I mentioned in the last post that we would have two more stops after Conwy Castle. The first of which was The Welsh Slate Museum near Llanberis, while the second will be an optional hike to Dolbadarn Castle. Let's begin with the saga of slate..
I've never questioned my love of slate. In my little home town there were a few houses which were roofed with slate. They were usually cute little Tudors scattered through an area of town called Russell Heights, built for easy access to The Dodge City Country Club. In contrast to Dodge City's strict grid system of streets, Russell Heights luxuriated in wide and curving "drives". LaMesa Drive, Country Club Drive and etc. I lusted to live in Russell Heights and, for even longer, dreamed dreams of a slate roof...until I visited the Welsh Slate Museum.
My research has told me that slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived... Yes, it does go on for two or three more sentences so, let's just suffice it to say that slate is complex. It can be used for roofing and floor tiles--interior and exterior. And, if you have a certain maturity, you may remember that slate was also used as blackboards in schools, and (before my time) individual writing slates. And slate, for many years was quarried from those rich and lush and green mountains in northern Wales. Two of the largest slate quarries in the world were located in the area of Wales where we are now visiting.
And this is the result. I suppose I'm being a bit dramatic, but after yesterday's lessons at Ironbridge, I'm becoming a bit sensitive to the environmental results of our human longing for wealth. Lest you feel I might be going overboard a bit, let me tell you about the documentary film that we saw on our first stop at the museum. As the lights dimmed and the music rose, a male voice repeated the quote Peter had told us last evening: "Steal a sheep from the mountain and you will be hanged. Steal a mountain and you will be made a lord."
Slate mining in this area began in the late 1700's. Business began to boom in the early 1800's and continued until production ceased in the mid-1900's. Slate was removed in an opencast method--like our open pit mining here in the United States. Thus, the scars of the mountainsides.
Yes, I know men need work to feed their families, and villages need employment in order to exist and provide the necessities and niceties of community. But, whew! It does take a toll. Unfortunately, sometimes a toll that doesn't go away.
Peter gave us the option of spending more time at the Slate Museum--which was really interesting--or participating in an optional hike to Dolbadarn Castle. We opted for the castle, and the hike up was beautiful. Green and lush, of course. I know I say that a lot, but remember I was raised on the high plains of Kansas before moving to the deserts of Arizona. I can't get enough of green and lush.
And water. Have I mentioned water... I could watch and listen to the water all day. However, this was a hike and we are on our way to the castle. Llywelyn the Great, a Welsh prince, built this castle in the 13th century. It was huge, at the time, but all that is left standing is this tower, immortalized by JMW Turner about 1800 in one of his more famous paintings. A painting that I think looks both romantic and a bit threatening. Kind of like the cover of a "bodice ripper" novel.
With enough height, you can see the general layout of the castle from the foundation stones still visible above the grass. Apparently, the castle was dismantled from time to time to build other castles or fortifications and now is simply a tourist attraction. It's a beautiful walk to get here, and the views from this hill (with the exception of the scarred mountainsides) are lovely.
The surprising part of this trip for me was the opportunity for optional hikes. I loved that! I'm not a hiker by nature, but I could be persuaded. The views are so different every few feet, and I remembered some advice I learned in Photo Club. "Don't forget to turn around." The views behind you may be more spectacular than those ahead of you. Don't miss them!
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