We recently spent a couple of days exploring North Wales. One town I wanted to (re)visit was Blaenau Ffestiniog. I last visited many years ago – long before the recent shift towards tourism – and with several exciting new additions to check out, I was keen to return. I will briefly mention all the activities on offer in this historic mining town, but as our time was limited, our experience was of the Llechwedd Deep Mine Tour.
Blaenau Ffestiniog – past
In the mid-1700s Blaenau Ffestiniog was built to house the miners working in nearby slate mines. One hundred years later the slate industry was booming, and the quarries had grown in size. The town now had a school and a church, and a population of over 11,000. However, during the 1890s the industry suffered and several quarries closed down. It was starting to recover, but then WWI took a lot of the quarrymen away to war, followed by yet more during WWII. All the while cheap mass-produced slate from Spain was flooding the UK market, impacting heavily on the Welsh industry. This decline continued, with the population in 2011 dropping to under 5,000.
Blaenau Ffestiniog – present
More recently, Blaenau Ffestiniog has become a hub for adventure-seeking tourists. Now known as Slate Mountain, this area is home to several nationally regarded attractions, which includes Zip World, Bounce Below, Slate Mountain Adventure, Quarry Explorer and the Llechwedd Deep Mine Tour.
Zip World
There are three Zip World locations around North Wales. At Blaenau Ffestiniog there’s three different ziplines, and four people can fly alongside one another. Watching people race over our heads was a little scary … but it was clear they were all having a lot of fun. I ‘think’ I’d like to have a go next time I visit…
Bounce Below
Bounce Below looks incredible. Imagine the huge slate caverns full of trampoline netting to jump on! But it’s so much more than this – it’s an adventure that includes some slides and six different nets. There are not many trampoline parks that require you to wear a hard hat!
Quarry Explorer
We did half the Slate Mountain Adventure (the Deep Mine Tour). Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to take part in the outside tour, the Quarry Explorer, which consists of an open-sided 4 x 4 military truck tour of disused quarries and mines. The view on a good day is meant to reach as far as Harlech Castle.
Llechwedd Deep Mine Tour
After purchasing our tickets, we headed straight to the waiting area for the Llechwedd Deep Mine Tour. Huw stayed back to look after the dogs, so it was myself, Toby and Millie-Mae preparing to ride the steepest cable car railway in Britain! We were all given a hard hat, and there was an option to put on an overall if you wanted to.
Millie-Mae wearing two hats!
We were led to the carriage. They had very small compartments, so you are packed in like sardines for the 500m journey underground. The journey was fun: It wasn’t scary as the cable car moved quite slowly. When we reached the bottom, we stepped out into a dark cold cavern that was illuminated as we reached each section.
Toby’s silhouette as he steps out the cable car
Cheese
One of the first things I noticed on the underground tour were racks full of boxes containing cheese.
Cheese boxes
Cavern Cheddar is matured down in the mine for 11 months. You can buy it in Sainsbury … of course when we returned home I went out and bought some!
Welsh Slate Cavern Aged Cheddar (from Sainsbury)
Mining Stories
The tour was absolutely fascinating. Mining was such a tough job, and the men worked in family groups with the youngest often being just 8 years old; you are an apprentice for 5 years before you become a miner. They mined the slate using basic tools and gunpowder, and they worked mainly in total darkness. Often suspended over large caverns by a chain wrapped around a leg, or standing on a rickety ladder, they’d spend hours boring holes into the slate walls.
The old mine workings
These holes were made with metal rods, and it was all done by hand. Once the holes were deep enough to contain gunpowder, at the end of the shift the men would ignite the gunpowder to explode the cavern. By the next shift the dust will have settled, and the job was then to break the slate down into manageable pieces to be transported up to ground level. Here, another family member would split the slates. They were not paid a regular wage, but were paid only by the quality and quantity of slate they produced.
Interactive Fun
A highlight of the tour was the opportunity to have a go drilling into slate. Toby and Millie-Mae couldn’t believe how heavy the rods were, or how hard the slate was to make any kind of mark on it.
