Built to last lifetimes ...but it's a dying art

NATIONAL TRUST WORKING TO PRESERVE CRAFT OF ERYRI'S UNIQUE SLATE FENCING

- By OWEN HUGHES Chief Reporter

ERYRI is renowned for its towering mountains and rugged landscape. But there is a unique feature that also defines the countryside - a byproduct of a former industrial powerhouse in the region.

The explosion of slate quarrying from the 18th century onwards created work and communities - and saw slate exported across the country, the UK and the world.

It left its impact on the landscape most vividly in places such as Llanberis and Blaenau Ffestiniog as blood and sweat turned green hills to grey.

But there was also a less dramatic but widespread change to the countryside as rough-cut slabs from the slate waste became a common product for fences that marked land boundaries and enclosed livestock.

Known as 'crawiau', these slate fences dotted the Eryri landscape. But the rise of wooden posts and wire fencing saw them gradually fade away - with a risk these skills could be lost forever.