New member here, trying to remember the location of a mine I visited as a child (late 70's) in North Wales.

All I can remember was a big grassy valley with, at one end/side, a huge open pit - I'm guessing it was at least 50' across, but I was a wee lad back then, so who knows. Probably 100+' deep too, with steep sides. Plenty of small trees growing in it, so it certainly wasn't just bare slate. At the bottom there was a stream and a mine entrance. My dad wouldn't let me get too close. Additionally, there was a horizontal entrance which you could access on the other side of the pit, which went back aways into the side of the valley.

I always thought this was in Cwm Pennant, but I can't see it in any of the photos on this site. It was almost certainly a slate mine, I'm guessing...

If anyone can help, Id really appreciate it - thoughts of this pit have 'haunted' me for many years, and I'd really love to take my similarly-aged daughter to visit it (well, the external bits, anyway)!

Rory

p.s. I'm pretty sure it's not Vivian or Dinorwic, since the really scary thing was how this pit just seemed to appear in what was otherwise a nice grassy valley. You could get pretty close before realizing it was there...

Hmm.. Cwm Pennant - could be Prince of Wales?

Not much in the way of huge pits (not by Dinorwic / Penrhyn standards anyway) but the description of a level at the back of the pit and a tunnel at the base of the pit.

Was there a long track / tramway / incline leading to it passing a reservoir on the way up?

http://www.aditnow.co.uk/album/Prince-of-Wales-Slate-Mine-User-Album/ 

🔗Prince-of-Wales-Slate-Mine-User-Album-Image-52768[linkphoto]Prince-of-Wales-Slate-Mine-User-Album-Image-52768[/linkphoto][/link]

🔗Prince-of-Wales-Slate-Mine-User-Album-Image-001[linkphoto]Prince-of-Wales-Slate-Mine-User-Album-Image-001[/linkphoto][/link]

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Edit - another possibility could be Bwlch Cwmllan

http://www.aditnow.co.uk/album/Bwlch-Cwmllan-Slate-Mine-User-Album/ 

Although to be honest quite a few holes in the ground match that description 😉

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Simon, that might be it. I assume the 'huge pit' (as I remember it!) is on the left of the second photograph? If so, do you have any idea how big it is? In the first picture, it looks like it's a big ole' drop-off, but it's hard to know without the context. Google-mapping it does seem to show a big hole, though.

Thanks so much for the info - this could be a 30-year mystery solved :)



Follow-up
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1295482  which is much as I remember (although the pit seems a little smaller :() Mind you, as I said, as 1 7-year-old, it was a lot bigger. My older sister was probably threatening to throw me in, which might have added to the 'haunting' aspect.