Barmouth – 12
& 15 Cannon Holes
This is the third in a series of caches near
to rock cannon in Meirionydd.
Rock cannon can be found all over north-west
Wales, especially near mines and quarries. The cannon were created for firing
on celebrations & holidays and were used from the end of the
1700’s until black powder stopped being used in the slate
industry. The
introduction of sticks of gelignite led to a different style of
cannon being devised that didn’t need any holes in the
rock.
Making a rock
cannon was hard work.
All of the holes and grooves for fuses had to be cut with hand
tools (please remember this if what you find doesn’t look
that impressive!). The
cannon were cut into the tops of cliffs, slabs of rock or large
boulders, the biggest having nearly 200 holes and the smallest
having just 2. Each
hole was about 5” deep and 1” in diameter. The later cannon had grooves
connecting the holes which were filled with black powder to make
the fuse. The channels
had to make a long enough fuse for each separate bang to be heard
and each flash to be seen.
There are 2 sets of cannon near the cache,
listed in G R Jones’ book. I haven’t managed to find
them yet, despite the photographs and co-ordinates in the book!
(given below as waypoints) They are near the old Cell
Fechan managanese mine workings. These were in a vein of ore that
runs from Friog up towards to
Maentwrog, with mines and pits along
most of its length. In
Barmouth, the mine adits start just
behind the church and work up the hill. The mines were mainly worked in
the late 19th century. Please do not enter the workings
– some of them are held up with dry-stone walls and others
with bits of rotten Victorian-era wood!
This cache lies on CROW act Access Land but
just outside the boundary of the Snowdonia National
Park. When the
boundaries were drawn up, the easiest solution for the people
planning the National Park was to draw the line around towns &
industry and ignore them! You can also see this effect on
the map around Llanberis and especially
around Blaenau Ffestiniog
too. The Snowdonia
National Park a.k.a. “Parc y
Polo” the only national park with a hole in the middle (but
no minty flavouring…).
The cache is just off the summit of the hill
behind Barmouth called Garn (Welsh for cairn). There are great views from the
top, a lovely place to watch the sunset but a place best avoided in
a southwesterly gale! The surrounding terrain is rocky
and scrambly and often used by local
outdoor centres for practising ropework
on Mountain Leader training courses. On the south edge of the rocky
area are Barmouth Slabs. These are probably the best venue
for teaching rock climbing in Britain. They are made from rough,
Rhinog gritstone and come in 3
tiers. If you visit the
cache during the day, there will almost certainly be groups to
watch, climbing on the cliffs. If you visit in the evening, the
place is usually deserted and there are some easy grade climbs to
lead on the lower tier.
To get to the cache you can park in the small,
free “Panorama Walk” National Park car park, where
there is also a chemical loo. It is then possible to follow the
steep road uphill to the Slabs and then walk & scramble your
way up to the cache (you will need to use your hands in
places, depending on your choice of route). The rock cannon are not on Access
Land. If you want to go
and search for them, you will need to go back to the road and then
follow the Public Footpath around the north of Garn and past the
ruins of Cell Fechan. To complete the circuit, you can
then visit the Frenchman’s Grave, with its cache by
mr
sparks (GC7744).
An alternative start, is to park in Barmouth
and then head up through Hen Bermo (Old
Barmouth). My favourite
route is to go up the alley between the Last Inn and Ty Gwyn, at the south end of town, and then wiggle
my way up the hill.
More
Information
“The Rock Cannon of Gwynedd” by
Griff R. Jones ISBN 0-9533692-1-8
“Meirionnydd” Climbers’ Club
Guides to Wales ISBN 0-901601-63-2 (Only interesting of
you’re a climber!)
Merioneth-Manganese A website devoted to the
local manganese mines
“Discover Barmouth” by
Owena Wyn-Jones & John Jones ISBN 0-9541128-1-4
(History & walks – usually available from the Post Office
in Barmouth)