Whilst Gwynedd Council bureaucrats’ plans for the north Wales slate landscape claims to be a big deal for the area, we’ve already seen in earlier posts that, in the end, approval by UNESCO does not lead to any enforceable protection for that landscape.
Worse, Gwynedd have failed to include, within their boundaries, several world-class underground sites that stand at risk of destruction, should the owners decide to renew extraction activities, such as has just been announced for two abandoned mines in the Blaenau Ffestiniog area.
So, without much comment - the artifacts and scenes speak for themselves - here are some shots from within one deep slate mine. You can judge for yourselves whether the risk of forever losing these features amounts to a success, or an abject failure for the ‘come to holiday in north Wales’ project that the UNESCO ‘project’ really amounts to.
Intact winding gear at the head of an incline. This is not the largest within north Wales slate mines, but it’s probably the best-preserved.
Leclanché cells and more recent batteries. These were probably part of incline signalling systems.
The beauty of slate steps giving access to incline winding gear, showing the generations of wear worn into them.
Found only at this site, a slate-crafted, two-position toilet seat, with a drainage stream acting as a continuous flush.
A substantial ‘deads’ (waste) wall, partly retained by timber uprights.
The glorious trackways by which slate and slate waste was moved within and out of the mine.
This outstanding and unique brick structure lies at the head of an incline, and may have been a winding gear mounting. But there is no definite knowledge about it.
The blue beauty of a flooded chamber.
A well-preserved but extremely fragile powder bugle.
A still-functioning trackway turntable on a lead-out to an incline.
