Blaenau
Ffestiniog, about four miles up the railway line from us, is famous for its
slate - it wouldn’t exist were it not for the slate. But its industry has
almost all gone and instead Blaenau is repositioning itself as the adventure
capital of North Wales.
 |
| Downhill with a difference |
On the
mountain above Llechwedd slate quarry is the start of the downhill biking track,
created and run by Antur Stiniog. Riders pay £29 for a day’s pass (£32.50 at weekends)
which gives them up to 20 ‘uplifts’ to the top of the mountain where they have
a choice of six trails to descend. They are graded black, red and blue - a bit
like a ski resort and the sort of colours you might become. It’s possibly the
best competition track in Britain and is used to host international
competitions.
Sharing the
same route to the top of the mountain is Titan Zipworld, four parallel zip
wires that take you to the bottom in three stages with the first being about
900 metres. It’s £50 a go and so exciting that words can’t do it justice. Best
to take a look at their little video:
The same
company also runs a series of other adventures within the massive caverns of
the slate mine. One of them is an epic journey on zip lines, rope bridges, via
ferrata and tunnels. A perfect pastime on a rainy day.
They also
run Bounce Below which is another cavern with a series of massive
interconnected trampolines. An hour in here is an excellent workout – the moment
I first stepped out onto the trampoline, with the ground about a hundred feet
below, I felt like a child once more. It’s recently been redesigned and upgraded
and the film link below, prior to that upgrade, is an energetic and acrobatic
approach to enjoying the experience.
Blaenau
going downhill? You’ve got to be kidding. Blaenau is definitely on the up!
