Dinorwig

So the day dawned cold and drizzly. Needed to get out for a small hike somewhere to top up the zen. Thought I would head to Snowdonia. Haven't been to the Dinorwig Slate Quarry for ages, and if the weather didn't improve I had the Slate Museum to visit.

So decided to get prepared for any weather eventuality, so checked waterproof trousers, snood, scarf, gloves, hat, spare boots and socks. All set.

It was only when I was almost at Betws-y-coed that I suddenly thought that I didn't remember picking up my coat. Parked up and ransacked the car, no coat. Its the middle of December and I am hiking up a hillside and I have no coat! I really am a danger to myself.

So 3 choices:
a) Go home and get coat - would waste the whole day, so not an option
b) Put up with the cold - really don't like being cold and it would spoil the day
c) Go buy another coat - any excuse to shop!

So helped by a very nice and rather handsome young man in one of the shops (I do seem to find them on my travels!) with the brief of "warm and cheap" I was finally suitably attired. (Would you like a bag? No thank you, I'll wear it, can you cut the tags out please)

So first stop Dinorwig Quarry. You can either walk up from the bottom, which is a very steep climb, or park up halfway and walk the rest. Afraid I wimped out. Fitness levels still not where they should be, so will work up to that one. Its amazing how quickly they drop. Climbed Snowdon in May, don't think I could do it now!

I was looking for a picture for the Derelict Sunday challenge I am hosting on blip for the next 4 weeks, and had a scene in mind.

I love the ruined state of the building with Snowdonia in the background. A dark and dramatic reminder of Snowdonia's industrial past. I tweaked a bit in Lightroom to add a bit more drama and hopefully make it a more powerful shot.

This is one of the Slate Pools that you come across when wandering through the quarry. The scenery is just incredible. You are surrounded by slate mountains on one side, and real ones on the other, it is very imposing and quite humbling when you think of the conditions men had to work and live in.

Much of it is fenced off which is a shame, but I think it would be foolhardy to climb over those fences because it is obviously a very dangerous place to lose your way in.

It was starting to drizzle again by this time so I headed to the Museum which amazingly, is free entry.

There is a very informative short film when you first get there telling you about the history of the quarry and then you are free to just wander around among the bits of machinery left as if the workers had just popped out for lunch.

On this visit, they were well into the Christmas Spirit, so there was more tinsel than you could wave a stick at, and an assortment of Snowmen, Santas and Reindeer, which kind of changed the ambience a tad, especially as I was the only person in there!

Been here many times and I just love it. I seem to find something new to see every time I visit. This time there was a whole new room open with some very interesting dials! 

The main piece of advice for any photographer visiting here is to remember your tripod. The light is very dim throughout and you will probably need some long exposures. It really is worth the inconvenience of lugging it around!

Last stop of the day was at Llyn Padarn. It truly is beautiful, a large lake with views towards Snowdon. 

The dying sun cast some interesting shadows and gave the light a beautifully dramatic feel. 

So I have hiked over slate, clambered up hillsides, photographed lakes and derelict buildings and also got the chance to do some shopping. Zen levels well and truly topped up!

Lessons learned: Leave the new coat in the car for all the other occasions when I am daft enough to forget one.

Diet Diary: You'd think all this hiking would help with the weight loss wouldn't you. It has been suggested that if I stopped visiting all the coffee shops and having slabs of cake, that it might make a difference, but I can't see that myself. What do you mean "denial"?

Dinorwig Slate Quarry

I have been to the Llanberis Slate Museum many times, but decided today that I would find the Slate Quarry. I have seen some amazing pictures of it on Facebook and decided it was time I went.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day, the first proper spring day, so just right for an outing. I had previously been told how to get to it via some steps close to the Museum which I found soon enough. What I hadn't been told was how steep the steps were or how far you had to climb them. I had been kidding myself that my fitness was improving, but all illusions were shattered here today. 

After an awful lot of wheezing and stops to get my breath, I came across this gorgeous row of derelict cottages, presumably for the quarry workers. 

