Since most of the underground mine workings have been untouched since the departure of the last miners, and the workings are confined in places, we can only take a maximum of 5 people on each underground trip. All surface trips are limited to 10 people.
Hard hats and lighting will be provided for all underground trips.
All tours are covered by our overground and underground insurance policy, and take place with the landowners and mineral rights holders' permissions.
Email your preferred date(s) and trip number to rheilffordd@gmail.com or phone 07415 440 172, with the number of your party. We will do our best to provide your tour on your preferred day, subject to guide availability. If there are more than the specified party limit please see our Large Groups page. Please specify any special requests/areas of interest if you wish, as well as your preferred time of day (morning, afternoon or evening) for your visit. Your booking will be confirmed as soon as possible, and you may pay online or through cash on the day.
Starting locations and directions will be specified in your confirmation email.
Additional tours to more challenging places may be arranged for visitors who have their own underground insurance through the British Caving Association or other such organisations. Please contact us for further information.
1. CASCADE CAVERN TRIP
(2 hours 30 mins)
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A good ‘taster’ trip for those who have not been underground before, as well as an easy yet impressive trip for those who have. An initial steep climb up a hillside path brings one to a nineteenth-century mine adit, which leads to a large cavern (‘stope’) where a picturesque waterfall appears after recent rain. See how the miners used to work on surviving original platforms and how the workings were developed over the years. Includes general history, geology and brief introduction to local mining techniques.
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Difficulty: Easy walk underground with little debris on floor and one section of low roof. Steep climb up hillside path with plenty of rest breaks.
Water: wellington-depth. Suitable clothes for walking underground required.
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£52 per person. Max. number of people 5.
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2. The Deep Mine Taster Trip
(1 hour 30 mins)
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An easy taster trip for those who are willing to crawl through a short modern access pipe and pass through a short distance of knee-deep water. The rest of the mine is dry, and contains several artefacts and relics from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries including trams, inclines and wooden ore-chutes, all abandoned after the mine was closed. Basic introduction to mining in mid-Wales and geology.
Difficulty: Brief crawl (10 feet) through modern access pipe (600mm diameter) and knee-deep water for first 150 feet. Little debris on floor and low roof in some places.
Suitable clothes for walking underground required.
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£39 per person. Max. number of people 5.
3. ‘Comet Lode’ Caverns and Deep Mine Experience (2 hours 30 mins)
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The ultimate explore of Cwmystwyth Mine, visiting underground locations which have been virtually undisturbed since the mine closed in the early twentieth century. A short crawl through a modern access pipe gives access to a short distance of knee-deep water. The rest of the mine is dry, and contains many artefacts and relics from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries including trams, skips, inclines and wooden ore-chutes, all abandoned after the mine was closed. Explore the Lefel Fawr - ‘Great Level’ - of Cwmystwyth Mine with chambers, stopes and a labyrinth of meandering passages. Includes a general history of the mine, delving into the lives and work of the miners and their society, as well as the geological structure and archaeology of the site.
Difficulty: Brief crawl (10 feet) through modern access pipe (600mm diameter) and knee-deep water for first 150 feet. Little debris on floor and low roof in some places.
Suitable clothes for walking underground required.
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£52 per person. Max. number of people 5.
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4. The Copper and Coffin Trip (2 hours 30 mins)
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A part-underground, part-surface trip involving an initial steep climb uphill and a short crawl into an open level containing exposures of copper, lead and zinc mineralization. See spectacular views of the mine site and its landscape. Walk on past an ancient Bronze Age burial site to explore a tiny, possibly ancient ‘coffin-level’ hewn out by hand before the days of gunpowder. This level almost certainly pre-dates the eighteenth-century, and is shown as a 'Roman Level' on old plans. The trip includes an introduction to the various ores mined in mid-Wales, as well as how each ore had a different role to play in the different periods of mining. Also an introduction to ‘coffin-levels’ and ancient underground mining methods.
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Difficulty: Moderate yet short walk underground with little debris on floor and short initial crawl into the first level. Coffin-level has very low roof and narrow walls (approx. 20" wide and 4' high). Steep climb up hillside path with plenty of rest breaks. Some uneven steps along a stream
bank at one point.
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Water: wellington-depth. Suitable clothes for walking
underground required.
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£42 per person. Max. number of people 5.
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5. The Bronze Age Mine Trip (2 hours 30 mins)
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A surface trip up a steep mountain path see the site of one of the earliest metal mines in Britain. These prehistoric workings date from at least 2,300 BC and form one of the oldest industrial sites visitable on a tour in Wales. Tour includes historical information on Bronze Age mining and the development of the industry over the following millennia, prehistoric mining techniques and superb examples of the “hushing” technique. Find out how the ore was first discovered over 4,300 years ago.
Difficulty: Steep climb up hillside path with plenty of rest breaks. Some uneven surfaces/mine spoil. Suitable walking footwear and clothes required.
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£42 per person. Max. number of people 10.
6. The Victorian Mine Surface Trip (1 hour 30 mins)
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A scenic walk exploring the remains of a large mine site near Ponterwyd and see how it was developed from the eighteenth century to the Victorian era. See shafts, ruinous buildings, watercourses and reservoirs dating back to the Early Modern Period, scattered over a landscape which has changed very little since the 1740s. Discover how the metal ore was processed and “dressed” over the centuries from the Medieval period to the twentieth century, and how the miners and their families lived and worked.
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Difficulty: Some uneven surfaces and short climbs. Suitable walking footwear and clothes required.
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£36 per person. Max. number of people 10.
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