Llanfair Slate Caverns in Wales

During our recent visit to Wales, we sought out some attractions that were off the beaten track. One of them was the Llanfair Slate Caverns in Harlech. Away from the hordes of tourists one comes across at popular attractions, Llanfair Caverns was a great find - unspoilt, non-touristy and self-guided; so you can explore the caverns at your own pace.

Located 1 mile south of Harlech, it was very easy to find Llanfair Slate Caverns. As we drove up the steep track to the caverns, we did for a moment wonder if it was worth the journey. But in the end, it turned out to be an interesting tour, well worth the visit.

The manmade caverns at Llanfair were used for a relatively short period between 1890 and 1910 during which time the miners excavated millions of tons of slate using just simple hand tools.

There are 9 caverns in total and it is a self-guided tour. So, once you have purchased your ticket, you are given a helmet and a torch and your journey begins.

The entry to the slate mine is via a tunnel. 

The tunnel has twin arches at the end and opens out into Cavern 1. 

Cavern 1 also has an impressive overhead entrance (known as The Window) which allows sunlight to stream in. This is the only source of light in the mine and helps with ventilation as well.

Cavern 1 is the main chamber of the mine. When operational, this chamber would have housed a large winch. The miners would have operated it to pull up slabs of slate from the lower chambers before it was taken out through the main tunnel.

Adjacent to Cavern 1 was Cavern 2 where you can see a crane-like structure also referred to as the 'tripod'. This was used to lift large and heavy slabs of slate onto the transportation vehicles.

Cavern 2 also has a small ventilation shaft that connects to the lower level of the mine. This shaft is around 22 metres deep and was important because it supplied air to those working in the lower levels of the mine.

Cavern 3 was the last cavern on the top level. There is a fence here, that allows you to look into the chambers on level 2. Once we were done looking around the cavern, we made our way back to Cavern 1.

From Cavern 1 you can descend down to the lower levels via slate steps which are popularly known as 'Jacob's Ladder'. Next to the steps, you will notice the remains of an old railway track. This was used to draw up slate to Cavern 1.

Once you have descended down the steps, you can access Caverns 4-9.

In Cavern 4 you can see some chains that the miners used to climb up to higher levels using a technique called the half hitch.

Cavern 5 shows how chambers would have started off. It was a collaborative work between Miners and Rockmen. The miners would dig the tunnel and decide on where to start a cavern. They would then dig a narrow (approximately 1-meter square) tunnel and clear the rock from the middle. This was called 'widening'. After this, the rockmen would take over the work. They would take the slate out of the cavern. 

Cavern 6 shared some interesting snippets about the life of the miners. They would work down in the mines 5 days a week (from 7 am to 5 pm) and would be paid £1.50 for all their hard work. And it was from this money that they had to purchase their own explosives for the blasting work, leaving them with around 80-90p earnings per week.

Cavern 7 was the widest of all the chambers and shared some more tidbits about the mining days. Mining apprentices would make something known as a 'Slate Fan' at the end of their apprenticeship. This was a block of slate around an inch thick that would have to be split into 25-30 pieces, fanned out like a pack of cards and then secured with a bolt. This demonstrated the level of skill the mining apprentices had developed.

Note: You can view examples of these Slate Fans in the gift shop.

Cavern 8 and Cavern 9 were smaller in size compared to the other caverns. In Cavern 9 you can see what is known as a 'Caban'. It is an area where the miners would eat their lunch.

Cavern 9 is also the last cavern that is open to visitors and once you are done exploring, you have to make your way out the same way that you came in.

As you emerge out of the caverns into the sunlight, you will realise how difficult it must have been for the miners to work for hours in those caverns with only candlelight for visibility. Add to this the fact that they had only limited tools and had to do a lot of work by hand. These facts offer an insight into how time-consuming, tedious and dangerous the job was.

Once you are out of the caverns, you have to return the helmet and the torch from where you collected them. You can then spend your time browsing the gift shop (where you can spot the Slate Fans) or you could visit the cafe and enjoy homemade cakes while taking in the stunning views of Cardigan Bay.

We enjoyed our visit to Llanfair Slate Caverns. It is a small attraction but interesting and because it is a self-guided tour, you can enjoy it at your own pace. Also, when we visited, the caverns had just re-opened after the lockdown restrictions and we had the entire place to ourselves. It was like a truly personal tour. We spent a relaxed couple of hours exploring the caverns and reading about the history of the place and the life of the miners.

Useful information

Ticket prices
Adult - £7, Children - £6, OAP - £6.10, Family(2+2) - £24.80 and Family(2+3) - £30.

How to get to Llanfair Slate Caverns
Llanfair Slate Caverns | Cae-Cethin, Llanfair, Harlech, Gwynedd, LL46 2SA
Phone | 01766 780 247