WMPT Heritage Weekend 28-29 May 2016
Ystumtuen and the mines of the upper Rheidol
Nearly twenty people in total attended the heritage weekend and we are indebted to Ioan Rhys Lord for providing such a well-informed tour of the workings over the two days.
Starting at Ystumtuen on the Saturday we walked through Bwlchgwyn, where Ioan used historic photographs and a Lewis Morris’s drawing to illustrate the extent of the early workings, and over towards the Temple Mine. Although nesting birds prevented us from visiting Temple we could look down towards the site and appreciate its inaccessible location in the Rheidol gorge. Subject to confirmation we do intend to look at that site in detail in early September.
On the Sunday we visited the lower workings of Rheidol United on the left bank of the river. Although the ore hoppers survive, albeit in need of conservation, much of the dressing floors here were covered with spoil from the construction of the hydro-electric feed tunnels in the late 1950s, but some features are evident along the river bank and warrant further investigation. The Trust is planning further work in this area. After lunch the workings in te woodland above Caegynon were explored and, with David James in attendance, there was much discussion on the nature of the ore-bearing deposits – discussion which continued in the evening over sandwiches in the Halfway Inn at Pisgah.
Also discussed at the Halfway were the possibilities for next year and future Heritage Weekends – once confirmed, the detais will be posted to this website.
