Middle Dinas lost access.

Royfellows

Royfellows

Active member
This is just to report that access to Middle Dinas is no longer possible. To be clear, my ownership is of the Upper Dinas Mine which is part of my Craig y Dinas Mineral Estate that ends at the river. I never have owned the other mines the other side of the river, they are or were owned by the Marquis of Bute and seperate to the landowners title. They may well have been purchased, I dont know. Photos Paul Marvin, my informant.

middle mine blocked.JPGmiddle mine blocked_2.JPG
 

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Walking & Hiking Walking has become increasingly popular in the local area over recent years due to the outstanding natural beauty of the woodlands, many waterfalls and gorges. There are many organised walking and hiking groups available who will allow you to join them for guided tours, or...
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Hidden beneath the stunning beauty of the mountains, woodlands and waterways are plenty of natural caves that were formed millions of years ago and you can explore these fascinating caverns during your visit. South Wales is renown for its coal mining heritage, and abandoned mine shafts and tunnels await you on your adventure. We are also very closely situated to the National Showcaves for Wales, which provides a great day out for all the family.
 
That's interesting. I hope they aren't planning to take paid for adventure visitors into Upper DInas!
 
They would not be able to do that without my authority and I have a very good lawer. There would also be other issues as at the last call the mining engineer refused to issue a certificate due to bad roof areas. My ownership is through a shell company.

I would listen to deal involving remediation and made this known a while back, but I think the costs of such work made it uneconomic.
 
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Maybe I've mixed up names, but looks like this company, could they really own the mine???
 
I am in a bit of a difficult position in that I have friendly relationship with the new landowner and have hopes of a future NAMHO event with camping through him. Middle Dinas is nothing to do with me at all and never has been.
I may check the Land Registry tomorrow and advise on current ownership of the middle mine, I have just tried and cannot get the Land Registry OS map to zoom in, its probably due to heavy Internet traffic.
 
The pods are up the track that leads to the footpath across to the upper mine, which Roy got reopened after being illegally closed by the previous owner. This provides much easier access to the upper mine. It seems reasonable to assume they own the hillside that side of the river, and therefore the mine-workings beneath it. Be nice to them - it's probably their land you cross when using that reinstated path to the upper mine. If they wish to use the mine under the land they either own or lease, it's their right to do so as they see fit.
 
If they wish to use the mine under the land they either own or lease, it's their right to do so as they see fit.

That's as may be but they would still have to comply with the rules. Either get it inspected and use qualified instructors under the outdoor education system or register it as a working mine , appoint a manager and comply with all the requirements of the law and HSE inspectorate.
Neither of which is cheap.
 
I have just been thinking, I see a lot of speculation but we dont know that the mine itself is being used. The 'door' may be there just to stop people doing a through trip and exiting onto his land.
 
I have been doing more thinking overnight.
The new landowner is a person with whom I get on well, he has already done me one favour. My reason for posting this was just to advise the "no access" position.
The door could be there for the reason above, or simply fear of legal liability.
I see potentially a load of aggravation bearing in mind some of the visitors the area gets. I have had well intentioned warning signs ripped down etc.You can see where I am going on this. There is also another matter I have spotted. The footbridge was installed by Natural Resources Wales who maintain it, so it wont be long before they become aware. NRW are the body responsible for enforcing bat legislation in Wales, say no more.
I may be up there in the next few weeks and if so will try to get to speak with the new landowner. I want to discuss the possibility of future NAMHO Conference camping anyway. There has never been a South Wales event.
 
It's a shame access has been lost, it's quite an interesting little place.

Several of the pictures on the website look to have been taken in Blue Dinas (not that I'd know of course.... ahem....)
 
Mmmm namho in south wales interesting! I have done a few iron mines down there that are very interesting. I wonder if access could be arranged for these also 😏
 
Needs a bat grill at the very least!

(Is it just me, or does anyone else struggle not to hear this when reading the sentence above? )
 
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