Bryn Eglwys
Bryn Eglwys
Grid ref : Big Mine
No. of levels : >5
Personal experience? : Yes
Bryn Eglwys
Bryn Eglwys is a large mine, situated at the end of the Tal-y-Llyn railway in Mid-Wales. If you go to the top end of the railway, and follow the obvious series of inclines and tramways up the valley, you'll soon get to the main tipping area of the mine.
The slate is nearly vertical in this mine, therefore SRT is generally required to move between levels.
What's there
There are a number of ways into the mine from the area by the tips, the easiest is to find the two open cast quarries behind the tips, climb into the easternmost one, go under the large rock arch, and in through the obvious opening on the right. You can see daylight here, and if you wade through the water you can pop out on the other side of the tips.
Deeper into the mine, you come across a vertical square shaft, open to the surface, and descending about 50m down. There is water emerging from about halfway down making a nice waterfall. That level is blind as all the entrances to the chambers have been banged.
Past the shaft, you come to a partially flooded area, which we'll come to the other side of shortly.
There are other ways in further up the hillside, which are a complete pain to find as they are in thick forest, and you really have to look hard to find them. The upper entrance has a tip by it which makes locating it easier. Entering here just you takes straight into the hill, passing several large chambers on the way. You can SRT down to the next level.
The next level down also can be entered from the surface, it is found in the back wall of a small open cast area. This level is a similar format to the top level, and from this one you can SRT down the foot wall of the rear chamber to get into the next level down.
On this level, there are a number of old hand winches which are still in working order.
From one of the chambers, it is possible to climb down to the next level below, which if you follow the adit along, you soon reach the partially flooded area described before.
Through Trip
Thus if you start from the top but one level of the mine, you can have an easy little through trip.
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