Graig y Ddalfa -- Cefn Croes

Saturday, 23 Jun 2007 from Cwmystwyth
1:50k OS maps: [SW] [NE] Click images to magnify.
I think this walk deserves a comment. The upper Cwm Ystwyth is a splendid piece of landscape. The abandoned lead mines add interest but also ruin the feel of unspoilt, wild mid Wales. The bare, lead-poisoned hillside of Graig y Ddalfa shows how an ancient industry, important in its time, can leave marks on the landscape for generations.
There is no doubt that we need to develop renewable forms of power generation, and wind power is one of them. It is very tempting for planning bodies to avoid conflict by putting large wind power stations out of sight by placing them in the remotest and most natural places such as the moorlands of mid Wales. If we find a better solution to the power generation (and consumption) problem in the future (and as a scientist, I am convinced that we will if we try and invest into research...), then we may soon have two short-lived abandoned industries adding interest to an afternoon's walk by spoiling the natural beauty of wild mid Wales.

I don't know. Just let's not put all our eggs in one basket.


Cwmystwyth lead mine.
Overview of the mines from just above.

Graig y Ddalfa, high above Cwm Ystwyth.
The upper Cwm Ystwyth from Graig y Ddalfa.
Strata poking through the grass cover.

Llyn Isaf.
Makeshift stile. All that's needed really. ->

Boggy pond on Pant y Gwartheg.

The same pond from the ridge to its west.
Cefn Croes power station from the south.
Warning: Turbine spotting may cause damage to your neck! ->

The top end of Rhuddnant gorge.
The Nant Rhuddnant above the gorge. ->

One of the huge tracks criss-crossing the power station area.

Andrew Davies's memorial to himself.
One of the turbines has its rotor refitted.
Turbine blade on a lorry.


More boring access tracks.
<- The shaft end of a turbine blade.
Turbines all over the place!
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This page shows my own views down the hillsides of Wales, not those of my employer. Does anyone really think the College is paying me to go walking?!?