When a lost car junkyard was “discovered” a few years ago, deep inside a long-abandoned mine in Gwynedd, the town explorers who found it were taken by surprise.
Her photos showed around 100 rusting cars falling like a metallic waterfall into the flooded slate mine.
Illuminated by a single beam of light, a blue Ford Cortina car stood in the center, its late 1960s body eerily reflected in the still water below.
READ MORE: Wild Camper describes a “nightmare” experience in Snowdonia
Photos and videos of the underground junkyard quickly spread on social media, prompting more and more city explorers to venture the dangerous 65-foot descent into the Cave of Lost Souls at Corris Uchaf, near Machynlleth.
The obvious discovery of an “old” sword pulled from among decaying cars, refrigerators, and other household trash caused another minor sensation.
Other explorers followed suit, using inflatables to cross a deep lake to reach the dump.
The rush to record videos, photos and clean up the trash had inevitable consequences.
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On the subject of matching items
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On the subject of matching items
One group told North Wales Live that the place was devastated: an irony that has not escaped those who originally explored the huge junkyard.
“The blue car has now been pushed into the water,” they said.
“There is now a lot of graffiti and rubbish left in the cave from other“ explorers ”.
“It’s very sad.”
Many of the cars are said to have been dumped in the cave in the 1960s
(Image: Urbexground / mediadrumworld.com)
The cave of lost souls – also known as the “car cave” – was one of two chambers in the Gaerwen slate mine, which was closed in 1960.
An early explorer was Frenchman Gregory Rivolet, 31, who spent four hours in the cave.
“It was very dangerous as the mine is really unstable,” he told WalesOnline in 2016.
“Pieces of slate fell over our heads.
“We had to use ropes to climb to the correct level of the mine … it didn’t feel very safe at all.
“There was something so surreal about this exploration: It was totally dark, wet, slippery and very dangerous – and then you see the most unexpected, a mountain of old cars.”
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How the place became such a garbage dump remains to be speculated.
Some believe the cars were simply victims of the area’s treacherous roads.
Others suspect insurance fraud. But the presence of so much other junk, from microwaves to televisions, suggests that it may just be an illegal landfill.
A local resident, who did not want to be named, said it was used as a garbage dump.
The blue Cortina in the picture has since been pushed into the lake by disappointed explorers who are more respectful of their finds
(Image: Urbexground / mediadrumworld.com)
He said the cave was destroyed by visitors, many of whom arrive ill-equipped for the dangerous descent.
“Anyone who goes there is doing it illegally, without permission, as it is privately owned,” he said.
“It has become a nightmare. People create chaos and spray graffiti on the walls.
“A lot of historical mining artifacts down there have also been damaged.
“It’s the kind of place you don’t go if you don’t know what you’re doing.
“There are cases when people need to be rescued – they go down without a hard hat and only use their cell phones as flashlights.”
Historical artifacts in the mine were vandalized, according to locals
(Image: Urbexground / mediadrumworld.com)
The Corris quarries are the southernmost in North Wales: mining in the area has always been small compared to the huge quarries north of Snowdonia.
Mining began at Gaerwen quarry around 1820 under the direction of the Merionethshire Slate Company after the mineral rights were leased from the Vanes Estate.
It was difficult to make a profit there. Ownership passed to the Braich Goch Slate and Slab Company and in 1868 to the Talyllyn Slate Company.
By then, the Corris and Talyllyn railways had opened and the excavated slate had been transported to Machynlleth.
Production increased and by 1873 200 people were employed.
Nine years later, the quarry merged with the neighboring Braichgoch quarry, so that their mills could be used via a surface tram. In 1970 Braichgoch was finally closed.
The slate mine expert, Dr. David Evans, an archeology and heritage consultant, said Gaerwen has never been productive and is likely to be run rather shabbily.
“Some mines in the 19th century were speculative ventures,” he said.
“They were night flights with business practices that wouldn’t stand up to scrutiny today.”
Frenchman Gregory Rivolet spent four hours exploring the cave of lost souls
(Image: Urbexground / mediadrumworld.com)
For now, the Cave of Lost Souls is still attracting urban explorers. But traveling there carries a health warning.
As Gregory Rivolet found out, the descent into the cave is extremely dangerous. Others have reported that they just barely escaped with their lives.
Even for those who cross the cave’s lake and torches shine through the green-blue water on the ghostly shells below, many dangers await: In addition to leaching rust, the lake is laden with antifreeze, oil, gear oil, and other nasty chemicals.
One explorer wrote online: “I don’t know why this has become such a popular place, there are much more interesting mines to explore in the area that aren’t polluted landfills.”
Corris Mine Explorers, which operates in nearby Brach Goch, was voted “Best Activity / Experience” in the area at the Mid Wales Tourism Awards for the past two years.
It offers safe tours through a “virtual time capsule that was left behind when the door was last creaked in the 1970s”.
Should people be prevented from visiting this cave? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
