Be thankful you're not a Victorian miner (Llechwedd Slate Caverns)

Member Name: markos9

Product:	Llechwedd Slate Caverns
Date:	24/03/09 (159 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Brilliantly organised attraction, lots to see and do.

Disadvantages: None.

The Llechwedd Slate Mines is located above the town of Blaenau Ffestiniog in the gorgeous Snowdonia countryside. The dry description of the attraction, a museum and slate mine, does not do it justice. This is a fascinating, exciting, full day out for the whole family.

The Llechwedd Slate Mines aims to paint you an accurate picture of what life was like for the slate miners of the Victorian age, both in work down the mine, and at home. I found the whole experience quite moving, learning about the miners' working conditions, they way they were exploited by the mine owners, and the stark facts about their short life expectancy. It certainly made me grateful to be living nowadays rather than then.

The weather in Snowdonia is not always pleasant, so it's nice to know that most of this attraction is undercover (indeed, if you take the deep mine tour, you'll have hundreds of feet of solid rock above you!).

The site has four attractions, the deep mine, the miner's tramway, the Victorian village, and the Miner's Arms tavern.

The Deep Mine

To get to the deep mine involves a tram ride. You don a safety helmet, and climb into one of several cramped four seater carriages, to be taken down, at a steep angle, into the depths below. After descending on the train, there's a guided tour of about half a mile taking you through winding tunnels and ten stunning caverns. The size of these caves is all the more impressive when you realise that they're not natural, they've all been carved out of the Welsh rock by human hands.

You're accompanied on the tour by the 'ghost' of a Victorian miner who started in the mine at 12 years of age. This is, of course, a recorded tape giving you facts about what it was like working in this dark place. These miners worked six days per week, 12 hours per day. For most of the year, they will have descended in the dark, worked in the dark, and then ascended into the dark, not seeing the sun except for Sundays.

Mines are prone to flooding, and whilst working, are continually pumped out. Part of the deep mine is a huge underground lake where flooding has been allowed to occur unchecked. Seeing a lake underground was, for some reason, really spooky.

After half a mile, you ascend to where the train takes you back to the surface.

The Miner's Tramway

Again, this tour involves an underground train journey. This tour is designed to show you exactly how the miners earned their living. In Victorian times, there were no electric lights, so the miners worked by candle light in huge caverns that they blasted out with dynamite.

This part of the tour really moved me. We were taken to a cavern with a ceiling over 50 foot in height. One of the miner's jobs was to climb a ladder, set dynamite in holes in the ceiling, then retreat to ground level and (relative) safety. The guide turned off the light and the model miner at the top of the ladder was lit by a single candle. These were the conditions that these people had to work in, not nice! This worker was paid more than other workers (danger money), but not for long, since life expectancy for this job was measured in months.

This tour really tells it how it was, warts and all. In the days before unions, the workers had to buy all of their equipment from the mine owners. After buying the kit, there was hardly enough to live on. If they were injured, which happened a lot, they were sacked. We really are luckier now.

The Victorian Village and Miner's Arms

The model village is a bit less intense than the tours. There's a house, shops, blacksmith, and other businesses laid out exactly as they would have been over 100 years ago. You can see how the miners would have lived when they were not working.

The house is quite special. It belonged to David Francis, a blind harpist who became very famous. A moving commentary tells his story and is worth listening to.

The bank is quite fun. You can exchange 'real' money for old Welsh money that can then be spent in the village. Kids will love this, especially if you allow them to spend their money in the sweet shop which sells the sorts of sweets that would have been sold in Victorian times!

The tavern is laid out to mimic a pub in the old days. It sells real beer and you can get pub meals there too. It's a worthwhile alternative to the modern café that's also on site.

Other facilities

As mentioned above, there's a reasonable café on site. This serves good, simple food, and is not too expensive. There's also a souvenir shop. I preferred this to many such shops I've seen, as it (as you'd expect), sells slate ornaments and souvenirs. Some of these are genuinely useful and very beautiful, it's well worth browsing here after your visit.

Price wise, you only pay for the tours. One tour costs £8.25 for an adult, £6.10 for a child. Two tours costs £13.65 for an adult and £9.80 for a child. With two adults and a couple of kids, you do get a 10% discount. It still may seem expensive, but this is an attraction where, because there's so much to see and do, you can spend a full day.

I've visited many different attractions in England, Wales, and Scotland, and I can honestly say that none affected me they way the Llechwedd Slate Mines' tours did. I think that this trip is educational and thought provoking and would recommend that anyone who's in the area takes a look. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Summary: An exciting, educational, fun day out for the whole family.