Cwmorthin - A Thin Place
1,033 views · Published 19 March 2017 · 4:49 · Indexed 20 September 2026
Channel: Life The Basic Manual · 2017 · Education
Cwmorthin is the site of an abandoned slate quarry and mine. For two hundred years, men and women lived and toiled in this place, and now all that remains are the abandoned shells of their homes and their workplaces. High above the beautiful Vale of Ffestiniog, Cwmorthin has a reputation among locals and walkers for a place with a strange, sometimes oppressive, atmosphere. There is a well-known and much retold story, about Cwmorthin. Sometimes, they say, that as you round the edge of the dark waters of the lake here, and follow on up the lonely high path, the figures of two old miners may be seen, walking the path ahead of you. But they can never be caught up with, and if you walk the path to its end, you will see that they have apparently disappeared into the dead end of a steep mountainside. In this clip, Dave gives us a chance to soak up some of the atmosphere ourselves. He shares his impressions with us, but after that, he lets the eerie winds of the Cwmorthin do the talking themselves.
