After a night of really dreadful weather (will concede a minor benefit of sand here, the wetter it gets the firmer it seems to grip tent pegs, unlike hard ground turning to mud) and with the promise of yet more rain meaning the sand dunes wouldn’t be being ‘enjoyed’ by the children we decided to head out for the day. We didn’t really have a plan so I gathered some leaflets from the reception and wanted to go to some copper mines. When we put it in the sat nav though it was nearly 2 hours away and not knowing how much there would be to do there it seemed silly to drive all that way for just a couple of hours before they closed if it would mean we couldn’t see everything.
We did some aimless driving around for a bit before deciding to go to Porthmadog which was the nearest proper town to find a supermarket for lunch and dinner provisions. We found a Tourist Information Office too where I gathered more leaflets including one for boat tours so I managed to arrange a boat trip for Wednesday to hopefully see dolphins. We went to Tesco for food for now and later and sat in the car eating and feeling much better about the world again :). I found a leaflet for some slate mine caverns on the way back to the campsite and despite Ady resisting it managed to get us there for 4pm (they closed at 5pm) which was just enough time to thoroughly explore the 9 caverns.
It was Llanfair Slate Caverns and I’d recommend it. An hour was about right although if you were there for longer you could spend time in the gift shop, cafe or just drinking in the view as it was up a hill overlooking Shell Island. We’ve talked a lot about mines and rocks and minerals and I really did want to show Davies and Scarlett some mines while we were in Wales so I was pleased to have done that. It was a self-guided tour round following the signs which were pitched just right for me to read aloud giving information about the mines, some facts to help you imagine how it may have felt to work there aswell as the amazing tunnels and chambers themselves. Boys would have started work there aged 12 and on their first day been cut on the nose with a piece of slate. If they cried they’d be deemed ‘too soft to be miners’. They worked long days for pretty poor wages and had to buy their own dynamite out of their wages.
It was cold, damp, musty smelling and even after an hour you were relieved to get back into the open air again afterwards. We enjoyed it and learnt quite a bit. My Dad’s cousin worked on the pit face when he was a boy (Dad is from that area and lots of his cousins worked in pits and mines). He’s dead now but I do remember him well and Dad told me stories Derek had told him about working in the pit so it was quite shocking to realise just what condidions someone only one generation older than me worked in.
We got back to the campsite and it was gorgeous and sunny. The children went off to play, Ady cooked a really nice meal , I drank lots of wine and the world seemed a good place once more 🙂
We had a campfire (started by me with my firesteel – go me!) and I managed a great moment of comedy parenting by bending down to help Scarlett toast her marshmallows, forgetting I was clutching a full wine glass which I tipped all over her, turning to sort that out and forgetting I was holding burning hot marshmallows in my hand which I wiped all over Davies and then laughing uproariously at the whole thing! 😆 I’d done educatin’ now it was drinkin’ time 😉
It was a lovely evening, just what camping is all about and when Michelle wanted Baileys and there was none to be had Ady whipped up some toffee hot chocolate laced with brandy and squirty cream which was a very worthy substitute!