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The Big Bang. Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

YnysMonBirders: Muggled once too often.

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Difficulty:
1 out of 5
Terrain:
1 out of 5

Size: Size:   small (small)

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Geocache Description:

Easy drive by cache. A small sample bottle 4 inches long. 10cms.

The cache is located in an area of historical importance to the local area. During the afternoon of Wednesday, June 30, 1869 - an extremely hot day - two carts laden with nitro-glycerine set out from Caernarfon. Each cart carried a ton of explosives destined for the Glynrhonwy slate quarries of Llanberis. Canisters containing the liquid explosive had been carefully packed into boxes containing sawdust and loaded onto the carts. The boxes themselves were then covered in straw to ensure no movement could take place during the journey. At around 5.50pm, soon after the carts had passed the railway station goods shed outside Cwm-y-Glo, now the site of Gwynedd Council's storage yard, the cargo exploded with what was probably the loudest man-made explosion ever heard until then. This terrible explosion resulted in the deaths of both the carters, as well as three others. Eight other people were seriously injured, one of whom died six weeks later as a result of his injuries. No trace of the carters, horses or carts remained at the site and two deep craters approximately ten feet deep were left behind. Human and animal remains, as well as parts of the carts, were spread far and wide - with some of the debris being found in the neighbouring village of Brynrefail. The human remains were collected and taken to the nearby Craig y Don Tavern to await the inquest that was held the following day. An X inscribed into a stone in the dry stone wall on the old road from Bryn Bras to Llanberis at Clegyr is now the only physical indication of where a wheel and the harness from one of the carts were found, over half a mile away. A small stone is traditionally used by those in the know to inscribe the cross each time they pass. This cross can be found around 100m further towards llanberis from 'Redkitegar's' cache (see Penllyn from clegir 2nd view) The injuries sustained by the victims were consistent with their having been thrown against walls or other solid surfaces, resulting in wounds to the head and body. Many suffered broken bones and one person's arm needed to be amputated. Damage to surrounding buildings in the village of Cwm-y-Glo was extensive, including those high on the hill above the main street, many having roofs blown off and entire window frames blown in. Scarcely a house in the village escaped without damage. Many people came to the spot to gaze at the carnage as news of the disaster spread to other centres of population. The inquest into the events of that fateful day was held in the vestry of the Calvinistic Methodist Chapel in Cwm-y-Glo, which was later rebuilt in 1904. The jury agreed from the evidence that the carters were not drunk, although they had stopped at the Blue Bell Public House in the village high street, and the verdict was that the events were the result of an accident, the reasons for which were unknown (nitro-glycerine was a relatively new material and its properties were not fully known.) As a result of the explosion at Cwm-y-Glo an Act of Parliament was passed prohibiting the import of nitro-glycerine, and restricting and regulating its movement, thus resulting in the adoption in the quarries and elsewhere of the more stable material dynamite, that had been manufactured for the first time by Alfred Bernhard Nobel in 1866. Nobel went on to set up the Nobel Foundation which still funds the well known Nobel Prizes that are awarded annually. In winter when there is a covering of snow you can still make out the remains of the crater. A plaque commemorating the event can be found opposite the closed pub. . .

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Ner lbh pbbxvat ba Tnf!

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)