Foel Grochan - Aberllefenni
This has been on the list for quite some time and with one entrance getting purposely blocked frequently presumably by the quarry workers as the spoil is still being worked, I decided to get it done before the through trip was no longer doable.
The Morning started off with high winds and heavy rain and continued throughout the day which is to be expected in jolly ol wales but doesn't make the walk to mine entrances any easier as in wales there always seem to be a mountain in the way.
The plan was to go in via the crane side and come out a few hours later on the other side. Apart from figuring out which one of the vast chambers to clamber down it went without any issues some memorable highlights or not so highlights of the day were...
trying to climb down moss covered slate
witnessing the biggest open chambers ive ever seen in a mine to date
the crane isn't as big as pictures would lead you to believe
who ever decided to camp, have a BBQ, shit down the ladder and leave everything behind your a c*nt
one of the most photogenic mines i've been
Definitely one of the prettiest mines I've visited, I would like to go back on a dry summer's day as the light beaming down the open workings would look awe inspiring.
History
‘Part of the longest continually operated slate mine in the world until its closure in 2003, slate was mainly extracted underground though all three quarries had open pits as well. Mining operations may have started here as early as the 14th century but fast forward to 1879 and the quarry employed 169 men and produced nearly 4700 tons of finished slate and slab.Production fluctuated and was trending downwards during the 1890s and 1900s. In 1908 the number of employees fell below 100. The First World War saw a downturn in production at the quarry as did the whole industry. After the war there was a short boom into the early 1920s, but then prices of slate began to fall. By the early 1930s the industry was in a deep depression, with a 3 day week being worked for part of 1933. In 1935 the quarry was leased by Sir Henry Haydn Jones, owner of the Bryn Eglwys quarry near Abergynolwyn. The Second World War brought further drops in production, with the number of men employed falling from 120 in 1939 to 40 in 1944. After the war, the industry continued a slow decline, with industrial action closing the quarry for part of 1947. During the 1950s only about 40 men were working in the quarry. In 1956, brothers Gwilym and Dewi Lloyd took over the quarry under the name Wincilate Ltd. Rapid modernization and mechanisation of the quarry allowed it to continue to produce slate into the 1990s. However by 2002 it was no longer economical to extract slate at and the mine closed. The slate mill continues to operate to this day, processing slate imported from Blaenau Ffestiniog and Penrhyn’.
