Latest news with #PortDinorwic
BBC News
21-06-2025
- BBC News
Y Felinheli pub landlord finds hidden tunnel in basement
A landlord who found a secret tunnel under his pub hopes it can be used to create a space celebrating the area's cultural Bennett made the discovery beneath Yr Heulyn pub, part of Port Dinorwic Marina in Y Felinheli, Gwynedd, which he bought as part of a consortium last tunnel formed part of a railway that transported slate from the nearby Dinorwic Quarry, once one of the biggest in the world, to the harbour."We want to bring back that cultural heritage to the area – make it a working museum in effect," he said. Mr Bennett, who lives locally and has kept a boat at the harbour for the last eight years, said he had seen the area "declining". When the previous owners of the marina went into administration, he and a group of investors bought it as part of plans to rejuvenate it. This has included infrastructure upgrades as well as the opening of Yr Heulyn, a pub which was previously a tapas restaurant on the at old photographs of the area, Mr Bennett said he suspected the old railway ran close to the venue and one afternoon decided to look closer in the venue's basement to "see what we could find".The group broke through a thick plaster wall, behind which they found the tunnel with "thousands" of discarded bottles in it. The most recent bottle dated back to 2003, which is when Mr Bennett believes the wall was put up. Slate has been quarried in north Wales for thousands of years but demand rapidly increased during the Industrial Revolution when it was used for the roofs of factories and workers' Wales slate was said to have "roofed the 19th Century world", including prominent buildings such as Westminster Hall and the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne, Australia. Dinorwic Quarry – located on the edge of Eryri National Park, also known as Snowdonia – was once the second largest quarry in the world before it closed in 1969. Although the tracks were removed, the tunnel had been part of a railway used to transport slate from the quarry to the harbour, where it was either exported or sent around the UK. Mr Bennett said the investors were still deciding what to do with the space, but that they wanted to use it to "celebrate the cultural heritage of the area"."It has potential as a museum, or maybe an extension of the pub – it would be a fantastic spot as a speakeasy pub hidden away, but we haven't got that far yet," he said.
The Sun
02-06-2025
- General
- The Sun
Inside 200-year-old abandoned tunnel network discovered under UK village after being ‘LOST' for decades
A 'LOST' tunnel from nearly 200 years ago has been discovered under a UK village. The tunnel has been out of use since the 1960s, but it was recently uncovered in a "fantastic" discovery. 3 3 3 Port Dinorwic Tunnel in North Wales was uncovered by Disused Railway Tunnels UK after a failed attempt last year. The tunnel, built in 1824, was once an integral part of the slate trade. Part of the wider Padarn Railway, the almost 100 yard tunnel connected the quarries at Llanberis to Port Dinowic. Further developments were made in 1843 when a rope-worked incline and a 92 yard tunnel between Port Dinorwic and Penscoins were built. This addition served to transport slate from the quarries to the waterside before it was carried around the UK via boats and trains. It also served as a kind of commuter route for workers before a more formalised service was introduced. The tunnel ceased use in 1861 and was blocked off before being infilled and becoming overgrown. In a trip to the area last year, Vince from Disused Railway Tunnels UK was unable to locate the tunnel. He told North Wales Live: "I couldn't see any evidence of the portal, even the shaft wasn't visible so possibly the tunnel may well be totally lost." The difficulty in finding the tunnel was caused by it having been bricked up until recently which left it "very well hidden from view." Inside 'gateway to underworld' underneath 1,800-year-old city which holds 'toxic' secret that scientists 'can't explain' Vince later returned to the village after the owners of a commercial property at the tunnel's entrance at Port Dinorwic contacted him. Speaking about the successful find, he said: "A massive thank you to Robert for the invitation to visit Port Dinorwic Tunnel and also to Iwan for showing us the way on the day and displaying patience while we mooched about in the tunnel. "What a fantastic day. Vince was shown around by Iwan Rees-Jones who said: "It's a privilege to work in what used to be the vital link for Welsh slate. Vince took photographs of the discovery which was appreciated by locals whose family history is intertwined with the tunnel. Locals either have direct or ancestral links to the tunnel and its trains including the Amalthaea, a steam locomotive that ran on the railway. One resident said: "My husband's great grandfather was one of Amalthaea's drivers. "We have his grandfather's old train tokens also, which he used to get to and from work as a slate splitter and dresser in Dinorwig. "What a stunning set of photographs, a real treat." Another local reminisced on earlier memories with friends when they would follow the disused narrow gauge lines in the 1960s. He said: "There were many tunnels leading into the mines but we never ventued into them.
