Cwm Bychan Mine

Location
Main Adit SH 603(56) 475(57) Elevation 649ft
Adit #2 SH 602(97) 473(61) Elevation 568ft
Adit #3 SH 604(86) 476(66) Elevation 692ft
Adit #4 SH 605(54) 479(24) Elevation 812 ft

Directions
Park in the car park at Nantmor (south of Beddgelert – it’s called the Aberglaslyn car park) and take the footpath up and over the railway, up through the woodland and into the gully of Cwm Bychan. You will see the main adit (huge spoil heap) on the left halfway up just after the winding pylons.

Access
Ungated. No known permissions required.

Suggested Equipment
None.

Length
Main Adit Unknown
Adit #2 Unknown
Adit #3 Unknown
Adit #4 Unknown

Flood risk
None Known

Mine Attributes
Manganese. However other minerals exist including copper, iron, sulphur and fools gold.

Description

Main Adit
This is located at the top of a large spoil heap just north of the winding pylons and is probably the largest mine in the Cwm Bychan area. The adit itself is flooded to around 3 feet and travels inwards for around 200 yards where it comes to a T junction. Adits run left and right here for several hundred yards in both directions and become dry. At the T junction there is a shaft to surface around 60-70 feet in height. Both adits exhibit decorations, nails, mineral intrusions and some evidenc of copper (sulphate) remains in the left adit, as does some evidence of fools gold.

Above the entrance (scramble over the top and beyond) is another much larger entrance which is essentially a mined stope which seemingly leads back down to the adit. This is a dangerous descent without equipment (should not be tried) and, in any event, can be reached from the adit below.

Adit #2
This adit is on the left walking up Cwn Bychan a couple hundred yards before you reach the main adit. There is a small area of razed buildings which give away it’s location.

This adit is flooded to around 8-10 inches and has not yet been explored but ought to be “reasonable” in length due to the amount of spoil outside

Adit #3
This adit is on the right walking up Cwn Bychan a couple hundred yards after you reach the main adit. There is a small area of spoil which gives away it’s location.

This adit is flooded to around 8-10 inches and has not yet been explored but may have limited prospects due to being on the other side of the gully to the main workings.

Adit #4
This adit is on the left walking up Cwn Bychan a couple hundred yards after you reach the adit #3 There is a small area of spoil which gives away it’s location.

This adit is flooded to around 8-10 inches and has not yet been explored but may have limited prospects due to the small amount of spoil outside

Note : There are known to be more adits in the immediate area which have not yet been located

Unexplored Passages
Adit #2 remains unexplored
Adit #3 remains unexplored
Adit #4 remains unexplored

Digs
None Known

Links
http://www.francisfrith.com/cwm-bychan/

http://www.aditnow.co.uk/mines/cwm-bychan-Copper-Mine-2/

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/hendrecoed/hendrecoed/Merioneth-Manganese/mines/cwmBychan/index.html

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/155226

http://www.mine-explorer.co.uk/mines/Cwm-bychan-(nantmor)_1776/Cwm-bychan-(nantmor).asp

The entrance to adit #4





Inside adit #4

The entrance to adit #3





Inside adit #3

The main adit (on top of a large spoil heap)




Inside the man adit




The open stope entrance above the main entrance





..... and again





Looking straight down the stope into the main adit below (vertical shot)

The entrance to adit #2





Inside adit #2

Inside the Main Adit





At the main entrance






A strange film over the water around 200 yards in where the T junctions is






In the left hand adit






A "nail" in the left hand adit






The water disappears in the left hand adit

Inside the Main Adit





A strange film over the water at the beginning of the right hand adit






Strange gloopy red stuff under the water in the right hand adit






The limit of the right hand adit

just a few more