National Slate Museum

National Slate Museum

From strikes and suffering to craftsmanship and community come and enjoy the story of slate at the National Slate Museum Llanberis! Located in the Victorian workshops that once maintained the enormous Dinorwig Slate quarry which closed in 1969, the museum lets you travel back in time into the past of an industry and a way of life that has chiselled itself into the very being of this country. Today, rather than making wagons, tools and rails, the workshops - which seem as though the quarrymen and engineers have just put down their tools and left for home - welcomes visitors throughout the year. Enjoy the array of talks and demonstrations including the fine art of slate-splitting or take a tour with the museum carpenter; marvel at the largest water-wheel on mainland Britain or visit the Quarrymen's Houses which have been refurnished to reflect significant periods in the history of the slate industry; see UNA the engine in steam or go behind the scenes with our curator or maybe decorate a slate in one of our seasonal workshops! Café and shop on site.

Review

I have been visiting Llanberis now for many a year, and no matter how many times I visit, I fail to get bored. With so many things to do for families of all ages, it's hardly surprising that Llanberis gets hundreds of thousands of visitors every year, and it is thanks to the National Slate Museum alongside a few other attractions, that ensures the town's success. I have visited the slate museum on many occasions and every time I visit I see something I never noticed before. On my latest visit, I sat in on the slate splitting demonstration which ended up being just as side splitting as the slate splitting itself. The National Slate Museum truly puts the fun back into the word museum. Take a visit there soon and I guarantee you to will want to return time and time again, I know it makes me want to!