As a high-quality material for construction, slate is ideal for any project you wish to undertake within your home. This stone provides a sophisticated look, fitting perfectly with your interior or exterior design. The UK has stunning locations with natural slate deposits, which provide this stone for not only the UK but also for the entire world.
So, which wonderful locations in the UK have natural slate deposits?
Castle Crag, Lake District
Located in the Lake District, Castle Crag is a hill in the North Western Fells and the only Wainwright below 1,000 feet, or 300 metres. It’s also the smallest hill in Alfred Wainwright’s Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells. A humble 1 ½ mile walk from the village of Grange will take you to the summit, where you will be able to enjoy the panoramic views of the Lake District.
Thought to have been an ancient hill fort, the summit of Castle Crag provides a stunning view. There is a rock outcrop of a height of approximately eight feet by a width of twelve feet. At the very top, you’ll find a circular cairn built from slate and a memorial to the Borrowdale men that were killed in World War I fixed to the outcrop.
The village Grange also has cottages made from slate, providing quite a striking view when it snows. This picturesque scenery will have smoke coming out of the slate chimneys during the colder months, adding to the local charm.
Llechwedd Slate Caverns, Wales
In the mountains of Snowdonia, there is a wonderful slate formation that has been shaping communities and families for generations. The story of the Llechwedd Slate Caverns started 500 million years ago with mud and clay deposits on an ancient seabed. Both Romans, in the first century AD, and medieval kings used slate to shore up their defences.
The Industrial Revolution increased the demand for slate, with the Welsh industry employing 17,000 and, by the end of the 19th century, half a million tonnes of slate was being extracted per year and being exported all over the world.
Both the Deep Mine Tour and the Quarry Explorer are experiences you can take part in to see this natural slate marvel. The caverns are accessed by Britain’s steepest cable railway, taking you to depths of 500 feet, or 150 metres.
Cathedral Cavern, Little Langdale
Little Langdale has been a place for mining and quarries over the past several hundred years, especially for its copper and slate. Hodge Close’s quarries had extensive workings done, alongside Tiberthwaite and the mines at the southern slopes of Wetherlam.
The Cathedral Quarries are composed of a small network of quarries inter-linked together, a remnant of green slate quarries. The main chamber, the ‘Cathedral’, is a 40-foot, or 12-metre, high chamber with great acoustics.
To access the Cathedral Cavern, you walk over a 16th-century slate bridge called Slaters Bridge, which was used by workers in the slate mines. One of the more impressive parts of the Cavern is the big slate blade at the end of the entrance tunnel, helping the ceiling to stay up and not collapse.
Honister Slate Mine, Cumbria
Found in the heart of the Lake District, Honister Pass is the home for the production of Westmorland Green Slate. This slate is a 450 million-year-old material has been extracted at Honister for centuries. Slate used to be carried from Honister and Yew Crags for over 100 years from the early 1700s through sledge routes, which to this day can still faintly be seen.
Today, Honister offers a wide range of adventures that allow you to either go deep into the mine or to climb the mine. And if you can’t decide, an all day pass will let you enjoy the experience for six hours and breathe in the historical slate area.
Here at UK Slate we know all about high-quality slate and how important it is for your home, which is why we provide an expert service that allows you to use slate for a wide variety of uses. Whether you’re looking for roofing, flooring, landscaping, or a bespoke slate solution, you can get in touch with our team to know more about our services.