Nantymailor Spring, Tunnel & Reservoir (pic Heavy) March 2010
Attending Magnetmonkey Petzl & Myself
Mission To explore strange new holes..
Given the big nod by Magnetmonkey to come and help explore and explain some puzzling tunnels on the hills above Abersychan. All sorts of ideas were being bandied about by the end of our trip and all of them wrong...lol! A few hours trawling, searching plenty of tea and some serious head scratching and here we go..
The town is paved and lighted and supplied with both gas and water by the Pontypool Gas and Water Company, established in 1850, incorporated in 1871. There are 4 reservoirs, having a total capacity of about 12¼ million gallons, including one at Cwm-Avon, holding about 7 million gallons, and pumping plant was also erected at Cwm-Avon in 1894 for supplying the higher portion of the district. There are five springs, two at Cwm-Avon, one at Nantymailor and two at the Folly, supplying Pontypool, Abersychan, Talywain, Garndiffaith, Varteg, Griffithstown, Sebastopol and New Inn. The Gas Works supply Pontypool, Griffithstown and Sebastopol . The Pontypool and District Electric Lighting Power Co. Limited, formed in 1893, has works in Park road, and several of the streets and shops are now supplied with the electric light.
The tunnel was built in 1888 to provide a clear path to the source of the spring in Nantymailor, before this time the water from the spring was contaimnated by mineral deposits in the sub strata. Coal and Silica deposits lie all around the area. The tunnel has had much remedial maintenance work carried out over the years by Dwr Cymru including the spraycrete coating. The site has been derelict for the past 30 years and the spring diverted to the original streamway. Enjoy
No matter where you go..
Tidy end of tunnel intact
Railtrack used as roof support
Lode of Silica sand, same as found in Dinas
Spraycrete voids once housed timbers
Shoring timbers rotting away inside spraycrete shell
Mid point collapse from entry end
More railtrack leftover from construction
Mid point collapse from far end
Rough end of tunnel with spring water now funnelled into pipe
The spring has forced its way up and around the sump
pipe outlet and valve
Nicely disturbed after our wade.
The brick sump was built around the spring to allow it to be piped.
Heading back thru the spring
Petzl & Magnetmonkey at end collapse
A flat crawl over the mud ends after 20ft
Little spring mudmen.. Nice chaps.. bit quiet tho?
Looking back at the sump from the muddy collapsed end.
The spring now diverts the reservior into this beautiful mountain stream
Big thanks to Magnetmonkey for bringing us in to investigate, always a pleasure
Attending Magnetmonkey Petzl & Myself
Mission To explore strange new holes..
Given the big nod by Magnetmonkey to come and help explore and explain some puzzling tunnels on the hills above Abersychan. All sorts of ideas were being bandied about by the end of our trip and all of them wrong...lol! A few hours trawling, searching plenty of tea and some serious head scratching and here we go..
The town is paved and lighted and supplied with both gas and water by the Pontypool Gas and Water Company, established in 1850, incorporated in 1871. There are 4 reservoirs, having a total capacity of about 12¼ million gallons, including one at Cwm-Avon, holding about 7 million gallons, and pumping plant was also erected at Cwm-Avon in 1894 for supplying the higher portion of the district. There are five springs, two at Cwm-Avon, one at Nantymailor and two at the Folly, supplying Pontypool, Abersychan, Talywain, Garndiffaith, Varteg, Griffithstown, Sebastopol and New Inn. The Gas Works supply Pontypool, Griffithstown and Sebastopol . The Pontypool and District Electric Lighting Power Co. Limited, formed in 1893, has works in Park road, and several of the streets and shops are now supplied with the electric light.
The tunnel was built in 1888 to provide a clear path to the source of the spring in Nantymailor, before this time the water from the spring was contaimnated by mineral deposits in the sub strata. Coal and Silica deposits lie all around the area. The tunnel has had much remedial maintenance work carried out over the years by Dwr Cymru including the spraycrete coating. The site has been derelict for the past 30 years and the spring diverted to the original streamway. Enjoy
No matter where you go..
Tidy end of tunnel intact
Railtrack used as roof support
Lode of Silica sand, same as found in Dinas
Spraycrete voids once housed timbers
Shoring timbers rotting away inside spraycrete shell
Mid point collapse from entry end
More railtrack leftover from construction
Mid point collapse from far end
Rough end of tunnel with spring water now funnelled into pipe
The spring has forced its way up and around the sump
pipe outlet and valve
Nicely disturbed after our wade.
The brick sump was built around the spring to allow it to be piped.
Heading back thru the spring
Petzl & Magnetmonkey at end collapse
A flat crawl over the mud ends after 20ft
Little spring mudmen.. Nice chaps.. bit quiet tho?
Looking back at the sump from the muddy collapsed end.
The spring now diverts the reservior into this beautiful mountain stream
Big thanks to Magnetmonkey for bringing us in to investigate, always a pleasure
