Porthmadog to Caernarfon

After, William Madocks constructed the 1.6 kms seawall, now known as The Cob, he inadvertently formed a natural harbour. It did not take him long to realize the potential of the channel. Porthmadog was built to house the port workers but also the flourishing shipbuilding trade. Between 1830-1913 over 300 ships were built here. With the harbour, came the need to replace horse-drawn slate cars bringing slate from mines and quarries in the mountains to the wharves in Porthmadog to be shipped around the world. A narrow-gauge railway was built called the Ffestiniog Railway that was fed by various tramlines from the quarries. Still later the Welsh Highland Railway was added. We took a ride on this section of railway.

Cenotaph across from our accommodations in Porthmadog.

The mountains behind our accommodations.

The Garth Calvanistic Methodist Chapel that is abandoned then slated for apartment conversion but is now an eyesore. It is a lovely building in Porthmadog.

The Salem Welsh Independent Chapel that was originally built in 1827, expanded in 1841 and rebuilt in 1860. Now abandoned.

Railway Station on the western end of The Cob. It was the terminus for slate being delivered to Porthmadog wharves by rail. The station opened to passengers in 1864 and continued until World War Two in 1939. During the war the station was used as headquarters for Dutch Cammandos. It reopened in 1955 to passengers and is now the home of the Ffestiniog and the Welsh Highland Railways that take passengers on rail trips.

We decided we would take a trip to Caernarfon through the Snowdonia mountains. This is the train on The Cob.

They didn't leave much room for the train to get by.

Steam power fuel.

The engine is a true steam engine as this picture proves. After going through a 280 m (919 ft) tunnel, the windows were all steamed up on the outside. 

Mountain pass stream. Massive amounts of hiking trails.

Unfortunately, the Welsh Highland Train never reached its full potential as the slate industry dried up. It went into receivership, was leased to the Ffestiniog Railway and then was requisitioned for the war. In 1995 a plan was in place to bring it back to life. The railways are run by dedicated volunteers and a few paid positions. They do most of the work, including building railways, cleaning brush along railways, scrub, varnishing, painting coaches etc. 

In late 2024, two major wind storms came through Wales and took out many trees. The area is steeply forested and was originally native oak, birch and willow. The Forestry Commission planted exotic confers. Oak trees have natural buttresses to their roots but fir trees have one tap root and many small roots spread out shallowly. Unfortunately the winds came along and the firs came down leaving huge root balls everywhere. Needless to say they are now planting more native species.

Mount Snowdon. It is the tallest mountain in Wales and England at 3560 ft (1085 m) above sea level. The name refers to the legend of a giant being killed by King Arthur on the top of the mountain and until the early 1800s there was a large cairn on the top of the mountain. Snowdon is the most climbed mountain in the world. Over 500,000 people climb it every year and over 250,000 come by tram. There are many walking trails here and is part of the Snowdan Slate Trail (Llwybr Llechi Eryi) of 83 miles (133 km) and is a UNESCO world heritage site.

Slate has been quarried and mined for over 2000 years. Even the Romans used it for rooves on their buildings. With advent of the industrial revolution it became popular all over the world. 20 new quarries appeared.  1793 saw 26,000 tons produced. By 1893 500,000 tons and 20000 men were working.

These are tailings from the quarries. For every ton of workable slate 9 tons of waste is produced. One quarry had so much waste it purchased a town and a monastery and buried them with tailings.