Oakeley Quarry, high in the mountains above Blaenau Ffestiniog, was once the largest underground slate mine in the world, with over 40 miles of man-made tunnels spanning 26 levels. Slate was first quarried here in 1818, and the mine grew to become one of the largest in Wales. It continued to produce significant tonnages through World War II but experienced a rapid decline during the 1960s.
The mine closed in 1969, and three years later the 360-acre site was acquired by aeronautics engineer Wil Roberts, together with his father-in-law and brother-in-law. The trio later expanded their operations by acquiring three more Welsh slate mines, all managed under the Ffestiniog Welsh Slate Products Group.
Across the road, Llechwedd Slate Caverns made history in 1972 by launching Britain’s first public underground mine ride. The attraction was an immediate success, drawing over 100,000 visitors in its first year. Encouraged by this, plans were soon unveiled to reopen part of Oakeley Quarry to the public, culminating in the 1974 opening of Gloddfa Ganol.
As Wil Roberts explained, “Ours is fundamentally different. Here, visitors are free to explore a large site containing a museum, interpretative exhibitions, a working slate mill, and an extensive narrow-gauge railway collection. Underground, they can explore unescorted a three-quarter mile section of old slate workings.”
Other attractions included guided Land Rover tours and a terrace of four quarrymen’s cottages, each furnished to reflect a different era. The site also contained the Lewis Discount Store, advertised as ‘”Gwynedd’s largest furniture store.”
Gloddfa Ganol and Llechwedd complemented each other well, each offering a similar yet distinct experience. Both attractions went on to be hugely popular throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
The narrow-gauge railway museum was established in 1978, with much of the equipment coming from the collections of Rich Morris, Peter Nicholson and Michael Jacob. It was initially housed in the winding house of the old seven-track Dafydd Glanamarch incline, but in 1980 it was relocated to a new building on the site of the former Holland’s Lower Mill.
It was advertised as the largest collection of narrow gauge equipment in the British Isles and included several dozen locos jammed tightly together in a large barn. Other equipment was displayed outside whilst some was stored in private areas hidden from public view. Being located halfway up a Welsh mountain was certainly not ideal conditions to be storing stuff outside! A short 2ft gauge railway was later built to carry visitors from the centre of the complex to the museum.
Slate mining continued alongside the tourist activities, with visitors able to tour the mill and watch the huge blocks of slate being cut and trimmed to size. In the early 1990s, the slate industry experienced a major resurgence, and mining once again became more profitable than tourism. As a result, the tourist side of the operation took a back seat. Part of the railway museum was requisitioned for slate production, forcing many locomotives and pieces of equipment to be dumped outside and left exposed to the elements.
At the close of the 1997 season, the Ffestiniog Welsh Slate Products Group was purchased by McAlpine Slate Products in a £6 million deal. McAlpine had no interest in maintaining Gloddfa Ganol as a tourist attraction, and it was soon announced that the site would close to the public and return to full-time slate production. The railway collection – by then largely owned by the quarry owners – was dispersed through a sealed-bid auction organised by Rich Morris.
The quarry continued in use for another 12 years before suddenly closing in 2010 after major subsidence was discovered.
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