Slate quarry

Today we went on part two of my son’s geography project, the old slate quarries in North Wales. I have been to Snowdonia so many times over the years, always to the scenic parts but this was the first time I visited the slate quarries.
I was a bit shocked at first, half the hillside taken away, huge spoil heaps and hardly and regeneration of vegetation, even 50 years after they were abandoned. But I found there was a beauty to it, and walking through the old oak forests on the way up was like a magical fairy land. Then the old abandoned cottages of the quarry workers, the slate walls still standing but roofs rotten away.
What a hard life they had, but I wonder whether they marvelled at the beautiful mountains during the little spare time they had and their community spirit compensated for the hard toil and trouble.