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For much of my life I have been interested in the Ffestiniog Railway in North Wales, for the last several years being involved as a regular volunteer. In discovering about the railway and its history, my interest has been extended to the industry that enabled its construction, and what remains of it today. After reading several books and talking to friends who already had some experience in this field, I started visiting quarries from the spring of 2003. I try to visit an area of the quarries on most of the occasions I'm at the railway and have some free time to explore.
From the start I have attempted to make a photographic record of what I see on my visits. The better photos are published on this site. I hope that as it grows it will provide a useful archive and offer a glimpse of what remains of the Welsh slate industry at the beginning of the 21st century, as it continues to naturally decay or is destroyed.
CAUTIONARY NOTE for those who wish to look for themselves!:
Please note that these explorations have been taken after gaining a fair amount of knowledge of the area and its conditions, and usaully happen in the company of other people who also have some knowledge of the quarries.
GOING UNDERGROUND is NOT RECOMMENDED at most quarries, as many of them are severely unstable. We only go underground in quarries we know are more secure. If going underground hard hats should always be worn and careful note taken of routes used, for most of the tunnel systems stretch for miles and getting lost would be extremely easy. Visiting the quarries alone is also not recommended as some are in fairly remote locations with little prospect of aid should you come into difficulty. Some quarries are also still worked, which means that they are off-imits and may produce blasting that can cause rockfalls in other nearby closed quarries.
Most visits involve a fair bit of mountain walking and I recommend that only reasonably fit people should consider trying to visit any of these sites themselves. |
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