Quiz Time (General Knowledge & Out of Area)

[Michael]

 Where r u all? Am I the only poster left? Things must be bad---I am plucking up courage to step into a thread where, as far as I am concerned, angels fear to tread. And, no I am not going to show a mysterious photo.
   In this terrible age with suicide bombers everywhere, may I go back to an earlier age. Who remembers or has even heard of FUMF or maybe spelt FUMPH. Who was he, what was he up to, and what was the radio programme and/or comics he featured in.
   And don't bother posting "before my time."

[Jack]

Do you mean Funf? If so that will have been on ITMA :-)

[Hugo]

I hope you don't mean the FUMF on Google Mike                          

[Gwynant]

               I came across this on a walk last Friday. Whereabouts is it and what purpose does it serve?

[Hugo]

Is it the Salmon Ladder by Conwy Falls that helps the Salmon to swim further upstream?

[Gwynant]

               Sorry Hugo, it's not the Conwy Falls and it's not a salmon ladder.

[Gwynant]

               Sorry Hugo, it's not the Conwy Falls and it's not a salmon ladder.

          Hugo, you are very much on the right track but the structure is primarily used for a specific purpose. In the official description there is no mention of a salmon ladder being incorporated in it's construction but it would be beneficial if there was one, but I could see no evidence of one, but apparently the one on the Conwy Falls is hidden and not visible to the public. I took the pic below in the same area which might help.

[Merddin Emrys]

Looks like Trefriw to me, water pipes in the box?

[Gwynant]

                  Good guess but not Trefriw either M.E. but I did remark on the striking similiarity of the area to the old Woollen Mill in Trefriw to my companion as I took the photo. I then turned round through 180 degrees to take the pic below from the same spot which is not too far from the structure in question.........

[rhuddlan]

Penmachno?

[Gwynant]

              Well done Rhuddlan, it is in fact the the hydro-electric scheme at Machno Falls which are on the Afon Machno just 400m  or so up from the confluence with the Afon Conwy by the Conwy Falls Cafe on the A5
    The metal tunnel houses an "Archimedes Screw" system to generate sustainable electricity. This system is normally used to raise water from one level to another but in this case the river has been dammed at the top of the falls (see pic. below) and the flow is diverted to drive the screw in reverse to generate power. The structure can clearly be seen on Google Earth opposite Pandy Mill on the Afon Machno just off the Penmachno-Conwy Falls road. The building in the previous photo is the old Machno Woollen Mill which, like the one in Trefriw, was also powered by water, and the bridge is an old pack-horse bridge which was used before Telford built the A5 which in turn replaced the old drover's road above the Fairy Glen down to the Beaver Pool.
 
                                                                                                                                                   

[Hugo]

Gwynant, that photo looks remarkably like the photo of the Salmon Ladder that I took when on the Machno Falls walk with Rhuddlan and Tellytubby
It's located between Conwy Falls and Fairy Glen on the River Conwy and it's on the right hand side as you take the lane from the old Woolen Mill through the forest in the direction of Betws Y Coed

[Hugo]

When I was on the walk I took the photo from a spot where there was a sign saying Salmon Ladder so I assumed that's what it was but I've just gone on the internet and seen what  the real Salmon Ladder looks like.
What a remarkable piece of engineering but then at a cost of about £1 M  you would expect that

[Gwynant]

Is it the Salmon Ladder by Conwy Falls that helps the Salmon to swim further upstream?

               Sorry Hugo, it's not the Conwy Falls and it's not a salmon ladder.

           

             Hugo I did feel a bit guilty when I said it wasn't the salmon ladder on the Conwy Falls as it was on the Machno Falls but I did ask some lads who were working in Pandy Mill nearby and they said it was a hydro-electric generating system. I also went on the internet to read up on it before I replied to your first guess and the only mention of a salmon ladder was in the Conwy Falls just downstream and that consisted of a series of small lagoons specially constructed for that purpose which are invisible to the public.
            If the Machno Falls system does incorporate a salmon ladder I owe you an apology but I did ask locally and I didn't see a sign on the path down to it denoting it's existence, but anyway it definitely wasn't the Conwy Falls!
            We walked up from the Beaver Pool on the old drover's road above the Fairy Glen to the A5 then turned down  onto the Penmachno road before visiting the Machno Falls then retraced our steps about 400 yds  tuned off right and walked up the forestry track and over the tops past the gravel pit and then down into the Lledr Valley via Fedw Deg and then back to the car crossing the Afon Lledr and along the A470, turning off to follow the fisherman's path which I didn't know existed down to the confluence of the Conwy and the Lledr just above the Beaver Pool . The colours on the trees were beautiful and it's a very peaceful spot. (Pics below)

[Hugo]

They are great photos Gwynant and that is always a nice walk to do.  We start it from Fairy Glen which we have found ok providing you don't mind the grumpy farmer and a small fee for parking.
In our ignorance after seeing the sign for the Salmon Ladder right next to that metal chute system we thought that the Salmon swam up there but today I saw the actual ladder on the internet