If you’ve been following the blog you will know that Nantgwynant near Beddgelert is a pretty special place. It’s also the place where we have been working hard on developing our hydros but also discovering the past in terms of renewable energy generation

On the 20th of Oct as part of the National Trust Great British Walking Festival come and see what we’ve  been on about for the last 18 months on this blog. I will leading a guided walk both back in time to see what electricity generation looked like in this area almost a 150 years ago and looking to the future and visiting  the sites where we are about to harness the rivers and streams on the south side of Snowdon.

Itinerary

• 10am meet at the Craflwyn car park near Beddgelert LL55 4NG
• Orientation – what’s where and covering the safety side
• Craflwyn has a wealth of examples and opportunities of harnessing water energy. These include an 1872 pelton wheel which used to power a timber mill, a small 1.5kw stream engine built by volunteers and ending up at the site of the proposed Afon y Cwm 100kw hydro
• From here we travel to Hafod y Llan. This is the site of the 640kw hydro which we will be starting work on in the next few weeks. But hydro is nothing new here. The oldest being Sir Edward Watkins 1892 hydro which powered his chalet. Another hidden gem on the farm is the 1932 hydro which was never used. Oh and the new 15kw hydro and a 7kw hydros. Come and see for yourself.

One the way we will also see  biomasses, heat pumps, PV, solar thermal and so on. More green technology than you can shake a stick at. Ask the expert and if they can’t answer I will have a go!

This is a walk in a mountain environment and so please be prepared with water proofs, warm clothing and sturdy walking books. We are aiming to be finish for 2pm. Please  let  Lea Hughes know if you want to come along – places are limited and are on a first come basis

lea.hughes@nationaltrust.org.uk

some background

• 
  http://ntenvironmentalwork.net/tag/craflwyn/
  
• 
  http://ntenvironmentalwork.net/?s=hafod+y+llan