Report - Cwmorthin/Oakeley mines, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Wales, July 2012

[SAt]

Keep It Underground!

Visited with - The Kwan, Xan Asmodi and Walsh

Info (Nicked from Xan)

Oakeley is reputed to be the largest underground slate mine in the world, and it’s not hard to believe. The daddy of the Blaenau mines has a long and complex history, originally starting out as a number of smaller mines eventually merging into one enormous complex. It’s not called Oakeley today. It’s known as Ffestiniog Quarry and owned by McApline, who are presently untopping it on a massive scale and as a result most of the original underground mine has been destroyed. Much of what’s not been destroyed by the untopping is now either collapsed, under water, or cut off from access. Despite this, there is still enough left to get completely lost in for days.

Not so long ago Oakeley opened a small section up for tourists, known as Glodfa Ganol. It closed down in (I believe) the late 1980’s and has lain disused ever since. This tourist section plus other workings around it can still be visited to this day by mine explorers, though it is strongly not recommended due to the constant quarrying explosions above causing continuous roof-falls. They are not safe workings to explore.

Long day for me this one was! Up at 6 and on the way to The Kwan's for the onward journey to Wales via Xan's gaff, we met Walsh in the Car Park and off up the hill..

Pictures

Lovely morning for it

Down a scree slope, we headed in the tunnel on the right

Bridges

Mine Cart

Safe as Houses

The waterwheel

Tunnels​

Caverns​

The Stairs!

The stairs were epic and my pictures don't do them justice!

No. 1

No. 2

After spending the best part of 8 hours underground we emerged to a lovely warm evening in the Welsh countryside and once Xan had downed a beer we set off home, exhausted but successful.

Shouts to The Kwan for inviting me and doing the driving, to Xan for his Cave Monster impressions & the offer of a room and shouts to Walsh for some skilled navigating, i had no idea where we were the entire time!