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Gilfach Ddu

Grade I listed buildings in GwyneddSlate industry in Wales
The National Slate Museum at Gilfach Ddu geograph.org.uk 294353
The National Slate Museum at Gilfach Ddu geograph.org.uk 294353

Gilfach Ddu (also known as the Dinorwic Slate Quarry Workshops) are a series of well preserved Grade I listed industrial buildings built to serve the Dinorwic slate quarry near the Llanberis in Caernarfonshire, North Wales. The workshops are a complex of repair and maintenance buildings, that were built in 1870 to build and maintain the machinery used in the quarry. The complex includes saw sheds, patternmaking shops, a foundry with copula, blacksmiths shops, fitting shops, stores, engine sheds, a canteen, the chief engineers house, a hand operated crane and two waterwheels which provided the site with its power. Since 1972 the buildings have housed the National Slate Museum.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Gilfach Ddu (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

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N 53.121 ° E -4.1152 °
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Welsh Slate Museum


LL55 4TY , Llanddeiniolen
Wales, United Kingdom
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museum.wales

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The National Slate Museum at Gilfach Ddu geograph.org.uk 294353
The National Slate Museum at Gilfach Ddu geograph.org.uk 294353
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Nearby Places

Padarn Halt railway station

Padarn Halt was a passenger only railway station located in Llanberis, Gwynedd, Wales, on the western shore of Llyn Padarn. It opened on 21 November 1936 and closed on the outbreak of the Second World War. The line through the station remained in use for excursions until 1962 and for freight until 1964; it was lifted in 1965. The LMSR closed the Llanberis branch to regular passenger services in 1930, though frequent Summer excursions continued to run. In 1934 the company reinstated a regular Saturdays only train specifically to serve Caernarfon market. In many parts of Britain "Market Trains" were an established part of local commerce and social life in a way which has passed into history. Llanberis station was not in the centre of Llanberis, so the company built the halt half a mile from the terminus specifically for this market traffic. The halt opened on 21 November 1936, from which time the market trains used the halt there instead of at Llanberis station. The halt consisted of an unlit single wooden platform on trestles, with a very small wooden waiting shelter at its southern end. It was accessed by a gravel footpath which continued over the tracks to the lakeside by a foot crossing. The 1939 working timetable shows that some excursions made unadvertised stops at the halt.The track bed from Llanberis through the site of the halt (at what is now the lakeside entrance to the industrial estate) as far as Cwm-y-Glo is now occupied by the improved A4086, which by-passes the centre of Llanberis. No trace of the station remains.

Llyn Peris
Llyn Peris

Llyn Peris is a lake in Snowdonia, Wales, approximately 1.8 km long and situated close to the villages of Llanberis and Nant Peris, and the smaller twin of Llyn Padarn. The lake was formed glacially and is an example of a moraine-dammed lake. Llyn Peris is named after Saint Peris, an early Christian saint of whom little is known. The lake is flanked on one side by the mountain Elidir Fawr and the former slate quarry of Dinorwig. Above the opposite bank are the hills of Derlwyn and Clogwyn Mawr and a rock formation known as the Lady of Snowdon, due to its resemblance to a human face. The ruins of Dolbadarn Castle are also located on a mound above the lake. The lake now forms the lower reservoir of Dinorwig power station, and the administrative buildings for the station are situated on the lake shore. Water is released into the lake from Marchlyn Mawr (the upper reservoir) to produce electricity during periods of peak demand. This water is, in turn, pumped back to the upper reservoir using electricity purchased at off-peak periods. The water level of the lake therefore varies considerably, depending on UK electricity demand. Excess water from the lake drains into Llyn Padarn. During construction of the power station, when the capacity of the lake was increased considerably at this time, with the removal of a large quantity of slate waste, rare Welsh Arctic char fish were removed to four other lakes in the neighbouring Carneddau mountains, namely Ffynnon Llugwy, Llyn Cowlyd, Llyn Melynllyn and Llyn Dulyn, where they are still to be found. Although Llyn Peris itself was not restocked, some char have found their way back to the lake. Parts of the lake shore are designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest for Glacial Geology.

Llyn Padarn
Llyn Padarn

Llyn Padarn is a glacially formed lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd, north Wales, and is an example of a moraine dammed lake. The lake is approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) long (about 240 acres) and at its deepest point is 94 feet (29 m) deep, and is one of the largest natural lakes in Wales. At its south-eastern end it is linked to the neighbouring Llyn Peris (which forms the lower reservoir of the Dinorwig power station). The busy village of Llanberis lies on the southern banks of the lake. Most of Llyn Padarn is owned by Gwynedd Council and is part of Padarn Country Park. Whilst kayaking, rowing and sailing are permitted on the lake, powered craft require permission to use it. Bangor University Rowing Club row at Llyn Padarn. In April 2014 Llyn Padarn was designated as Bathing Water under the Bathing Water Directive (2006/7/EC). The outflow of Llyn Padarn is on the northern shore and is called Afon Rhythallt, which passes by the village of Brynrefail, Gwynedd and becomes Afon Seiont below Pont Rhythallt, near Llanrug. It reaches the sea at Caernarfon. Padarn Country Park is located on the northern flank of the lake, including Coed Allt Wen, a rare and ancient sessile oak woodland. Both the woodland and Llyn Padarn are designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest. The Llanberis Lake Railway also runs along its eastern bank and various recreational activities take place on the lake, especially during the summer. These include canoeing, boating and fishing. The lake was the venue for the rowing events of the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. Former local bus company Padarn Bus, which operated between 1979 and 2014 from a base at nearby Llanberis, was named after the lake.Llyn Padarn is named after Padarn, an early 6th century saint, who has a church dedicated to him in Llanberis.