Experience is the most brutal of tutors but you learn, my god you learn

– C.S Lewis

Todays the day after going down the Croesor-Rhoysydd through trip so we are understandably pretty tired, we have already agreed to join the North Wales Caving club on a trip down Moel Ffrena mine. Apparently it’s way more chilled than what we did yesterday, then again that’s not difficult. Yesterday we did the Croesor-Rhosydd through trip https://requiemfortheextreme.com/2024/09/02/memento-mori-the-croesor-rhosydd-mine-through-trip/ And we didn’t get back from doing that until about half two this morning so I’m surprised we actually get up and get ourselves together in time to go and meet Tony in Corwen.

It is again a beautiful and very hot day in North Wales and Corwen is a bit of a drive, luckily I’m loaded to the brim with so much caffeine is swear my eyeballs are itching. I need it though as I’ve probably had about four hours sleep, perfect for an extreme adventure. We meet Tony and his friend Mike in a layby near Corwen and make our introductions. Turns out they both work for the local museum and that is his friends reason for coming with us he wants to know more about the place. He’s not gone caving / mine exploring before so this will be an experience for him for sure. Tony seems a little concerned when we told him what we got up to yesterday but says ‘well you must have done it ok because we didn’t get a call out’ fair enough I guess.

We chuck all our stuff into the back of Tony’s van and head for Moel Ffrena which in located in the Berwyns, a mountain region in Wales you won’t often hear a lot about. Moel Ffrena itself is classed a Hewitt ( a hill over 610m). It is really hot again today though this wont matter soon as we are going to be descending into the depths of a mine soon enough. The hike up is yet again very sweaty but the views around are very nice, I decide ill have to come back here at some point for an above ground explore.

I ask Tony where we are going to enter the mine and he points out the green of a tree top looking as if it’s sticking from the top of the hill. When we get closer it turns out this is growing out of a the mouth of a massive, very deep looking hole with what’s going to be the mine below.

The image titled "Requiem For The Extreme Writer Mark Cox About To Descend Into Moel Fferna" shows Mark Cox, the writer, preparing to descend into Moel Fferna slate mine. He is secured with a safety rope, ready to explore the depths of the mine. It is sunny which is a sharp contrast to the darkness he is about to encounter below

I peer down into the darkness, and for once I’m not actually nervous, maybe I’m getting used to this stuff. Behind us there’s a massive boulder that’s been anchor bolted for caving ropes, probably by the caving clubs. This is how we will be getting into the mine, a short roped climb down, then onto a caving ladder Tony puts down, then onto a set of bolted on ladders not too far from the bottom. We start to kit up and while we do Tony ask’s me if I want to go first and to my surprise I do, and I’m not overthinking it. It’ll be way easier than yesterday anyway and he will have me on a belay anyway.

Holey Moley

I tie myself into the rope we do a quick check to make sure I haven’t missed anything and then step backwards into the mouth of the hole. I take a brief look at the sunshine and note how this scene is going to be a stark contrast to the darkness I’m about to encounter below here. To begin with it’s just a slight climb down until I find the caving ladder, these things are bloody awkward to walk down they need to be narrow so you can get down them so unless you have child size feet and especially in wellies you can only get one foot on each rung at a time. They need to be narrow for portability and so they fit down awkward spaces. They can swing in very close to the rock also so it’s easy to miss a rung and go for a swing instead. Despite the awkwardness I am super chilled about this bounce down into the mine because unlike yesterday it’s not a 70m descent into the unknown. After fighting with the cable ladder I eventually touch down on a ledge that’s about three quarters down the hole. Tony asks me if I’m ok and I shout up that I am, for once actually meaning what I say. Like I say after yesterday it’s no sweat plus I know that this bit is the hardest part. Backing slightly off the ledge the ladder is next, it looks pretty old and questionable but I’m still roped in so all good, after a short slightly wobbly climb down this ladder I touch down on the floor, shout up that I’m safe, disconnect myself from the rope and send the harness we are using back up.

Now I’m down safe I take a quick scan around and instantly find what’s probably not the best omen…the bones of a sheep, it’s skull looking right at me on a rock. With horror movie timing a toad crawls through it’s eye socket apparently disturbed from its grisly home. Unfortunately I don’t get my camera out in time to get the shot which would have been amazing. The sheep probably fell down here a while ago as the entry way would be pretty easy to wander into.

Sheeps bones Moel Fferna Slate Mine

I head down the passage into the mine and away from the opening to the sky the guys are coming down, just in case someone dislodges something and I get clocked by it. While thinking this, almost perfectly on cue Tony’s friend dislodges something and pebbles / soil crash down the hole.

