Today my geocaching travels led me to the Lime Kilns at Porth Y Waen. I have driven past the spot many times and wondered what they were like and today I found out. They are all old, disused and rather overgrown now - but you could see that they would have been fascinating in their hey day when they were all lit.
Limestone was be broken down by hand and successive layers of coal and lime stone were built up. When the loading was complete the kiln would be fired and the fire would spread through the load. Typically a kiln took a day to load, 3 days to fire, 2 days to cool and a day to unload, so a 1 week turnaround was normal. All 7 of the kilns were worked a day at a time - so there was a good rotation system.
inside the kiln - showing the air vent at the back. Its a shame that they are so overgrown with vines and creepers - but is was quite atmospheric.
The footpath to the Lime kilns followed the old tram way tracks which used to take the lime away to the nearby Shropshire Union Canal for transport around the country. The tram way was constructed before 1820 and ran for 1 1/2 miles, working by gravity down to the canal and pulled back empty by horse. The tramway was closed in 1913, but the rails survived until 1939 when they were pulled up in the great scrap metal drive at the start of WW2
2 comments:
what a stunning place to go geocaching lucky you
We visited a lime kiln when we were in Devon in the summer. I found it quite creepy. I love your photos though and the kilns you saw look much more appealing.
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