Natural Slate and the Film Industry

Hello slate people

Roofing slate quarries are special places. Just think on how the slate emerges from the mountain of the ground in bizarre, straight shapes, as if a giant had carved them from the bedrock. When in operation, there is lot of noise and dust, but when the work stops, a strange silent takes over this peculiar landscape. The perfect setting for a fantasy film. Indeed, many films have been shot in slate quarries, and I bet you have seen at least some of them. Let´s take a look:

– Monty Phyton and the Holy Grail. My children like this one very much. Shot in 1977, this funny film describes the quest for the Holy Grail of the King Arthur and the Square Table Knights. There is a scene, when King Arthur meets the sorcerer Tim at the Duke´s Pass Quarry, close to Aberfoyle, in Scotland. This quarry was opened for several centuries, and closed at the end of the 60´s.

– Willow, from 1988. This film tells the fantastic story of Willow, a young farm girl who undertakes a dangerous journey to protect a baby. The villain’s castle, Tir Asleen, was recreated in Dinorwig’s impressive historic quarry, today a major tourist spot.

– Clash of Titans, 2010, also took advantage of the Dinorwig quarry. When Perseus, on his search for the way to defeat the Kraken, enters the den of the Stygian Witches, he is actually climbing up the old inclines of Dinorwig. These ramps were used to transport the slate blocks and other stuff along the quarry, and can be visited today.

Many other films show slate quarries on their locations. Here is a list of some of them

Also, the second season of the series The Witcher depicts a slate quarry on the episodes 3 and 7.
The abandoned slate quarrying landscape has a special value, not just for tourism but for transporting us to a world of fantasy.

See you!