Padarn Country Park

Padarn is many different things to many people. Basically it is a vast, unspoiled, natural Country Park ; it is the Welsh Slate Museum ; and it is the lakeside steam trains of Rheilfforrd Llyn Padarn (the Llanberis Lake Railway). But take a closer look and you will find much more.

The central reception area is a large car park with modern toilets, snack bar, souvenir shop, craft workshops and information offices. Close by are the large quarry workshops, which now form the National Slate Museum , run by the National Museum and Galleries of Wales. In here the guides will explain and demonstrate the old machinery, the blacksmith's forges, the foundry, the sawmill, the massive water wheel, the slate-cutting machinery, and much more besides. There are many descriptive displays and a film show to explain it all. Whilst the museum has much educational value for children, it also has considerable appeal to all visitors. A separate detailed guidebook to the museum is available.

The Country Park, which is owned and supervised by Gwynedd Council, covers a large area of densely wooded hillside rising from the shore of the lake. There are carefully arranged waymarked footpaths radiating from the car park, and separate leaflets are available describing each of these. The park is a local nature reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), containing habitats for a wide variety of plants, animals and birds. It also has the old Vivian slate quarry with a restored; working slate incline and winding house. In the former Quarry hospital you can visit a ward and the operating theatre. Wardens are on hand in the summer to answer questions and advise on exploration.

Padarn is also home to a watersports centre, a diving facility in the old flooded Vivian Quarry, and in summer months a pleasure boat plies its trade along the lake. Newly opened is "The Den" indoor play area for the little ones, and the Ropes and Ladders high wire course for the more adventurous.

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