Corris Craft Centre is a craft and leisure complex in Corris, on the A487 near Machynlleth, mid-Wales. It is sometimes referred to as King Arthur's Labyrinth, one of the attractions on the site. Celebrating 40 years in 2022.
Winter opening:The Corris Cafe and Welsh Deli open daily 10am to 4pm. The Dyfi Distillery opens Wednesdays to Sundays 11am to 4pm and the Delyn Glass studio opens Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays 11am to 4pm. The Chocablock studio is taking bookings for Christmas chocolate making workshops. The Corris Craft Centre, which opened in 1982, comprises 9 workshops, with resident craftspeople: [1]
Some of the studios also offer hands-on sessions, for visitors to have a go at making their own crafts, such as painting pottery, making chocolates, and dipping candles. [3]
The centre is built on a landscaped part of the old Braichgoch Slate Mine, and the presence of these underground workings has presented the opportunity for other related attractions at the Craft Centre site, for which a charge is made :
The Upper Corris Tramway, a 2 ft 3 in (686 mm) gauge horse-worked tramway which connected the slate quarries around the villages of Corris and Corris Uchaf with the Corris Railway at Maespoeth Junction, passed along the edge of the current site. [7]
The Craft Centre cafe serves a delicious all day menu where locally sourced fresh produce is used across the menu. As part of the centre's 30th Anniversary, a new Welsh food and drink shop was opened adjacent to the café, called The Welsh Deli [8]
There is a children's play area, next to outdoor seating and picnic tables.
All of the Craft Centre Studios open daily from Easter to November, although some are open all year round. [9] Access to the site is free.
The Corris Café and Welsh Deli open daily from Easter to the end of October. Opening times vary at other times of the year.
Corris Mine Explorers is open all year round, although during particularly quiet times, trips may only run if there is sufficient demand.
King Arthur's Labyrinth and The Welsh Legends Maze open every day during the main season.
Snowdonia, or Eryri, is a mountainous region and national park in northwestern Wales. It contains all fifteen mountains in Wales over 3000 feet high, including the country's highest, Snowdon, which is 1,085 metres (3,560 ft) tall. These peaks are all part of the Snowdon, Glyderau, and Carneddau ranges in the north of the region. The shorter Moelwynion and Moel Hebog ranges lie immediately to the south.
The Corris Railway is a narrow gauge preserved railway based in Corris on the border between Merionethshire and Montgomeryshire in Mid-Wales.
Snowdon or Yr Wyddfa is the highest mountain in Wales, at an elevation of 1,085 metres (3,560 ft) above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside the Scottish Highlands. It is located in Snowdonia National Park in Gwynedd.
Blaenau Ffestiniog is a town in Gwynedd, Wales. Once a slate mining centre in historic Merionethshire, it now relies much on tourists, drawn for instance to the Ffestiniog Railway and Llechwedd Slate Caverns. It reached a population of 12,000 at the peak development of the slate industry, but fell with the decline in demand for slate. The population of the community, including the nearby village Llan Ffestiniog, was 4,875 in the 2011 census: the fourth most populous in Gwynedd after Bangor, Caernarfon and Llandeiniolen. The population not including Llan is now only about 4,000.
Machynlleth is a market town, community and electoral ward in Powys, Wales and within the historic boundaries of Montgomeryshire. It is in the Dyfi Valley at the intersection of the A487 and the A489 roads. At the 2001 Census it had a population of 2,147, rising to 2,235 in 2011. It is sometimes referred to colloquially as Mach.
The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) is an eco-centre in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales dedicated to demonstrating and teaching sustainable development. CAT, despite its name, no longer concentrates its efforts exclusively on alternative technology, but provides information on all aspects of sustainable living. It is open to visitors, offers postgraduate degrees as well as shorter residential and one day courses; and publishes information on renewable energy, sustainable architecture, organic farming, gardening, and sustainable living. CAT also runs education programmes for schools and sells environmentally friendly items through its on site shop, restaurant and mail order department.
