The World’s Deepest Hotel Is Inside Abandoned Slate Mine—And It’s A Jaw-dropping 1,400 Feet Under
Source: Epoch Times, Michael Wing
Photo: Courtesy of Go Below Underground Adventures
A blissfully cool 10 degrees Celsius is the perfect temperature for scrambling down an old mine shaft vigorously and then sailing across the longest underground zipline in the world—so says Go Below Underground Adventures operations manager Mike Morris, from Wales.
Several days a week, he clips onto a safety wire and makes the 1,375-foot descent below the surface in an abandoned slate mine near Lake Level where he brings guests to stay in the world’s deepest underground hotel suites—which are all comfortably well-heated.
“Even on a freezing cold day, it’s still going to be 10 degrees [50 degrees Fahrenheit] down there,” Mr. Morris, 33, told The Epoch Times, speaking of the subterranean property of thermal inertia. “And if it’s on a boiling hot day, it’s still 10 to 12 degrees, which is quite a pleasant temperature, maybe a little bit chilly.”
The mine is in the tiny Welsh village of Tanygrisiau, near the quiet, rustic town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, also known as the slate capital of the world. If the chalkboards at your old elementary school did not come from here, your neighbor’s slate roof might well have.
The first heavy equipment began operating here around 1860. Since then, the mine, called Cwmorthin, was quarried by a succession of slate companies up until the early 1990s when operations came to an end. The adventure company then took over the lease.
Today, you can still find antique tins and pieces of china pottery—the Welsh miners downed copious amounts of tea—left scattered throughout the mine. Spelunking enthusiasts like Mr. Morris and his colleagues are now passionate about this history—and about sharing it with visitors.