The quarry is full of abandoned buildings, some with machinery still in, and it has quite an eerie feel to it. Despite it being such a gorgeous day I barely saw another person all day, which added to the strangeness of it all.

I followed the steps eventually to a more pronounced path which led, to a car park. Halfway up the quarry. Apparently this is what most people do to avoid the steps. Typical!

The path then led a different way around the quarry and downward, so I thought it would be a good idea to follow this and hopefully see more of the quarry.

This is a completely amazing place. I feel that it should be the set for one of the earlier Star Trek episodes, or at least Doctor Who. There is something definitely unworldly about it. To potential visitors my suggestion would be to visit the Slate Museum first and find out about the people who worked here and the conditions they had to face.

The day was very bright today and while this certainly helped with shutter speeds, the sun did cast a bit of a haze over the mountains so I have lost a bit of definition. Have added a bit via Lightroom which I think has helped. I found it very difficult to convey the scale of the Quarry in the photos, but I think some have come out ok.

So I decided it was time to head out and followed the new path. Good news is that it was definitely heading downwards, but the bad news is that it was zigzagging back and forth across the quarry and I covered so much ground. When I finally got to the end, the path finished 2.3 miles away from where I had parked the car! So today's Fitbug statistics - 16545 steps, 7.29 miles!!

Lessons Learned: Before embarking on a new path, check where it will lead. A lesson for life in general as well!

Don't overestimate your level of fitness. It has taken a few decades of concentrated inactivity to get where I am today. That's not going to be undone in a couple of months!

Llanberis Slate Museum December 2014

Had another attempt at Llanberis Slate Museum. Purse.. check, hair brush.. check. All set.

It is the most amazing drive to get from home in Shropshire to Llanberis. You go through Llangollen, Corwen, Betws-y-Coed and Capel Curig. You skirt the base of Snowdon and then through the Llanberis Pass. It would be worth going even if I just got there and turned round and came home again. The scenery is completely incredible.

The museum itself is set in the original workshops of the Dinorwig Slate Quarry and it is a fascinating place. You can spend hours just wandering around the machinery and getting a real feel for the atmosphere. You can go into the engine sheds where they worked on the trains that transported the slate which was fabulous. Tried to get some moody shots in there, but the tinsel wrapped around the train disturbed the ambience somewhat. Actually the inflatable Snowmen in the furnace room were probably worse! That's the trouble with Christmas, too much cheerfulness! Still, I think I managed to crop most of that out!            

  

 

At one end is a huge waterwheel which powered the whole factory. It was surrounded by a metal fence so I wasn't able to get a clear shot which was a shame. But the workrooms are just crammed with the most amazing tools and gadgets and I need to get back there. I had been set a challenge by a friend and I was focussing on photographing movement. It is sometimes a good idea to go somewhere with a definite purpose, it kind of focusses the mind. This is somewhere I can see myself going often, plus its handy to have a wet weather outing available.

This is one of my favourite pictures of the trip and I really don't know why. I call it the Duck Billed Telephone. Sometimes the most bizarre things work as a picture. The only editing I have done to it is to add a bit of a vignette. Trying to keep thinking about the Rule of Thirds and resist the temptation to put it slap bang in the centre!



Second attempt at "Movement". So lucky the bird was there when I was aiming!.

                 

While there, I was befriended by a workman who insisted on showing me all the best places to take photos and although I managed to lose him after a while, he caught up with me as I was about to leave. It was actually he who told me about the slate pool. It is so hidden away that if you didn't know it was there, you wouldn't know it was there. I walked through this low slate tunnel but when I came out the other side, it was a real wow moment. Never seen anything like it. Surrounded on all sides by this slate hill with a treacherously deep pool in the middle. I am so sad the pics weren't better, but I do still have the memory of course.

 

After leaving that, I found a hill to clamber up. (Its only a good trip if I can clamber up something). I was then overlooking the buildings and saw how close it was to the lake. So that was my next stop.

 Lessons Learned: Its an old clichéd saying, but its true. Enjoy the Journey!
Photograph the bizarre. If it doesn't work, delete it. But who knows...!