A Weekend In North Wales Mines

chunky

Well-known member
Keith and Kay had put a request in earlier in the year to book The Great Orme Mine and so it seemed an ideal venue for Aprils Dudley Caving Club meet to make the most of the bank holiday.

Lucy had purchased a shiny new SRT kit a couple of weeks before and after a few practice sessions on the mill fancied putting her new found skills to use on some smaller pitches, and Kay had been pestering to do Croesor / Rhosydd, so for Saturdays trip we decided to kill 2 birds with one stone.

The long walk to the Croesor entrance was as much fun as ever, Kay particularly enjoyed it after having made the most of the all you can eat 4 course breakfast at her B&B!
At the entrance we found some European hikers poking their nose in before declaring us British barking mad and going on their way.

To steady Lucy's nerves we had brought enough rope to rig two lines so I could descend beside her, though it really wasn't needed as she had no problems at all on either pitch. Next up was the zip line which has been replaced since our last visit. The shiny new twin steel pulleys we had brought along worked far more efficiently than expected and I hurtled toward the wall far quicker than anticipated. Fortunately for me I managed to grab the rope in just enough time to slow myself to a dull thud against the slate!  o_O

Whilst the usual fun was had on the Zip line I took advantage of the others playing back and forth to get a planned shot of the rickety suspension bridge before we continued on through the other various obstacles. I had been a little worried about getting Lucy across the traverse, but a second zip line is now in place making the traverse redundant. We had another play with photo's, this time getting Kay to use her Vape to create a smokey effect, in fact creating so much smoke I couldn't see across the chamber!
The bridge of death has an odd new rigging to it but everyone managed to cross without incident, Well apart from Loz who managed to drop one of the shiny new pulleys in to the water below, so anyone fancying a swim there is treasure in that flooded chamber!

As we approached the canoe we realised we were going to be close to our call out time. Jess suggested I go ahead with Mike and Lucy to ensure we would make it out on time until I pointed out I was the only one who knew the way out and so we stayed as a group navigating through Rhosydd.

Once out Loz (Our resident ultra marathon runner) did her thing and jogged back to the cars. She arrived with only 5 minutes to spare before the call out. We eventually caught her up and headed to Betws Y Coed for a good meal before heading on to Llandudno.

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Day 2's adventure would be a led trip in to the Great Orme Mine.

A leisurely start to the day with the group meeting our guides half way up the Great Orme for 10am.

The walk to the shaft was only meters away and we were all happy to get out of the wind and on with exploration.
I'm not sure what I was expecting, but the nondescript walking, stooping and crawling muddy passage wasn't really it.
For once I felt no need to get the camera out and before I knew it we were heading back to the surface after less than a couple of hours.
First up I popped to get changed and took a few pics with my phone as the others exited. Lucy flew up the 20m pitch and so her initiation in to the world of SRT has officially started!

With more of the day left than expected we headed to the top of the Great Orme for tea and cake before Keith suggested us muggles might want to have a go at the mysterious world of geocaching. We had a romp over the hill side and were thrilled when we found the hidden stash! Unfortunately it was time to say goodbye to Lucy and Mike, but the rest of us were keen to take in the scenery around Happy Valley and continue with the geocache quest.
Eventually the rumble from the bellies could be ignored no longer and we headed in to Llandudno to collect traditional fish and chips to eat on the beachfront. I decided I wanted to eat mine on the beach itself and couldn't understand why the others weren't following......that is until I was mugged by seagulls! I beat a hasty retreat and guarded what was left in my tray.

The evening took a somewhat surprising turn when after Loz headed to campsite, Kay and Jess decided they wanted to visit a karaoke bar!
Against our better judgement, and with a couple of pints consumed, even Keith and I could be heard singing along at the table ;)

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Our last day was to be spent in Hendre Spa Mine.
Jess and I had a slight navigational blip and arrived to find most already changed and ready to go. Our leader Heather saw mine and Keith's video and camera gear and said she'd forgotten we were brining it and needed to change the call out. On the phone we heard her mention 8 to 9pm and I glanced over to see the look of horror on Keith's face at the thought of me keeping him hanging around taking photo's for hours :)

After the previous days outing I was beginning to think mines weren't really going to be my thing, but after quarter of an hour walking through pretty woodland we were climbing down a laddered shaft and in to large, well sculpted, passage which immediately appealed to my photographic side.
There were enough obstacles that Keith was able to take some video and the trip itself offered enough variation that it satisfied all.
Fortunately Heather had overestimated our dedication for documenting the mine and we exited in to sunshine at around 3pm.
We tried for a quick drink before heading our separate ways but were unable to find anything open and so bid farewell to each other and our leaders and headed home after another successful underground and social weekend to start washing our kit.

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Ian Adams

Active member
I have never seen the Spar Mine looking so good.

Great report and great you had fun in North Wales .... The GOES lads told you there was a much easier way into the Orme mine, right?

;)

Ian
 

cavemanmike

Active member
chunky said:
Thanks all.  (y)

Got that train running yet Mike !?!?!
train is up and running and going a bit to bloody fast if you ask me  :eek:.  i'm just about half way through putting a new ladder way in.
only another 250 ish foot to go
 

chunky

Well-known member
cavemanmike said:
chunky said:
Thanks all.  [emoji106]

Got that train running yet Mike !?!?!
train is up and running and going a bit to bloody fast if you ask me  :eek:.  i'm just about half way through putting a new ladder way in.
only another 250 ish foot to go
[emoji106] outstanding, are those the ones that were started last time we were there?

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