Dylife was once home to a community of about 1000 people and the mine was one of the biggest lead producers in Europe. Now little remains of the village, a few houses and a pub. However the extensive spoil heaps hide numerous shaft, adits and other remains.
About ten years ago the site was cleaned up, with the intention of making it into a heritage site, but this appears to have stalled.
There's still plenty to see there as the site is on common land. The undergound workings have been extensively explored - see Mine Explorer or Aditnow.
As the shafts and adits were crudely blocked up or filled with spoil, the whole site should be treated with caution. Collapses are regular occurences, and new adits frequently open up after heavy rain.
Picture of Dylife at it's zenith
This is the Martha Wheel pit. Apparently the wheel turned continuously for 50 years before being dismantled and shipped out to Canada. The pit is about 40 ft deep and was filled with scrap until being restored in 2005. The bottom of the wheel pit is still filled as leaving it empty might precipitate a collapse
Entrance to Llechwed shaft
selection of other shafts and adits. sorry - can't work out the names
Massive collapse
Excavation still seems to be going on in the area close to the Martha wheel pit
Found this bit of very old wooden pipe near the entrance to the adit that had a stream running into it.
The stream that flows down the valley disappears and reappears regularly into old workings. I followed the valley up and saw what were clearly old lead flues, but was warned off by hostile resident and big dog who believed (incorrectly) that it was his land.
It's a really remote place, on the mountain road between Llandrindod Wells and Machynlleth. A more friendly resident told us she'd been cut off for 16 days in the winter.
More info here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/mid/sites/history/pages/dylife_mine.shtml
and here
http://www.abandonedcommunities.co.uk/page22.html
this includes the story of a mines blacksmith who killed his wife and daughter and dumped them down one of the shafts.
About ten years ago the site was cleaned up, with the intention of making it into a heritage site, but this appears to have stalled.
There's still plenty to see there as the site is on common land. The undergound workings have been extensively explored - see Mine Explorer or Aditnow.
As the shafts and adits were crudely blocked up or filled with spoil, the whole site should be treated with caution. Collapses are regular occurences, and new adits frequently open up after heavy rain.
Picture of Dylife at it's zenith
This is the Martha Wheel pit. Apparently the wheel turned continuously for 50 years before being dismantled and shipped out to Canada. The pit is about 40 ft deep and was filled with scrap until being restored in 2005. The bottom of the wheel pit is still filled as leaving it empty might precipitate a collapse
Entrance to Llechwed shaft
selection of other shafts and adits. sorry - can't work out the names
Massive collapse
Excavation still seems to be going on in the area close to the Martha wheel pit
Found this bit of very old wooden pipe near the entrance to the adit that had a stream running into it.
The stream that flows down the valley disappears and reappears regularly into old workings. I followed the valley up and saw what were clearly old lead flues, but was warned off by hostile resident and big dog who believed (incorrectly) that it was his land.
It's a really remote place, on the mountain road between Llandrindod Wells and Machynlleth. A more friendly resident told us she'd been cut off for 16 days in the winter.
More info here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/mid/sites/history/pages/dylife_mine.shtml
and here
http://www.abandonedcommunities.co.uk/page22.html
this includes the story of a mines blacksmith who killed his wife and daughter and dumped them down one of the shafts.
