Image taken in april 1965 image taken in april 1965 little remains of the former line save for a section of trackbed in the clydach gorge between brynmawr and llanfoist has been converted into a longdistance cycleway. Even if you dont like science fiction you might still enjoy this book. Buy a cheap copy of tunnels book by roderick gordon. Beneath a wonderfully changeable sky and in the company of alan bowring the geopark development officer our lucky group walked part of the eastern edge of brecon beacons national park descending clydach gorge through beautiful beech woods. Clydach gorge the southwest portals of the twin clydach. The clydach gorge is a steepsided valley in southeast. Then there are the old tramways and railway lines that used to run throughout this area.
The old iron works in the gorge are more than worth a visit, you get to it by crossing one of the oldest iron bridges in wales. Tunnels, deeper, freefall, closer, spiral, and terminal. Clydach gorge, near abergavenny railway paths public. The path is part of the heads of the valley route and joins route 492 at. The river clydach flows for six miles, from the southern slopes of llangattock mountain, north of brynmawr, to the river usk near gilwern, and for about 2 miles is impounded by steep, wooded slopes to form the clydach gorge, or cwm clydach. Clydach station stood in the middle of a twomile section that climbed to the west at a tortuous 1.
The first edition of the novel was published in july 2nd 2007, and was written by roderick gordon. The story follows will burrows, a 14yearold archaeologist, who stumbles upon an underground civilization called the colony. D who seemed surprisingly full of knowledge of the whole place, with storys of the tunnels used as storage during the war and so on. Free download or read online tunnels pdf epub book. Flythrough of heads of the valleys upgrade through clydach gorge. A teacher employed at the ironworks school in clydach by the manager edward frere, old magw was reputed to be a vicious, wicked woman with merciless means of dealing out the most severe punishments to children who were late for school or defiant. In 1877 the line was doubled, and new tunnel bores at clydach and gellifelen were made. The books take place in england and an underground world, with will burrows as the main character. Theres just something about underground caverns and civilizations thats almost automatically appealing, and this is a particularly rich and nasty one, with cultish overtones and hints of an ancient history. The most feared clydach gorge witch was said to be that of old magw. This week claire and linzi record the first part of the podcast from cwm clydach tunnels in south wales. Tunnels is a book series written by roderick gordon and brian williams. Tunnels is the first novel in the tunnels series, which was released in the year 2007.
The down bore right is 330 yards and up bore left, 302 yards. Michelle gagnon an old, abandoned tunnel system beneath a prestigious new england college becomes the gruesome stalking ground of a serial killer. Ii smarts bridge bridge is located over river clydach forming entry to remains of clydach ironworks, reached off s side of road leading to ynysygarth. Gilwern canal old station clydach old iron works clydach gorge canal gilwern today, the clydach gorge is an attraction for walkers and photographers, but its past was very different. Llangattock tramroad the industrial archaeology and history. Merthyr, tredegar and abergavenny railway wikipedia. So 2230 7 this structure turns up on the 1899 os map and is described as a sewage works of brynmwr udc with an aqueduct approaching it from brynmawr. Inspired to find out more, last week i met with official welsh tourist guide eifion lloyddavies at gellifelen tunnels for a guided tour through clydach gorge and sure enough he did not disappoint with his bygone tales of the mythical legends associated with the area. The 1811 incline actually ended in the quarry area so the mtar had to build two arches, one for the incline and the other for the tramroad on up to waunllapria. The gorge is an enchanting place, cutting deep through the rocks of the south. In fact, the only bond he shares with his eccentric father is a passion for archaeological excavation. Tunnels book 1 mass market paperback february 1, 2009. Contained within are a few caves, several powerful waterfalls and many lesser cascades, as the fastflowing waters descend by nearly 700 feet. Limekilns stand on w side of quarry, prominently sited approximately 20m e of the nant dyar viaduct.
The tunnels formed part of the abergavenny to brynmawr railway, which opened in 1862 following part of the baileys tramway that existed here for ironworks. Top 10 creepiest welsh ghosts, monsters and creatures of. The tunnel is on the abergavenny to brynmawr railway. Alan blower, british railway tunnels, ian allan ltd, 1964. The main characters of this fantasy, young adult story are will burrows, chester.
Just beyond the platform was the east portal of a 302yard tunnel, first curving northwards on a radius of about 10 chains before then turning south on a. The river clydach plummets and cascades its way through the gorge to join the river usk at gilwern where the. It has four sequels so far, which are entitled deeperpublished in 2008, freefallpublished in 2009, closerpublished in 2010, and spiralpublished in 2011. Industrial archaeology trails in a north gwent valley by van laun, john isbn. Industrial archaeology trails in a north gwent valley 2nd edition by john van laun isbn.
