Thanks for watching POC! Hoping to do a longer one about the mine itself, inside and outside, but it's all about the time of course, or lack of it! I hope you're keeping well sir.
Thanks for taking us along on your trip to the quarry and seeing the abandoned village. New subscriber and going to enjoy looking through your different projects. Cheers
Very interesting and informative video. An area where some of my family lived and worked. A distant relative worked at Cwmorthin which was known as the widow maker in the 1870s. I've walked a lot of the paths in the mountains looking at the slate workings. I'm now 75 and can't walk far because of cancer treatment some years ago so it's nice to have the opportunity to see the road up past Llyn Cwmorthin again from my armchair. Last time I went up there it was hard enough just walking up under the railway bridge going out of Tan y Grisiau and I could only get part of the way up the trackway but it was a beautiful sunny day so it made up for it by giving me some splendid views. The mountain air always seems to liven you up! It's no wonder Mother's great great uncle Bryn lived to hid mid 90s despite the hard life he'd had. Thanks again for the memories your trip brought back. Took me back to being a 3 year old being carried on Dad's shoulders up the road to Cwmorthin in 1950. The Chapel was still there then but it's a sad sight now. I saw some photos a few weeks ago and it all looks pretty desolate now up there, but Blaenau is thriving on tourism. I hope the present financial problems don't spoil it, as I recall how bad it was in the 50s when there was little work to be had there and our relations left to find a living elsewhere. Just memories now of many happy holidays spent exploring the mountains. I could almost smell the mountain air in your video!
Thank you Rod, really interesting to hear your history there! I work in Cwmorthin myself, several days a week. I'm a bit younger than you so never got to see the chapel in good condition, the roof got stolen (80's I believe?) and of course after that the place didn't last long. I was involved in the restoration of the Cwmorthin Managers Office up there, which is the only building in the valley with a proper roof, power and water. If you would like to see up there again I'd be happy to take you up sometime in my Land Rover. I work up there so it's not a problem to take you one afternoon or evening perhaps?
Love the video Miles! Been with you a few times many years ago at GB. Still amazed how the old timers made this work, and keep scouring to find as much insight as I can! Keep up the great work and will look forward to watching the next one..
Hello Arron! Nice to hear from you and thanks for watching this video. I do really want to do a series with lots of information on various mines and quarries but it's all time. Actually it's time and energy now. But I'll do my best for you ^_^
Lovely! Looks very familiar 😃. I too wondered how you got such smooth footage and was going to ask if you had some kind of bumper-gimbal. But you already explained in another reply.
Great to see the other Welsh slate mines, the camera seems very smooth, and it looks like your going fast, fast for the ground conditions. I cringe when I see the slates and think about your tyres. If it's any help the slate fencing are called Crawia or Crawiau, and a fall in a quarry is called a Rwb or Rhwb, if you can tell people of the latter, as no one seems to use it anymore. It's funny, the old guys used to say that one of the quarries would sleep during the day and be dangerous at night, and the other quarry the opposite, but it was simply down to the freeze thaw of the sun tracking from East To West and heating the slate face.
You know your quarries sir. There is a strange phenomena that of all the huge Rhwb's that happened to the various quarries of Ffestiniog, they all happened at night, when nobody was there. Which is rather fortunate. As for the footage, yes it looks like I am going fast but that's because the camera is low down and very wide angle. It gives the impression of speed when really the whole drive was about the speed a person might jog at. It looks very smooth because the camera has a remarkably good image stablisation function which irons out all the vibrations and makes it look like it's flying. It's quite clever, I don't know how they did it. People often ask how long my tires last, crawling around on slate waste and rubble every day. Well they came with the car 2nd hand about three years ago and are still going strong with no punctures, so I suppose I can say they are well suited to the task. ps i have your message! will get back to you soon.
I enjoyed that the brief history and the sound of the wind gave a good insight into the area thanks
Thanks for watching POC! Hoping to do a longer one about the mine itself, inside and outside, but it's all about the time of course, or lack of it! I hope you're keeping well sir.
Thanks for taking us along on your trip to the quarry and seeing the abandoned village. New subscriber and going to enjoy looking through your different projects. Cheers
Very interesting and informative video. An area where some of my family lived and worked. A distant relative worked at Cwmorthin which was known as the widow maker in the 1870s. I've walked a lot of the paths in the mountains looking at the slate workings. I'm now 75 and can't walk far because of cancer treatment some years ago so it's nice to have the opportunity to see the road up past Llyn Cwmorthin again from my armchair. Last time I went up there it was hard enough just walking up under the railway bridge going out of Tan y Grisiau and I could only get part of the way up the trackway but it was a beautiful sunny day so it made up for it by giving me some splendid views. The mountain air always seems to liven you up! It's no wonder Mother's great great uncle Bryn lived to hid mid 90s despite the hard life he'd had. Thanks again for the memories your trip brought back. Took me back to being a 3 year old being carried on Dad's shoulders up the road to Cwmorthin in 1950. The Chapel was still there then but it's a sad sight now. I saw some photos a few weeks ago and it all looks pretty desolate now up there, but Blaenau is thriving on tourism. I hope the present financial problems don't spoil it, as I recall how bad it was in the 50s when there was little work to be had there and our relations left to find a living elsewhere. Just memories now of many happy holidays spent exploring the mountains. I could almost smell the mountain air in your video!
Thank you Rod, really interesting to hear your history there! I work in Cwmorthin myself, several days a week. I'm a bit younger than you so never got to see the chapel in good condition, the roof got stolen (80's I believe?) and of course after that the place didn't last long. I was involved in the restoration of the Cwmorthin Managers Office up there, which is the only building in the valley with a proper roof, power and water.
If you would like to see up there again I'd be happy to take you up sometime in my Land Rover. I work up there so it's not a problem to take you one afternoon or evening perhaps?
Very interesting....thanks...roof rack cam might be good too
Love the video Miles! Been with you a few times many years ago at GB. Still amazed how the old timers made this work, and keep scouring to find as much insight as I can! Keep up the great work and will look forward to watching the next one..
Hello Arron! Nice to hear from you and thanks for watching this video. I do really want to do a series with lots of information on various mines and quarries but it's all time. Actually it's time and energy now. But I'll do my best for you ^_^
Lovely! Looks very familiar 😃. I too wondered how you got such smooth footage and was going to ask if you had some kind of bumper-gimbal. But you already explained in another reply.
Great to see the other Welsh slate mines, the camera seems very smooth, and it looks like your going fast, fast for the ground conditions. I cringe when I see the slates and think about your tyres. If it's any help the slate fencing are called Crawia or Crawiau, and a fall in a quarry is called a Rwb or Rhwb, if you can tell people of the latter, as no one seems to use it anymore. It's funny, the old guys used to say that one of the quarries would sleep during the day and be dangerous at night, and the other quarry the opposite, but it was simply down to the freeze thaw of the sun tracking from East To West and heating the slate face.
You know your quarries sir. There is a strange phenomena that of all the huge Rhwb's that happened to the various quarries of Ffestiniog, they all happened at night, when nobody was there. Which is rather fortunate.
As for the footage, yes it looks like I am going fast but that's because the camera is low down and very wide angle. It gives the impression of speed when really the whole drive was about the speed a person might jog at. It looks very smooth because the camera has a remarkably good image stablisation function which irons out all the vibrations and makes it look like it's flying. It's quite clever, I don't know how they did it. People often ask how long my tires last, crawling around on slate waste and rubble every day. Well they came with the car 2nd hand about three years ago and are still going strong with no punctures, so I suppose I can say they are well suited to the task.
ps i have your message! will get back to you soon.