Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Dolwyddelan Castle, Llechwedd Slate Mines, and Welsh Dancing: Oh My!

Written by: Kelcie Dyer
Edited by: Brinley Knowles

Yesterday, we went to the Dolwyddelan Castle, the Llechwedd slate mines and attended a Welsh dance class. The Dolwyddelan Castle sits upon a mighty hill with plenty of sheep on the premises. We walked up the combination of hill and castle for around fifteen minutes. The view from the top was breathtaking. We were able to see why the Welsh felt so at home in Appalachia as the terrain of the land was very similar to that of Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.



 Dolwyddelan Castle is where the last "real" Prince of Wales, Llywelyn the Last,  lived in the 1200's C.E.. 

The Llechwedd Slate Mines were probably my favorite part of the day. In the nineteenth century, many men and boys earned their wages through slate mining. The boys could be as young as eight years old. The mine we visited had sixteen layers. We saw some of the tools that were used by the miners and the different roles each played. The things that I learned from this visit are very similar to that of the coal miner’s life in the United States. The death tolls on both ends were substantial. The risks of working in the mines were tremendous. Many died from the development of illness due to the inhaling of certain fumes and dust. A large amount also died from explosions. This was particularly more common in coal mines, because of the lack of suitable foundation to hold up the ground above them: many men died.

After dinner, we all met at the Saith Seren pub. There we met with a colleague of Dr. Ellis’ who taught us a simple Welsh dance. I say simple, but most of us had a hard time mastering the steps. This ties into our class curriculum quite well. Appalachian culture is known for keeping artistic traditions alive. This includes dance, music, and so forth. I feel as though what we learned yesterday has been the closest connection to Appalachian Culture that has been made so far.

1 comment:

  1. Sounds amazing! I'd sure love to see more photos or a video of that dancing! :)

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