Places to climb in North Wales when the weather is dodgy (I) - the Dinorwig slate quarry

North Wales has a huge variety of locations and different rock types to climb; from sea cliff to mountain crag; from slate, to limestone, to rhyolite.

Wind, rain, and changing weather conditions can make it difficult to find good climbing on any given day. I find this especially frustrating on short visits when I want to make the most of limited time.

When the conditions are unsettled (intermittent rain, damp, but not torrential downpours across the whole region, when the best option is to stay indoors, or go to the zoo!), I have found that the range of locations and rock types in the region mean that it is often possible to find somewhere in good condition for climbing, and somewhere I won't feel out of my depth if weather conditions change suddenly.

Australia, Dinorwig

The Dinorwig quarry is a huge old slate workings in the hillside near Llanberis. Slate was quarried here for over a hundred years, although production ceased in the middle of the last century. Parts of the quarry are now used for hydroelectricity generation, and it has had occasional film roles when a forboding location was needed.

From the main road into Llanberis the quarry look dark and menacing, but up close it is more inviting.  It is warm and sheltered, the rock is clean and solid, and plants have gained a foothold, bringing the place to life. There is also a lot of rusting industrial equipment, some tunnels, and derelict buildings that add to the atmosphere and highlight the human origins of the place.

The Sidings area, Dinorwig

I took the above photo one morning after a rainy night - many climbers had come to the quarry to take advantage of the conditions there. Slate dries quickly, there is minimal seepage, and some aspects of the quarries are in the sun for most of the day. Combined with the facts that the quarry is terraced, which provides a series of broad ledges and short single pitch routes, and many routes are a short walk from the car park or bus stop, this a great climbing location after a rainy spell. If the rain comes back, I can quickly get back to the car, head into Llanberis, drink tea, and wait for the rain to stop.

There are lots of the routes in the quarry, from low grade sport climbs to hard trad routes, providing something for everyone. Many of the routes, including some of the trad routes, are bolt protected, so it possible to make a quick dash into the quarry, and out again if needed, carrying a minimal rack.

Horse Chestnut trees and their insect guests

This is a leaf from a horse chestnut (conker) tree. Although native to Southern Europe the species is common in the UK, especially in parks and hedgerows, where they provide children with an easy source of conkers each autumn.

The patches on the leaf are cavities caused by the leaf mining moth Cameraria ohridella. Moth larvae live in the cavities between the outer layers of the leaf, where they feed on sap in the leaf veins. By late summer the majority of horse chestnut leaves will be brown, making it look like autumn has arrived early, at least for horse chestnuts. If you come across a horse chestnut tree in your local park or hedgerow, it will probably been infested with leaf miner, and the patches will be visible from some distance away! The adult moth, which is free-flying, is relatively a non-discript stripy brown colour, much less noticable than the leaf mines.

The moth started spreading from its original home in Macedonia in 1989, and is now widespread throughout Europe. It reached the UK in 2002.  Now it is rare to find a horse chestnut in the UK whose leaves are not curling and brown from leaf miner damage by the end of the summer. The health of infested trees is not affected (although they do tend to produce smaller conkers), which is good news - other invasive tree infestations, such as the fungus that causes Dutch Elm disease, have changed the landscape of the UK,  and because horse chestnuts are big trees that often found in prominent locations, the loss of this species would change the landscape substantially.

Lots of other plants are affected by leaf miners, which are easy to spot by looking for swirling blistered/discoloured patches on leaves.