Cwm Eigiau Quarry

Ruined barracks, with Craig yr Ysfa in the background

Date	25 February 2012
Location	Cwm Eigiau, Carneddau	SH 70133 63594; 53.15358°N, 3.94353°W
Information	The tramway linking the nearby Cedryn Quarry to the river Conwy at Dolgarrog was extended to Cwm Eigiau Quarry in about 1863. From 1874 to 1885 the quarry was operated by the Caedryn and Cwm Eigiau Slate Company, which since 1863 had been the Caedryn Slate Quarry Company. The venture was ultimately unsuccessful owing to the poor quality of the slate. The slate mill was powered by waterwheel and the remains of a wall carrying water to the wheel and of the wheel pit can still be seen. Some of the quarrymen would have lodged in the barracks at the quarry complex; others would have walked to work from Bethesda – a hike of at least six miles up and over a 900-metre-high col in the Carneddau mountains. Rock Cannon — history and method of operation; Other rock-cannon posts

Thomas Hughes track - this portable system allowed track to be relocated in a quarry as the working faces advanced. Round iron-bar rails with 90-degree angled ends fitted into holes in the ends of cast-iron sleepers and intermediate sleepers supported the rails in between.

Thomas Hughes track

18-hole rock cannon, looking towards the barracks and Craig yr Ysfa

Rock Cannon - a traditional pyrotechnic device fired to mark special occasions and celebrations

Barracks and Craig yr Ysfa

Water-causeway wall which would have led water to a waterwheel powering the mill

Launder pillar and remains of the wheel pit

Solitary rowan tree and ruins of the slate-processing and loading house next to the river Afon Eigiau