The Ultimate Xtreme Underground Adventure For Two Red Letter Day was a fantastic gift. I’d had a great time earlier in the year on my Padstow Sealife Safari. Go Below runs a variety of trips that explore the Victorian Slate Mines located in Snowdonia, North Wales. The Ultimate Xtreme Underground Adventure, the most difficult and longest trip is run by Go Below.
We all met at their base and walked up to the old cottage. Our two guides began to educate us about Victorian slate mining, the history and mine we were going to explore. We were equipped with the right gear when we arrived: helmet, harness, via-ferrata equipment, wellies etc. Then we headed to the mine…
The only source of light you will see in the mine during your 7-hour exploration is the headlamp. Although it may seem silly, the darkness is breathtaking. You will cover five kilometres worth of tunnels, caverns, and underground passageways in the seven hours. In some areas, you can go down to over 1,300 feet in the depths. It is the deepest public accessible location in UK. This day, as I have said before, is extremely extreme.
There are several levels in the mine. The slate is angled at 45 degrees. The slate is removed from each level, and the caverns are separated by support walls. Plan for the day: descend several levels to reach the lower part of the mine. Travel through numerous caverns and reach the very end of the mine before returning to the surface. It was a challenging day. It was physically and technically challenging. I have done quite a bit of scrambling, climbing and via-ferrata. The heights, darkness and depths were supposed to be the most thrilling parts. It was evident that I had been wrong after the first few sections. To traverse these sections, you had to be very careful and concentrate.
The caverns are all about 25 meters high. This means that when walking along their sides on narrow logs, or pegs, some of which date back to the Victorian period, the exposed area is quite apparent. When you travel along the sections, the darkness can be intense. You may not even see the bottom if you shine your headlamp down.
Goliath Zip Ride was located in the largest cavern that we traveled through as we headed to the bottom. The world’s largest underground zipline is 130m long. It was amazing. The zipline’s top is located 40 meters above the floor of the canyon. Although I have done ziplines of larger sizes like the Sky Wire in the Eden Project or the ZIP at Adrenaline Quarry, the Goliath was better. It’s insane to leave a platform and zipline into the darkness. It was amazing.
Our guides told us we could explore the history and see some artifacts in the mine. The slate drill was bolted into the rock to be used for’stitch drilling’ large sections of rock.
We would start our journey across the caverns by going from one huge cavern to another, then through a tunnel built into a wall. Then we’d go through another tunnel and across another cavern. Each cavern was crossed in a unique way. We would sometimes balance on century-old pieces of wood that were once part of a wooden bridge. Other times, we would clamber up rusty metal pins on the wall. How to do it?
Zip line was my favourite. Each harness had two via-feratta kits and an extra zip trolley. Clipping onto the cable, you would run into the tunnel and jump off the edge. Then, using the zip trolley, you could zip through the cavern. This is the perfect way to make you feel like a hero.
The Welsh miner’s cleverly designed incline allowed them to build carts which could carry up to two tons of slate. Two children were able to push these carts. A variety of items helped bring the past to life, including hobnail boot, hats and candlesticks. There were also hand drills, oil cans, mugs, and oil canisters. Then we entered a miners’ ‘Caban,’ which was decorated over time with old newspaper clips and drawings from World War II. The daily struggles of slate miners were brought to life.
We emerged back to the surface after hours of darkness. The Ultimate Xtreme Underground adventure for Two Red Letter Day, was one of my best adventures ever. The experience was beyond my expectations. It was amazing how far we got into the mine and how challenging each section of it was. The two guides, Sam and Simon were hilarious and extremely knowledgeable. They were also great at guiding you through the challenges.
It was the Victorian slate mines that were the stars of the show. I had never thought of it, but both my husband and myself came out of the experience with an appreciation of their talent and courage. It was a fantastic adventure that not only made you feel frightened, exhilarated and scared but gave you history to help you understand the struggles the Victorian slate miners faced every day. This Red Letter Day is a must for anyone who enjoys an adventure. If you prefer a more relaxed adventure, Red Letter Days or Red Letter Days have several packages. Scroll down this page to find a video of Go Below.
Go Below’s Ultimate Xtreme Underground Adventure Photos
Because of the adventure and rough terrain in the mine I did not want to bring my expensive camera. All my photos are from my GoPro. They have some better pictures with what appears to be a huge light and proper cameras. The photos look brighter in comparison to the actual day, but you can still get a sense of how big the caverns are and the kind of adventure they entail.