Pennal is a village and community on the A493 road in southern Gwynedd, Wales, on the north bank of the River Dyfi, near Machynlleth.
Aberllefenni quarry is the collective name of three slate quarries, Foel Grochan, Hen Gloddfa and Ceunant Ddu, located in Cwm Hengae, just to the west of Aberllefenni, Gwynedd, North Wales. It was the longest continually operated slate mine in the world until its closure in 2003. Foel Grochan is the quarry on the north side of the valley, facing Ceunant Ddu and Hen Gloddfa on the south; all three were worked as a single concern throughout their history. Rock was mainly extracted underground, though all three quarries had open pits as well.
Esgairgeiliog is a village in Powys, Wales, UK. It is situated at the junction of the Afon Glesyrch's and Afon Dulas' valleys.
Delabole is a large village and civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, which lies approximately two miles (3 km) west of Camelford.
Corris Uchaf is a village in the south of Snowdonia National Park in Gwynedd, Wales. The slate quarries that surround Corris Uchaf are its most prominent feature.
Braichgoch slate mine was a large slate mine located in Corris Uchaf, north Wales. It was worked continuously from 1787 until closure in 1970, apart from a hiatus in the 1900s. Most of the surface workings of the quarry were removed as part of a road widening and landscaping scheme in 1983.
Llechwedd is a visitor attraction near Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, Wales. It details the history of slate quarrying in the town and specifically the Llechwedd quarry in which it is located. The main aspect of Llechwedd is its Llechwedd Deep Mine Tour which has the steepest narrow gauge railway in the UK and travels over 500 feet underground to the disused slate caverns, and the Quarry Explorer Tour which heads out to the furthest reaches of the Llechwedd site to explore the history of mining in the area.
The existence of a slate industry in Wales is attested since the Roman period, when slate was used to roof the fort at Segontium, now Caernarfon. The slate industry grew slowly until the early 18th century, then rapidly during the Industrial Revolution in Wales until the late 19th century, at which time the most important slate producing areas were in northwest Wales. These sites included the Penrhyn Quarry near Bethesda, the Dinorwic Quarry near Llanberis, the Nantlle Valley quarries, and Blaenau Ffestiniog, where the slate was mined rather than quarried. Penrhyn and Dinorwig were the two largest slate quarries in the world, and the Oakeley mine at Blaenau Ffestiniog was the largest slate mine in the world. Slate is mainly used for roofing, but is also produced as thicker slab for a variety of uses including flooring, worktops and headstones.
The Abercorris quarry was a slate quarry worked between the mid-1840s and the early 1950s. It was located at Corris Uchaf about 5 miles north of Machynlleth, in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. The quarry was connected to the Corris Railway via the Upper Corris Tramway which carried its products to the Cambrian Railways at Machynlleth for distribution. It worked the Narrow Vein.
The Mawddwy Railway was a rural line in the Dyfi Valley in mid-Wales that connected Dinas Mawddwy with a junction at Cemmaes Road railway station on the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway section of the Cambrian Railways.
Garneddwen is a hamlet in the south of the county of Gwynedd, Wales. It lies in the historic county of Merionethshire/Sir Feirionnydd, in the valley of the Afon Dulas.
Meirion Mill is a woollen mill at Dinas Mawddwy in Wales. It operates as a tourist attraction. The mill is located on the site of the northern terminus of the defunct Mawddwy Railway.
The Upper Corris Tramway was a 2 ft 3 in gauge horse-worked tramway that connected the slate quarries around the villages of Corris and Corris Uchaf with the Corris Railway at Maespoeth Junction. It was just over 1.8 miles (2.9 km) long.
The Abercwmeiddaw quarry was a slate quarry that operated between the 1840s and 1938. It was located at Corris Uchaf about 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Machynlleth, in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. The quarry was connected to the Corris Railway via the Upper Corris Tramway which carried its products to the Cambrian Railways at Machynlleth for distribution.