The September ’21 Grand tour of mid and North Wales in a motorhome Day 18

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“We are going up where?” 

The Penrhyn quarry tour at ZipWorld

I have been so looking forward to today! Genuinely excited. So, I make the mistake of making Maggie travel somewhere before she has had a coffee! Fair do’s, she is a tolerant, patient soul, that’s for sure. Meanwhile I’m just like a big kid!

We drive through Bethesda and are in the Zipworld car park by 0915. It doesn’t open until 10! Our tour is at 1030! One of us is very keen!  

On the plus side, it is clear by 10am that car parking space is limited and it is a good job we arrived early to have our breakfast in the car park! There are limited spaces for motorhome sized vehicles!

It’s not all sitting around bored. We get to see the 10am party of zipliners trudge out to the first wire – the lower one. Maggie looks on in amusement, raising her head from her engrossing book periodically.

“You ok? Not regretting it?”

“No I’m fine Mag, thanks for asking.”

“Looks an awfully steep drop; it’s ver, very high isn’t it.”

“Not as high as the Alps or Kilimanjaro and I did them with no problem, I’ll be fine, thank you for your concern.”

Is that a barely contained snigger I hear emanating from deep behind the book?

“I’m not worried, you are well insured.”

“You won’t be collecting that pay cheque tomorrow hun, so bad luck.”

You will think I am about to do the mighty Velocity zipwire today but I’m not. That’s tomorrow! Today, we are booked on the Penrhyn quarry tour. But Maggie is just gently hyping it all and it isn’t working!

We trundle off, book in and wait for the big red lorry to arrive. The tour takes place in one of the red ex-army 5 tonne trucks which have been kitted out with bench seating in the back. There are ten of us on the tour and Stephen our guide marshals us into the truck and gives a quick briefing of what we can expect. The weather is murky and he has lowered the translucent netting side canopies, so visibility out of the open sided truck is slightly reduced.

The journey up to the top of the quarry in this truck is amazing. Think of those ‘Encounter Overland’ type expedition trucks that cross Africa. We bump and sway up the insane slate tracks. The truck barely ever gets out of first gear. The hairpin bends are near vertical. The drops on each side vertigo inducing. The truck groans and rocks. On one bend it stalls. But slowly, ponderously, we inch our way upwards.

Halfway up, we pull into a flattened passing bay and get out to stretch our legs and admire the views down into the Nant Ffrancon valley.

“See those slate waste tips below you?”

Stephen, wrapped up in his red thick waterproofs, has our attention.

“Well, here’s the thing see; every single piece of slate you can see, every piece now, all of it has been touched by hand.”

“Labour intensive was the quarrying here and all the waste was transported in little carts on rails and dumped. The spoil heaps just kept growing outwards. Ninety five percent of all the rock quarried was rejected and the carts were loaded by hand. So every single piece you see……..all touched by a human. Every piece now.”

While people potter off to admire another view, we stay and chat with Stephen and we are glad we did. A quiet man, reserved but with twinkly eyes and a no-nonsense attitude, he has a personal story to tell. It turns out his first job was in this quarry. He joined his father and uncle working the galleries – a chain and rope man he was. His grandfather had worked in the quarry as well. A local lad, he started work at 15. Similar in age to us, we were still at school when he climbed down the ladders to the lowest galleries on his first day at work. He chatted to us about his early working life, the way they quarried the galleries and what life was like living in Bethesda back in the seventies.

“You see that blue lake now Maggie? 1200m deep that is. No really, 1200m deep and there are levelled galleries all the way down to the bottom of it. I know this for a fact, because my first job was working that lowest gallery at the bottom. It would take me 35 minutes at the end of the day to climb the ladder back out of that quarry pit to reach the level where the restaurant is now!”

Now as a retired teacher, I know a thing or two about telling history and geography stories to capture peoples’ attention and imagination. Stephen is a master story teller and he isn’t trying to impress or blow his own trumpet. It is just natural pride in a job well done; a family history of which he is justifiably proud.

Back in the truck, we are in for a shock. Yes, the gradient can get steeper. Unbelievably so. It is a brilliant ride to the top.

We disembark at the top outside the top of the Velocity zipwire. You can see people lining up inside and then watch them being taken out onto the balcony to be connected to the wires.

The drop on those wires is insane. Mental. Truly bonkers.

“You ok then? Still want to do it tomorrow?”

“Dur stupid question Mag – of course I want to do it. Its bonkers.” 

Whilst everyone marvels at the sheer stupidity of some members of humanity (I mean why would you want to throw yourself off a perfectly good mountain?), Mag and I chat more with Stephen. He points out across the valley a small village arranged in a square high on the hill, with long back gardens that back onto each other. Isolated, a community on its own, completely opposite from the big town of Bethesda down in the valley on the opposite side.

“There are still people in the town you know who won’t speak to the old residents in those houses up top. Terrible times it was.”

When quarry men went on strike way back in the early part of the 20^th century, demanding that the family who owned the quarry pay them better wages and give them better working conditions, the army had to be called in. The quarry owning family enticed some quarrymen to break the strike by offering them promotions, higher wages and a cottage with an acre of land each, for life! No rent to be paid at all.

Some took up the offer. Times were hard and there were no other jobs in the area. Many though held out. There was starvation in the town and people died as a result.

As a Welshman, I can deeply appreciate this. It has been a reoccurring story of our country; exploitation by mine and quarry owners. Even governments breaking the mighty coal unions in the ‘80’s.

Stephen tells the stories with quiet passion and pride. We are mesmerized. I thought I knew the area well, Dad having worked in the next valley for many years, and having grown up there in my early years, just down the road. But clearly not.

One final story that really amused us was the continuing quarrying that is taking place on one side of the great quarry pits. Apparently, all the elderly retired miners in the local villages are perplexed. They have told the company who still owns the working part of the quarry but to no avail.

“You see, when you talk to the old folk they are puzzled. Why are they quarrying on the right-hand side, when everyone and their dogs know that the very best quality slate seams are on the left-hand side. Just doesn’t make any sense to the old hands now does it?”

Cracking morning. Cracking tour. Fantastic guide. What more could we ask for? Penrhyn quarry tour highly recommended.

Tomorrow is going to be so much fun. I am going to do Velocity – 1 mile in 50 seconds or less with an 800’ drop and a probable speed of 100mph+.

What could possibly go wrong? 

 

After calling in at Tesco’s at Bangor for a stock up, we head back into Llanberis to visit the National Slate Museum. This is an excellent little museum which gives a fascinating insight into the history of Welsh slate quarries, the way they worked and their impact on society and communities. There are several walks from the centre as well up into the abandoned quarries behind, as well as the opportunity to take a ride on a Welsh narrow-gauge railway along the shores of Llyn Padarn.

You can find out more about the museum here: https://museum.wales/slate/ and the Llyn Padarn railway http://www.lake-railway.co.uk/