Llechwedd Slate Caverns facts for kids
Llechwedd is an exciting place to visit near Blaenau Ffestiniog in Gwynedd, Wales. It teaches you all about the history of slate mining. This attraction is actually located inside the historic Llechwedd quarry itself! The main part of Llechwedd is its Deep Mine Tour. This tour takes you over 500 feet underground. You ride on the steepest narrow gauge railway in the UK to reach old slate caverns. There's also the Quarry Explorer Tour. This tour goes to the highest parts of the Llechwedd site. It helps you discover more about mining in the area.
Llechwedd also has many fun activities. You can find Mountain biking tracks here. There are thrilling Zip-lines too. And don't forget the giant underground trampolines! Bounce Below is right next to the underground zip wire. You can also find Zip World Caverns and Zip World Titan here. Zip World Titan is the longest zip course in Europe.
Contents
Exploring Llechwedd's Past
How the Tours Began
The Miners' Tramway was a narrow gauge railway. It opened in 1972 and was first called "Quarry Tours." This railway traveled 800 metres underground. Battery-powered trains pulled visitors through tunnels. They went into many quarry chambers. This tramway closed in 2014. This happened as part of a big update to the caverns.
The Deep Mine tour opened in 1979. You get to it by riding the Deep Mine Railway. This is a very steep passenger railway. It goes down at a 30-degree angle! Once you reach the bottom, you can walk through tunnels. You can also explore different chambers of the mine.
Upgrades and New Adventures
In 1992, the Deep Mine displays got an upgrade. They added cool audio and video technology. This technology was even supplied by Eurodisney.
Big changes happened in 2014. The Bounce Below attraction opened in the mine caverns. It was called "the world's largest underground trampoline." The Zip World wire course also opened outside. As part of these updates, a new Victorian Mine Tour started. This tour combined the steep railway ride. It also included tunnels from the older tours. Some tunnels were even opened to the public for the first time.
In 2015, the Zip World Caverns wire course opened. This exciting zip line is located inside the caves.
In January 2019, a TV crew visited the caverns. They filmed the world's first underground game show. It was called Y Siambr. The show was later shown on S4C.
Awards and Recognition
Llechwedd Slate Caverns has won many awards. Ivor Wynne Jones, a director there, said they won "every major tourism award."
In 1976, Llechwedd won a top award. It was the "Come to Britain" award from the British Tourist Authority.
In 1980, the caverns received another award. It was the "Silver Otter" award. This came from the British Guild of Travel Writers. That same year, they won their third award from the British Tourist Authority. Llechwedd was the first British tourist attraction to win three of these awards.
See also
- Slate industry in Wales
- British narrow gauge slate railways
- Gloddfa Ganol
