Curatorial description (Accessed: 30 October 2014)
Fenton travelled to Wales in 1857, making his base the village of Betws-y-Coed. Although whilst in Wales Fenton primarily photographed timeless landscapes, this photograph shows a modern scene, and man's influence on the landscape.
The small pier on the River Conway was used for loading slate and mineral ores mined in the area onto boats. The slate industry was very important to North Wales. Ports like Porthmadog and purpose-built harbours of Port Dinorwic and Port Penrhyn shipped Welsh slate around the world.
