Local Firms - Blaenau Ffestiniog, Snowdonia, North Wales

Queens Hotel in Blaenau Ffestiniog is centrally located to all local businesses, which include

Trawsfyndd Power Station

Trawsfynydd Power Station is located near Blaenau Ffestiniog in North Wales. The power station has been erected beside a lake to provide the necessary cooling water for the power station. Trawsfynydd started generating electricity in 1965 and stopped generating in 1991. It is currently being decommissioned to move it on to Care & Maintenance.

Blaenau Plastics

Blaenau Plastics
Tanygrisiau Trading Estate
Tanygrisiau Gwynedd LL41 3RY
Tel: (01766 833700)

Plastics - Extrusion Manufacturers located about a mile from Queens Hotel, Blaenau Ffestiniog.

Ffestiniog Power Station

Ffestiniog Power Station was commissioned in 1963, and was Britain's first major pumped storage power station. Ffestiniog's four generating units are capable of achieving a total output of 360MW of electricity - which could on its own supply the power needs of North Wales for several hours.

Water starts in Llyn Stwlan - Ffestiniog's upper reservoir. Here the intake towers are the gateway for a high-pressure downflow, and 27 cubic metres of water per second fall through two high-pressure shafts (each 200 metres in depth), into the power station. This water powers the generation turbines, before tumbling further on down to Tan-y-Grisiau. From there its pumped back to Llyn Stwlan, usually overnight, to complete the cycle.

McAlpine Slate Quarries Blaenau Ffestiniog

Alfred McAlpine Slate
Gloddfa Ganol Quarry, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd
Tel: 01248 600656

Most of the quarries round Blaenau Ffestiniog are owned by McAlpines who are mainly processing large architectural orders. Alfred McAlpine Slate is the worlds major producer of natural slate. Blaenau slate is particularly good for sculpture and roof work - it doesn't shear into planes quite so easily as other slates. Read more about Welsh Slate on McAlpine Slate Quarry site.

Llechwedd Slate Caverns and Quarries Blaenau Ffestiniog

One mine Llechwedd Slate Caverns is still privately owned (tel 01766 830522). They are about a mile from the Queens Hotel, Blaenau.

A train runs from the original slate slabbing mill of 1852, through an 1846 tunnel, hauled by battery-electric locomotive. The journey into the early Victorian past is on the level throughout, and traverses some spectacular slate caverns.

Deep Mine Visit - descend into the deep mine on Britain's steepest passenger railway, with a gradient of 1:1.8, to make the Deep Slate Mine tour. A specially made 24-seat car runs down on a track with a gauge of 3ft (0.914m).

Welsh Slate Company

The Welsh Slate Company is family operated. , Welsh Slate Company Ltd started the company in 1994, and today provides full time work for thirteen local people. They retail Welsh, Spanish and Chinese slate products, and also provide a nationwide slate roofing and scaffolding service. under the Brand names of NS Scaffolding and Stephen Williams Roofing

Return to Blaenau Ffestiniog, Snowdonia