Saturday morning dawned grey and drizzly so we thought we might as well do one of the bush walks in Coed Y Brenin - we had read up several walks in a book we had and they said that if ever there was a walk to do in the rain, this was the place...
We had to drive through some quaint little towns to get there with some interesting architecture. This lovely little town was Dolgellau.
We arrived mid-morning and the sky had cleared somewhat. Setting off on the 'Gain Waterfall Trail' we began our walk.
Lots of remains of old stone walls
buildings
and more fences
A moth on the trail...haven't been able to identify this yet.
Meandering streams
Heather
Rusty abandoned equipment
Left where it was last used
Nature taking its course
Fungi on trees
The three 'boys'
The colour of the water sparked the imagination and its gold finding days.
The rocks here are as ancient as any in Wales and contain many precious minerals such as copper, gold and iron ores...
Looking back at the bridge
Rushing water over gold stained rocks.
More stone walls
The Rhaeader Mawddach Waterfall
You could see why it was good to come on a rainy day as the waterfall was running well
Ruins could be seen throughout the woods, could this be the relics of the old gunpowder factory I wonder?
or the remains of the buildings where the people mined this area stayed and lived.
The old Gwynfyndd Goldmine was only closed in 1999 - and yet it looked like it had been abandoned for a much longer time - the way nature and neglect has had an effect.
You could hardly believe that it was only such a short time ago that this was in use!
The Pistyll Cain Waterfall
Walking back
Getting there....
So much history there ... ancient and not so ancient :0)
ReplyDeletexx
A lovely reminder of my childhood. You don't by any chance know which little town the Church was in: I don't recognise it.
ReplyDeleteI will see if I can work it out...and will let you know.
DeleteThe first church is 'Our Lady of Sorrows' Catholic Church in Dolgellau. The second is St Marys Church Dolgellau
DeleteThank you very much. It's a town in which I've spent a lot of time in my life but I just don't remember the first church which is very distinctive. The second one could, of course, be any church in Britain where that sort of stone exists.
DeleteI have just looked the church up as it is rather distinctive. Interestingly it was only built in 1966 and is a Grade II listed building - quite an interesting bit on how it came to be built Wiki.
DeleteHow absolutely fascinating both as a building and a story. Thanks for the lead. I really enjoyed that and when I get back to Wales I shall try and put it on the agenda.
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