the management of Alfred McAlpine Slate Products, preserves many features dating to the 1850s and earlier. These are mostly concentrated on the southern part of the site, away from present workings. Llechwedd Quarry has recently demolished a range of nineteenth century structures, though others have been preserved as part of the Quarry Tours complex