The gorge was one of the first locations in the region to be industrialised though it still retains its natural environment. The line was eventually closed in 1958, but remains of a station at gellifelen and these tunnels still exist. It was originally selfpublished as the highfield mole in 2005, then republished by scholastic and chicken house in 2007. It is science fiction, but a different type of science fiction. So when dad mysteriously vanishes, will is compelled to dig up the truth behind his disappearance. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 464 pages and is available in paperback format. Llanelly quarry so 22230 1247 llanelly quarry supplied the limestone to clydach ironworks originally using the llammarch tramroad of 1795. See the complete tunnels series book list in order, box sets or omnibus editions, and companion titles. The a465 road between merthyr tydfil and abergavenny runs over the former merthyr, tredegar and abergavenny railway line. Fairies, witches, spirits and shakespeare a guide to the. He winds up finding a subterranean society that time forgot.
Walking information, advice and campaigns, walking news and events, group led walks and an online library of walking routes. Clydach gorge gilwern 2020 all you need to know before. Clydach gorge, brecon beacons national park, monmouthshire. This was converted to a locomotivehauled railway and in 1862 the line opened from abergavenny to brynmawr. Gellifelen railway tunnels the locations guide to doctor. Wikimedia commons has media related to tunnels in the united kingdom. Gellifelen railway tunnels darenfelen, nr clydach, gwent.
In the summer of 1962, the year after the rise of the berlin wall, a group of young west germans risked prison, stasi torture, and even death to liberate friends, lovers, and strangers in east berlin by digging tunnels under the wall. Geological hazard and the lack of appropriate survey, design and construction inst ments for tackling those terrains we call diffcult, with good prospects of success, have always made the design and construction of underground works a risky affair, which could not therefore be faced with the same degree of accuracy as other civil engineering works. The series stars will burrows, who is just fourteen years old. The industrial archaeology of the northern clydach gorge. The last explore of the weekend with jackal and even managed to drag my dad along. It has long been an important transport corridor between abergavenny and the lowlands of monmouthshire and the northeastern quarter of t. The line was closed in 1958 the eastern portals are on private property and are obscured by trees. Tunnels is the first book of the tunnels series, which is written by roderick gordon and brian williams. It was initially selfpublished as the highfield mole in 2005, and rereleased as tunnels by chicken house in 2007. Report clydach gorge rail tunnel underground sites. The story of an outcast boy, his eccentric dad, and the scary underground world they discover through secret tunnels. The path is part of the heads of the valley route and joins route 492 at brynmawr.
Passing high above the clydach gorge is a breathtaking and almost entirely trafficfree cycle and walking route. Llammarch tramroad the industrial archaeology and history. The series has six books, with the final book, called terminal, being published in the year 2012. Pdf tunnels book by roderick gordon free download 464. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Cirque du freak series complete 12 book collection killers of the dawn, lord of the shadows, trials of death, sons of destiny, living nightmare, vampires assistant, tunnels of blood, vampire prince, hunters of the dusk. The clydach gorge also known as cwm clydach is a steepsided valley in southeast wales down which the river clydach flows to the river usk. Clydach gorge cave location map caves of south wales. When looking for wills missing father, will burrows and his friend chester accidentally discover a secret underground city filled with.
The route is 8 miles long and links llanfoist, just to the south of abergavenny, to brynmawr. Clydach gorge ncr46 appendix welcome to ramblingfatman a blog of cycle rides, this one is an appendix attached to a 2015 ride, if you want to read about the original ride click here it was mid july 2016 and true to british summertime, it was overcast and spitting rain. So when his dad mysteriously vanishes, will is compelled to dig up the truth behind his disappearance. Online shopping from a great selection at books store. The reason its different from most science fiction books is that it has old inventions, a plague, and and they eat mush, but in modern time. A thrilling cold war narrative of superpower showdowns, media suppression, and two escape tunnels beneath the berlin wall. Pictures from a walk along a section of the disused railway line in clydach gorge, south wales.
With 25 science projects for kids, children ages 7 to 10 explore the fascinating world of passageways beneath the ground, dug deep within the earth through soil and rock. Tunnels is a subterranean fiction novel by british authors roderick gordon and brian williams. The clydach tunnel is near the gelifelen tunnel, both are in the clydach gorge area near ish abergavennybrynmawr the clydach tunnel is a twin tunnel set up but one tunnel is bricked up, although couriously there is an access passage between both tunnels. The tunnels book series by multiple authors includes books tunnels, deeper, freefall, and several more.
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