While I was killing time waiting for a clear or cloudy sky (see post 570), I tried a few different compositions. I quite liked this multi layered composition, which is totally different to the single layer type I’m using for the headgear project. This was taken, processed and uploaded t the blog from my iPhone – it’s not even seen my desktop computer!

North Wales isn’t as well known as South Wales for coal, if anything, it’s slate that is more commonly associated with this end of Wales. The North Wales Coalfield wasn’t as big as that in the south, but it was home to some large mines, the last of which – Point of Ayr – closed in 1996. That’s long gone, but the winding engine house (a listed building) and the headgear at Bersham as well as a number of the surface buildings have been preserved. The baths (also a listed building), offices and canteen are now the Bersham Enterprise Park.

The adjacent colliery tip is something of a local landmark and it’s proposed removal is an ongoing source of controversy. It’s huge, and you immediately notice it when you leave the A483 bypass, towering over the landscape. Like most slag heaps, it’s now mostly covered in trees, but its height in an otherwise flat landscape makes it very noticeable. There are paths up it, although going off-piste probably isn’t recommended as its rather loose underfoot.

https://www.wrexham-history.com/bersham-colliery-1980/

https://coflein.gov.uk/en/site/85024/details/bersham-colliery-wrexham

http://www.rhostyllen.info/bersham%20colliery.html

https://www.aditnow.co.uk/documents/Bersham-Coal-Colliery/Bersham-Colliery.pdf