Todays ride

[summittoppler]

Had a bit of a mooch around Moel ztryfan quarry up here in Eryri. The purple and green slate looked fantastic with the sunshine on them. Reg will no doubt know all about this place.
Yesterday also marked 11 years of having the Mukluk too
Some pics....

[RIP]

Nice one Jeff. That whole area is ace and rarely visited. Unlike touristy Llanberis, or 'adventurised' Bethesda or Blaenau, it is little different from when the quarries closed 50 years ago. Very atmospheric. Did you pop into the community cafe at Y Fron?

[summittoppler]

Nice one Jeff. That whole area is ace and rarely visited. Unlike touristy Llanberis, or 'adventurised' Bethesda or Blaenau, it is little different from when the quarries closed 50 years ago. Very atmospheric. Did you pop into the community cafe at Y Fron?

Unfortunately not, but I did eat my Co-Op meal deal sheltered from the wind behind a very old looking slate wall. And it was very atmospheric indeed. It is very quiet there isn't it. Had a brief chat with a couple on gravel bikes and that was it.

[Tractionman]

Top end of Swaledale today, some interesting industrial relics I wasn't expecting like a lead smelting mill!

This is me grinding my way as slowly upwards towards Keld

IMG-20241102-WA0010.jpg (78.49 KiB) Viewed 1224 times

[whitestone]

Top end of Swaledale today, some interesting industrial relics I wasn't expecting like a lead smelting mill!

Yeah, twas a huge industry in the dale. Some of the workings only (finally) stopped just before WW1. One of the main methods of finding the veins was "hushing", basically create a dam at the top of a hill then break it and let the flood strip away the surface material, hopefully exposing the vein. Sometimes they'd do this time and time again - go and look at Gunnerside mines - the gullies are most impressive.

The best preserved buildings are at Grinton (about a mile along the road to Leyburn) and Surrender Mill which is on the sides of Great Pinseat above Low Row but there are workings and ruins all over the dale.

[Tractionman]

Top end of Swaledale today, some interesting industrial relics I wasn't expecting like a lead smelting mill!

Yeah, twas a huge industry in the dale. Some of the workings only (finally) stopped just before WW1. One of the main methods of finding the veins was "hushing", basically create a dam at the top of a hill then break it and let the flood strip away the surface material, hopefully exposing the vein. Sometimes they'd do this time and time again - go and look at Gunnerside mines - the gullies are most impressive.

The best preserved buildings are at Grinton (about a mile along the road to Leyburn) and Surrender Mill which is on the sides of Great Pinseat above Low Row but there are workings and ruins all over the dale.

Thanks -- I was looking at NLS at the old OS maps, this was the mill we saw:

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=1 ... orld&o=100

I'll be back to explore more!

cheers,

Keith

[whitestone]

If you want some more detail then this is a decent start - https://keld.omeka.net/items/show/46

It refers to Beldi Hill which I couldn't find on the current OS maps but is the one you viewed.

[Tractionman]

If you want some more detail then this is a decent start - https://keld.omeka.net/items/show/46

It refers to Beldi Hill which I couldn't find on the current OS maps but is the one you viewed.

That's brilliant! Thanks very much, really interesting

all the best,

Keith

[Verena]

Was really good, despite being almost entirely in fog - glad I managed to get out.

Down Clydach Gorge, up Llanthony Valley to Gospel Pass, then back down the Craswall and Longtown Way, have been meaning to try that for ages. Obviously a day with next to no visibility is perfect for having a look at a new route Then back up Clydach Gorge.

Lovely autumn colours still.

[Bearlegged]

That brings back memories of the 2020 BB200, all of them very steep!

[Verena]

That brings back memories of the 2020 BB200, all of them very steep!

Except we made it easy for ourselves and stayed on tarmac...

Some really nice looking pubs too in that valley...

Would still love to ride that route one day...

[Johnallan]

Actually Fridays/yesterday's

The Moonrakers and Sunseekers Audax. 300km from Bristol to Bournemouth, then back again. At night and in November

It sounds a terrible idea but it was actually really good fun.

10pm start, traffic free riding though the night, loads of coffee and cake at the first 2 controls - 50km and 100km. A detour to see Stonehenge under a full moon, loads more food at the 'breakfast' control in Poole - jacket potatoes, veggie sausages, beans etc, then back to Bristol in the daylight on quiet lanes and cycle tracks.

I'd absolutely recommend it but it's difficult to convince people to join in. I tried and failed many times

[fatbikephil]

A lengthy trip round my local hills today, after blagging a day off work to cash in on the last of the good weather...
Was breezier and cloudier than forecast but a good 'un by any measure....



Frozen tussocks! The ground was like concrete which made for very easy going - this section is usually a complete swamp with some sections so bad you have to scamper over them quickly to avoid disappearing for ever into the glop. Today I just cruised over the lot.

Thereafter I ascended into the murk and even had a brief snow shower (hurrah!) whilst eating lunch.



The last two hills were in the clear, views north still obscured by cloud but some snow visible. It seems that further north got plastered as well as the deep south, but zippo round here. Apparently there is to be a reasonable dump tomorrow morning but by the afternoon it's to be rain and rain, followed by rain. Forecasted temps on sunday 10 degrees...

The ICT is 10 years old today Me and it (her?) have been through an awful lot since I got it in Nov 2014 and it still delivers. I have on occasion considered something else, but generally end up thinking that the only thing better would be another ICT.

A mere 42 miles but it took me 6 hours

[faustus]

What a cracking looking ride Phil...bit envious as that's the kind of midweek ride I'd like to do. Love it when the ground freezes, but you gotta be lucky to catch it at the right time (especially in the south)