Blaenau Ffestiniog

The next in our “Day Out In….” series comes from high up in the hills of Gwynedd. The town of Blaenau Ffestiniog was once one of the wealthiest towns in North Wales, all thanks to it’s seemingly endless supply of grey “gold” – they precious slate that was found under the hills and valleys there in the mid eighteenth century.

The world had a voracious appetite for slate during the Industrial Revolution – all the factories, warehouses, mills and terraces that were popping up in cities all over Europe needed tough, durable roofing material, and there was nothing better than Welsh slate. In it’s hey-day, Blaenau Ffestiniog was home to 10 slate mines, some of them among the largest in the country. The town itself quickly grew up around the rapidly growing industry – houses for the workers, schools, shops, offices, hospitals and transport links made the town one of the most vibrant, and busiest, of Victorian Wales.

Blaenau Ffestiniog
Image by Samdorob, via wiki commons

Sadly, by the turn of the twentieth century, demand for Welsh slate declined so much that many of the mines closed, and families from Blaenau Ffestiniog were left to deal with the ravages of unemployment, and in many cases poverty. However, in recent years, the fortunes of this historic town have turned, thanks to a great deal of investment, along with foresight and imagination from local community groups.

Antur Stiniog is one such initiative that has seen visitors to the town increase recently. This innovative idea utilises the stark, but somehow beguiling, industrial landscape of the town. The company offers daring mountain bike trails across disused slate heaps and up into the hills beyond, as well as guided walks, climbs and caving and paddling days.

But, if being so active isn’t your thing, then there are loads more things to see and do. One of the town’s most famous attractions is the Ffestiniog Railway – built in the mid 1800s to transport slate from the mines down to the docks at the harbour town of Porthmadog. Also not to be missed are the fabulous Llechwedd Slate Caverns, where you can travel back in time and discover what life was really like for the men and boys who worked deep inside the slate pits.

Llechwedd Slate Caverns
Image by Matěj Baťha on wikicommons

And there’s also the historic town centre to explore, with many of it’s old pubs, cafes, hotels and restaurants offering a unique insight into a long-lost industrial age.

Blaenau Ffestiniog is within easy reach of the Oakeley Arms; just a 15 minute drive by car. There are also frequent buses, or why not hop aboard the beautiful Ffestiniog Railway – regular trains leave from the nearby station of Tan-y-Bwlch.