Toby trying to bore into slate
This is the kind of bore made by a miner that would have been filled with gunpowder.
Hole bored into slate by a miner
Steps, Shelters and Light Show
On the tour, we walked up and down flights of stairs …
Staircase inside the mine
… Sat in a shelter, where the miners would have eaten their lunch …
Lunch like a miner!
… and watched a very interesting, and poignant, film with lightshow.
The tour ends where it starts, at the bottom of the cable car, ready for the ride back up to the surface.
Cable Car
Pet-Friendly, Café and Glamping Option
After all that adventure you can go and watch slate being cut – it’s quite an art.
There is a café there too. This is centrally located for all the Slate Mountain activities.
I noticed a doggy daycare facility on site too. It wasn’t open when we were visiting, but this would enable all four of us to enjoy the activities here without one adult missing out because they need to dogsit. When we revisit we’ll definitely look into booking some sessions for Jack and Izzy to stay, while we play!
Doggy Daycare
A new feature of Slate Mountain are some amazing glamping lodges. Their six lodges sleep four or five people and are suitable for families. The views from them are amazing! For more information visit their website – but I’m not going to say anymore as I hope to visit (and I’ll review it properly then!)
It looks like there are so many fun places to visit in North Wales! My husband would love the deep mine tour 🙂
Wow there is a whole lot going on at that place and it’s looks absolutely fantastic. I would definitely be taking our tribe there if we lived in the UK
I’m not sure I really realised just how much there is to do in North Wales. If it was easier to get to for us I’d definitely be interested in going.
This looks like an adventure and a half, who knew that is so much to explore in South Wales.
its north wales and there is loads of places to vist in north wales too many to mention if you came for a 2 week stay you would have somewhere to go every day
Ooooo we are doing North Wales and Zip World at Easter, will add this to my list
It looks like a fab place to visit. We went to some caverns once in Cornwall and it was so interesting heading underground with hard-hats on. I would love to take my kids there.
This looks absolutely amazing and definitely something I want to do. North Wales will always have a special place in my heart as my brother used to live there and I’ve climbed Snowdon a few times. I’m also going to have to go to Sainsburys now and buy that cheese!!! Thanks so much for sharing your adventures, so helpful for when I visit Wales again, this time as a family with my son.
We were truly impressed by the places we were able to visit in North Wales but did not consider checking out Blaenau Ffestiniog.
Whenever I think of Blaenau Ffestiniog I always think of Jones The Steam and Ivor the Engine! Looks like there is a lot to do there. I must admit I am not one for going underground but my husband would love it.
This looks like a fun experience. I will look into visiting these places when the kids are older.
It must have been interesting although maybe a little scary to go see the mine. I’d have gone and bought the cheese too, must look in Sainsburys next time i’m there.
Oh this looks like fun! I used to be scared of mines but did one last month and loved it!
So interesting!! I would be slightly freaked out going down into the mines but they sound incredible and like you learn so much on your way around. Also, that trampoline place sounds amazing!!xx
I’m fascinated by these pictures and would definitely like to do a tour like this – even without the kids! It just looks like such a great experience
Looks like you had a great time. Great that you also got to have a go too. Shame this is not closer to us 🙂 xx
Sounds like a fascinating place to visit. We lived quite close to the Big Pit in South Wales but couldn’t visit as our son was too young. I long to return to discover more about mining life. And if we’re ever in North Wales again we’ll also visit this one!
My husband and I got to the mine late due to traffic and asked if we could be booked on the next tour.
The gentleman at the desk said that because we had booked the early bird we won’t miss out and told we would be on the next tour which was at 10.30 so he sent us to get hard hats b toget ready.
Due to the fact we had a bit of a wait we went to the cafe on the way there we met a guide called Phil Green who said due to he had a cancellation he would take us down straight away. It was the best tour we have ever been on.
If I could give this place a star rating it would be a 100 they couldn’t do enough for us.