Guided adventure trips deep inside an old slate mine above Tanygrisiau, with zip lines, climbs and abseils in the dark
Open to visitorscheck opening times and admission before you go
Go Below runs its trips in Cwmorthin, a slate quarry and mine in the hills above the village of Tanygrisiau, near Blaenau Ffestiniog. Slate was dug here from 1810. The quarry soon went underground, following the slate veins down into great chambers, and in 1900 it was joined underground to the neighbouring Oakeley mine; the workings finally closed in 1997. The trips head down through those chambers on zip lines, climbs and abseils, with boat crossings of underground lakes, and Go Below says its longer trips reach the deepest point in the UK. The shortest, the Challenge, takes about five hours and is open to anyone aged 10 or over; the harder trips are for older teenagers and adults. Helmets, harnesses, lamps and wellies are provided. Every trip is booked in advance with a guide, and the day starts with a walk of about half an hour up the valley to the mine entrance. Blaenau Ffestiniog station is about 2 km away.
