The Black Mountains

4 Responses to “Failed drift mine and the Strawberry Wall at Ynysybwl visited”

1. 1 Sue Jones
   March 4, 2009 at 11:31 pm

   I was brought up in Ynysybwl in the 1960s/70s and have retained my fondness for my old home village.

   Old maps show “old railway” in this area – presumably for the old Darranddu levels Was the wall possibly a bridge/enbankment for the railway? I guess that this old railway would have crossed what is now the main Ynysybwl/Pontypridd Road and river Clydach to join up with the main Ynysybwl Railway Branch?

2. 2 Mark Davies
   March 14, 2010 at 10:08 pm

   I am from ynysybwl, and having left over 15 years ago am pulled back by it mystery ( and my beautiful partner) I’ve visited the strawberry wall and level at Darrenddu, not believing i had never noticed the open shaft during my many walks up to the fishery as a kid. I discussed both with my grandad, who is a life long Bwl inhabitant claimed that the wall was an elevated dram platform for another level. he also claimed that Ynysybwl was scattered with these levels including one covered at the bottom of new road, one in Jackie Butch’s quarry by the round park, whitch he can remember working in his lifetime!! and several up towards the old bwl pub. does anyone have any more info on there please?

3. 3 rhys davey
   September 4, 2010 at 6:11 pm

   my connections with ynysybwl arefrom 1943-1990. during the 1950.s in company with my uncle ;harry hopkins would walk the bwl branch from old bwl to pistill golau onthe way i was shown the brick arch entrance to a drift mineabove cwm sidings. i tried finding this in the mid 1980,s but no luck, probably collapsed

4. 4 Dai Heafield
   February 14, 2011 at 2:20 am

   I spend many happy hours “over the brook” swimming in the small dam that some of the ‘Bwl dads (I really remember Tess Stobarts as one of its main builders) built up with sand bags every spring/summer …damming it up opposite the tunnel.

   The swimming hole always required wearing old shoes (old daps or desert wellies)due to the rough and loose bedrock underneath the water.

   If you were lucky enough to be there first in the morning your “gang” would claim the big flat(ish) rock to put your dry clothes on and lay on to sunbath and get warm in the sun after the always chilling dip in the cold stream water.

   Most days over there would always require a trip up the steep banking to visit the strawberry wall and try to pick some wild strawberries (always tiny examples) and a daring humpback climb up to the top of it , followed by a careful climb back down in case you fell ….LOL.

   Then came the inevitable “dare” of going into the tunnel as far as you could ….invaribly only 10-20 yards ….You’d try and stand on the stepping stones of the rocks under the water until the sunlight ran out until then along with the sunlight your courage ran out and the thoughts of the bogey-men ahead made you turn back.

   I spread part of my dads ashes up there a few years ago when I went on a personal pilgrimage to re-visit places that held loving memories to ourselves (as a family we moved away from the ‘Bwl over 30 years ago) ….

   I occasionly pay a discreet visit there to breath in old memories , my English-born daughter loves it there too as it offers a glipse of an unspoilt past …..although it was sad to see that the old flat sunbathing rock was near obliterated with overgrown brambles and moss.

   Its a wonderfully “secret” spot , known to many from the bwl , but only a select few from outside its populous …. I’ve always thought it a very pre-historic location for any budding horror film director.

   It holds a very dear place in my 48 year old heart.