While we were on holiday in West Wales we visited the Dolaucothi Gold Mines which are looked after by the National Trust.

Next to the path leading to the entrance there was a special tipper machine which would have been used to tip the ore that had been mined out of the dram.

We went in to the reception area to show our National Trust cards and passed a mimng shovel that had been painted gold.

Once inside we began to explore. All the equipment in the mine are remnants from the 1930’s when gold mining was resumed briefly but wasn’t economical as they didn’t find much gold as it had already been extracted by the Victorians, and over 2000 years before that, the Romans.

We looked at the cage which would have been used in the 1930s to take miners and drams down the mine shaft. The Roman mine was discovered in the 1930s: miners were drilling deep into the rock and found a large cavern that had been previously excavated along with evidence that the Romans had been there.

Here we are pretending to ride in a dram!

It must have been a very hard life for humans that worked in the mines.

Here we in the remains of an open cast mine. The Romans dug the mines with picks and hammers which would have been extremely hard labour.

We went inside the building housing the winding equipment that was used in the 1930s.

In another shed there were lots of other very large tools, with a warning notice not to go inside the ‘bin’.

Growler was astonished at the size of the lathe.

There was a large tube containing first aid equipment that was of size that could be dropped down the mineshaft. It contained splints, blankets and a stretcher. Working in a mine was a very hazardous job.

Here we are sat on the first aid cylinder.

Outside the mining shovel had been painted bright yellow. I stood on the footplate which is where the human that operated it would have stood.

There are underground tours available for either The Victorian Mine or The Roman Mine. We opted for the Roman Mine, partly because it is floodlit and photographing me would be easier. Growler didn’t do the mine tour as there weren’t any hard hats small enough to fit him.

First of all we walked up lots of steps up a hill past lots of old mineworkings, then the tour guide unlocked the gate to the mine and we all went inside.

Here I am with the entrance behind me.

The guide told us that the gold deposits were found inside quartz, not white shiny quartz, but brown coloured quartz.

He told us all about how the Romans had created the huge cavern using just picks and shovels, and how they would follow a seam once a deposit was found.

Many of the passages in the mine had been blocked up with rubble. Here I am stood next to a very small passage through the rocks.

It was only a short tour of just one mining area, there are many more that aren’t open to visitors. I was quite happy to get back into daylight.

Growler was waiting outside and was pleased with the souvenir badge that I bought for him.

If we find ourselves in the area again we will visit the Victorian Mine. If you are interested in visiting please bear in mind that tours have to be booked in advance.

For more information see: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/wales/dolaucothi

Horace the Alresford Bear 5/5/2025