Above the village of Tanygrisiau and within the rolling, windswept Snowdonia National Park landscape near Blaenau Ffestiniog, there was once a village called Cwmorthin that was born out of the quarrying and mining of the location's wealth of Welsh slate.
The mining site began in 1810 but the main activity commenced in 1861 via the Cwmorthin Slate Company. When considered with its neighbour, the Oakeley Slate Quarry, it was thought at the time to be the largest and deepest slate mine in the world.
Now all that remains of the once busy mining site are a few abandoned and ruined buildings, many miles of empty and dangerous tunnels and caverns and an atmosphere that lingers from the accidents and deaths that occurred on the site during its main operation during the Victorian era. You can get more local news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
