Blaenau Ffestiniog

Llechwedd Slate Caverns
01766 830 306
Adults £14.75 (both rides)/£9.25 (one ride). Children £11.25/£7.00. Group discounts.
Open daily at 1000 except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day. Last tour: 1715 (mar-sep), 1615 (oct-feb) Victorian Village closed oct-mar
On the northern edge of town on the main A470 road

One of North Wales' premier tourist attractions, and with good reason. Two separate underground tours combined tickets available. The Miners Tramway takes visitors on a tour of part of just one of the 16 levels within the mine. As the name suggests, you travel in a small train, alighting at different points along the route for light/sound displays explaining the workings of the mine and the life of a Victorian-era miner. The Deep Mine tour involves some walking, including steps, and takes you down as far as 450ft below the summit of the mountain. This tour starts with a ride on Britains steepest passenger railway, dropping down several levels within the mine. There follows a 25 minute walking tour through 10 of the huge "chambers" within the mine. There are a number of attractions and displays on the surface, including the Victorian Village which aims to paint a picture of daily life for local people in the mid 19th Century.

Ffestiniog Railway
01766 516000
Costs £16.50 round trip, 2.5 hours round trip, £6 more for first class observation car
April - Oct with reduced timetable the rest of the year
Ffestiniog Railway station is adjacent to the mainline station in the town centre

Narrow-gauge railway built in the 1800s to convey slate to Porthmadog, opening in 1836. It closed in 1946 due to declining demand but was reopened thanks to public work in sections over the next several decades and finally completely finished by 1982. Part of the original stretch had to be built higher up due to a power station reservoir that was built on a section of the original track in 1954. Stations are as follows, West to East: Porthmadog, Boston Lodge, Minfford, Penrhyn, Plas Halt, Tan-y-Bwlch, Dduallt, Tan-y-Grisiau, & Blaenau Ffestiniog. The journey is 14 miles.