Chwarel Rhiw Bach Quarry

Cymhedrol 2 awr | Moderate 2 hours

O'r argae a oedd yn bwynt gorffen y daith gerdded flaenorol, ewch ymlaen ar hyd y llwybr drwy'r coed. Mae darn corsiog, a ddraeniwyd gan Awdurdod Parc Eryri y llynedd, ond rwy'n gweld bod y sianeli'n blocio eto. Beth bynnag, ewch ymlaen ar draws nant ac allan o'r coed, heibio pwll dwfn ar y dde ac i fyny llethr byr i gyrraedd prif adeiladau'r chwarel gyda simnai amlwg. Roedd cymuned fach yn byw yn Rhiw Bach a gallwch ddod o hyd i dai ac ysgol fach a chapel ymhlith yr holl falurion a'r anialwch difrifol. Rhaid ei fod wedi bod yn lle niwlog, digalon yn y gaeaf, ond o leiaf roedd ganddyn nhw ddigon o fawn i gadw eu hunain yn gynnes. Mae prif adeiladau y pentref, mewn gwirionedd, i'r dwyrain neu'r chwith o'r simnai, ond mae'r ardal wedi'i chymhlethu gan bwll dwfn a thomenni llechi serth ac felly rydw i'n mynd â chi'n ôl i lawr y llethr i'r goedwig cyn troi'n ôl eto. Gallwch, wrth gwrs, adael y rhan hon i ail ymweliad. Y tro hwn pan fyddwch chi'n dod allan o'r coed, gadewch y prif lwybr i ddod o hyd i lwybr aneglur sy'n fforchio i'r chwith dros glawdd, trwy laswellt cyrsog a thir gwlyb cyn datblygu i fod y brif 'ffordd' i'r pentref gyda rhai olion ffensys llechi diddorol ar yr ochr. Ewch ymlaen o gwmpas at y tai ac adeiladau’r chwarel i’ch chwith. O’r fan hon gallwch olrhain llwybr i fyny’r gwastraff llechi i grŵp arall o adeiladau chwarel a chwarel danddedig eithaf sinistr gyda llwybr ar ei draws. Gall y rhai sydd â diddordeb mewn archaeoleg ddiwydiannol gael diwrnod maes yn Rhiw Bach, ond gadewaf i chi ddod o hyd i bethau drosoch eich hun. Mae rhywbeth y gallech ei golli, fel y gwnes i cyn iddo gael ei sylwi gan un o Grwydwyr y Cwm ar un o'n teithiau cerdded. Archwiliwch linell o gerrig mawr ar hyd y llwybr o flaen llyn y chwarel sydd wedi'i boddi,mae gan y rhain batrwm o dyllau wedi'u cysylltu gan rigolau. 'Gynnau llechi' oedd y rhain ac ar achlysuron arbennig byddai'r tyllau a'r rigolau'n cael eu llenwi â phowdr gwn (a ddefnyddir ar gyfer ffrwydro yn y chwarel) a byddai hwn yn cael ei danio i gynhyrchu sŵn atseiniol fel tân gwyllt mawreddog.

From the dam which was the finishing point of the previous walk, carry on along the track through the trees. There is a boggy patch, which the Snowdonia Park Authority drained last year, but I see the channels are blocking up again. Anyway, press on across a stream and out of the trees, past a deep pit on the right and up a short incline to reach the main quarry buildings with a prominent chimney. A small community lived at Rhiw Bach and you can find houses and a small school-cum-chapel amongst all the debris and sombre desolation. It must have been a misty, dismal place in the winter, but at least they had plenty of peat to keep themselves warm. The main village complex, in fact, is to the east or left of the chimney, but the area is complicated by a deep pit and steep slate tips and so I am going to take you right back down the incline to the forest before turning back again. You may, of course, leave this part to a second visit. This time when you emerge from the trees, leave the main track to locate a faint path that forks off left over a bank, through reedy grass and wettish ground before developing into the main 'road' to the village with some relics of interesting slate fencing at the side. Carry on round to the houses and quarry buildings to your left. From here you can trace a route up the slate waste to yet another group of quarry buildings and a rather sinister submerged quarry with a causeway across. Those interested in industrial archaeology can have a field-day at Rhiw Bach, but I shall leave you to find things for yourself. There is something you may well miss, as I did before it was noticed by one of the Cwm Ramblers on one of our walks. Examine a line of large stones along the track in front of the submerged quarry lake.Two of these have a pattern of holes linked by grooves. These were 'slate guns' and on special occasions the holes and grooves would be filled with gun powder (used for blasting in the quarry) and this would be ignited to produce resonating bangs like a grand firework.