The way to enter Moel Fferna Slate mine, abseiling and a short section of iron ladders, down a pitch into the ground

I’ve been having a bit of a mooch around the first passage of the mine for quite a while and I begin to wonder what’s taking so long when suddenly Andy shouts down to ask me to take a look at what Mike is doing as it sounds like he’s got himself in a spot of bother. Stepping back into the sunlight I see him having a panic above me, and I can’t see why. I ask him what’s up and apparently he’s put his hole leg through the caving ladder, he’s stuck in it and struggling to get out. I can appreciate WHY he’s panicking as it’s his first time doing this, and he’s probably pretty nervous which may be how he’s managed to get his leg stuck. I can empathise most of us who do more extreme activities have been in a situation that makes us feel like this, by this point. He’s perfectly safe but he won’t feel it being as he’s ended up making love to a caving ladder more than ten metres of the floor of a mine shaft. I can tell he’s terrified too because when he shouts up to Tony his voice has gone up at least an octave. Between him and Tony they do manage to get him out of the situation and eventually with a little more confidence showing he makes it to the bolted ladders which I talk him down as there’s at least one of two rungs where he could slip here, the gap that should hold a foot filled with cave entry debris instead.

I chat away to him waiting for him to regain his composure while the others start making their way down. I break off conversation when I hear Andy has got to the bolted in ladder and for some reason he’s decided to untie there. This is unwise as it’s still about a bungalow height off the floor so I head into the way in and shout up that he isn’t safe yet and he needs to tie back in even if there’s a ladder. Some might say this is overcautious but it’s just good practice.

Soon enough Andy is down thankfully safely and now we are all just waiting for Tony who’s probably done this a few times as it takes him maybe a few minutes to abseil down. Looking around this mine entry has some cool aspects like the strange alien way that tree roots cling upside down to the rock of the ceiling.

Heading into the mine we follow a tram track for the mine carts off into the distance and then climb through a bit of brick walling and start walking, sploshing through some thankfully not very deep water and through a battered looking metal gate into the mine. One thing that I notice is that the ceiling is totally flat in places for a great distance, due to the way slate itself forms, but on such a scale it’s impressive. Then we come to a junction in the tunnel where there’s a first bit of graffiti.

From here it’s past what looks like an old wheel house which provides some quite cool photos, not far from this there are the remains of what looks like a mining cart, rusting slowly away.

We come across an alien looking bit of machinery Tony explains is an old manual pump, it’s not fallen totally apart yet which is surprising since it’s been here since at least the 1950’s you can still make out the brand logo really well also.

Tony showing us an old manual pump in Moel Fferna that would have been used to pump water from the workings, it is is great condition considering the age

We pass a miners shovel slowly disintegrating in the darkness, leaning against the wall of the passage we walk down. The mine has seven levels and it’s purpose was roofing slate which was mainly mined from underground. It originally opened in the 1870’s. An incline known as a trwnc (table) incline began on level 3 of the mine and was later after 1872 extended as more levels of the mine opened. This connected all of the levels. Using gravity and controlled by a riding brakeman (yes I’m getting Indiana jones mine cart scene images too but it probably wasn’t that fun) carts were moved to the bottom of this to the Deeside tramway and horses were used to return the carts.

The image titled "Various Graffiti Left By The Miners In Moel Fferna" shows graffiti on the slate walls in Moel Fferna Slate Mine, North Wales. Some of the graffiti dates back to before World War II. The scene captures a sense of history and the personal marks left by the miners who once worked in the mine. The graffiti adds a human touch to the otherwise industrial and rugged environment of the slate mine, providing a glimpse into the lives and expressions of the miners from the past.

There’s also some graffiti nearby dating from before and during WW2, and I wonder if the miners left it here knowing they could be going to war, or knowing they were and may not come back. Who knows, just that so many signed in this place from that period does make you wonder. Mike is looking for a specific name for a friend who knew one of the miners, despite a bit of a search we don’t have any luck finding it, there is a lot of grafitti in this place. From 1898 the mine employed 184 men in 1937-8 this was reportedly 100. The mine closed in 1960.

The image titled "Rusting Items Abandoned By Miners In Moel Fferna Slate Mine" shows a collection of old, rusting items left behind by miners in Moel Fferna Slate Mine, North Wales. The items include valves, an old shovel, and rusting paint cans. The scene captures a sense of abandonment and history, with the rust and decay highlighting the passage of time since these items were last used. The setting evokes a sense of nostalgia and intrigue, as it provides a glimpse into the past lives of the miners who once worked in the slate mine.

We pass more items left by the miners, crumbled paint pots, shovels, mugs and some things that are way too far gone to identify. Next we come across the Cog, a big wooden support structure, usually used in coal mining but as Tony tells us put here due to fears the ceiling could collapse. Not overly comforting but it appears to be working even now. To me it looks like some kind of creepy subterranean altar to some sort of pagan god, but I have a strange imagination and really the thing is a strange sight.

Next Tony shows us the sketchiest bridge I’ve ever seen, looking entirely unwelcoming we ask if they ever cross the thing, apparently not. I can’t really blame the caving club really though it doesn’t look tempting really though be be interested to see what’s on the other side of it. He suggests we get another perspective of it from the level below so we head down there to get a better sense of how high the thing is.

On the way to look at the bridge from below we come across what’s almost a waterfall which makes for some decent photos, our head torches illuminating the falling water in the darkness.

The bridge looms over the mine in the distance looking even less safe from down here than it did up above, all of us shining our lights onto it up above us. We decide to head back having had a massive hike around the mine, seeing some mycelium growing in patterns across the floor on the way out looking like something from ‘the last of us’. Moel Fferna is very atmospheric with plenty of history, it’s well worth a visit if you have the right kit and training.