The slate mining industry in Wales has seen activity since the Roman era, and at its peak during the 18th and 19 centuries, was one of the largest and most important areas of slate production in the world. The heart of all this activity was undoubtedly the many slate mines and quarries in North Wales which at one point produced around 90% of Britain’s total slate output.
Maenofferen lies on the outskirts of Blaenau Ffestiniog in the heart of Snowdonia. It was the most recent large-scale slate mine to close (operating until 1999) in North Wales but still operates today on a small scale under the ownership of the nearby Llechwedd quarry.
The Maenofferen site adjoins other slate quarries around Blaenau Ffestiniog that collectively dwarf the nearby town. Spoil tips scar the landscape and dramatically demonstrate the scale of the industry over hundreds of years. It’s interesting to think how much the visuals of Snowdonia have been affected by the human activity.
Now of course these “scars” have simply morphed into the natural environment and don’t take away from the beauty of the area. Take a walk or a drive and you’ll soon be impressed by the sheer scale of some of the remains that history has left behind.
Upon the top of the mountains of slate you’ll come across walking into Maenofferen, you’ll find the old derelict slate mill with the remnants of the production process: tracks, conveyers, various machines. It would have been good to see it back in the day but there’s a good animation you can watch that demonstrates a rough outline of what went on. See the links below.
Walk around the mill and towards the large depression in the ground and you’ll find the main shaft descending into the hillside. Coming from the small and inconspicuous entrances of stone and iron mines to this was quite an experience when I first found it after flying my drone around for a while searching for a way in.
Walk down into the darkness and you soon get an idea of how large this mine could be. A couple of levels branch out on route to the bottom of the first decline and these on their own can take hours to explore. Huge caverns, tracks, minecarts and machinery await you as you enter the labyrinth of workings. Further shafts take you deeper underground when you reach them – these I have currently not ventured into.
https://coflein.gov.uk/en/site/400427/
