Rhos quarry

Abandoned quarry in Snowdonia

'Welsh Slate' dominated the north-west economy of Wales from 1850 onwards. Slate was exploited in dozens of quarries, such as in the smaller Rhos, on a flank of the Moel Siabod mountain in Snowdonia.

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Closure

The Second World War and the emergence of alternative raw materials led to the closure of many quarries, such as the one in Rhos, in the 1960s and 1970s.

The factory and barracks (where the workers stayed) have crumbled into ruins. The water wheel that powered the machines has disappeared.

Inclined plane

The slate was lifted from the quarry in carts via an inclined plane.

The inclined plane can no longer be found, but the retrieval system with the cable is still at the quarry's edge.

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Abandoned quarry in Snowdonia

Closure

Inclined plane

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Industrial Heritage

Dark tourism