Changes

[[Image:Slateworker.jpg|thumb|left|300px| Miners' Tramway (slytiau) showing one of the miners in action]]

[[Image:Slateworker.jpg|thumb|left|300px| Miners' Tramway (slytiau) showing one of the miners in action]]

The slate industry that Blaenau epitomizes is today only a fraction of its former size. In the  1880's the industry employed over 400 men. In the 19th century such men were renowned for their “..hard drinking, their singing and their sexual prowess” <ref> see the description in: http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/history/sites/mining/pages/slate_mining.shtml</ref> . To say that these men were responsible for the today’s slag spoil is to misunderstand the history of Blaenau. Today the town has reinvented itself as a tourist destination with former quarries <ref name="Lech">See the website for the  [http://www.llechwedd-slate-caverns.co.uk The Llechwedd Slate Caverns] </ref> offering trips on the miner's tramway into the side of the mountain and into the massive underground caverns built by the slate workers.

The slate industry that Blaenau epitomizes is today only a fraction of its former size. In the  1880's the industry employed over 400 men.  . To say that these men were responsible for the today’s slag spoil is to misunderstand the history of Blaenau. Today the town has reinvented itself as a tourist destination with former quarries <ref name="Lech">See the website for the  [http://www.llechwedd-slate-caverns.co.uk The Llechwedd Slate Caverns] </ref> offering trips on the miner's tramway into the side of the mountain and into the massive underground caverns built by the slate workers.

In preparations for the [[United Kingdom]]'s millenium celebrations, the [[Welsh Development Agency]] (WDA) in conjunction with the ''Beautiful Blaenau'' campaign sponsored research into how the slag may put to use in an environmentally-friendly way. In [[2001]] the Welsh Aggregates Company launched a range of composite building materials that have been used extensively in the regeneration of [[Cardiff]]'s historic waterfront.

In preparations for the [[United Kingdom]]'s millenium celebrations, the [[Welsh Development Agency]] (WDA) in conjunction with the ''Beautiful Blaenau'' campaign sponsored research into how the slag may put to use in an environmentally-friendly way. In [[2001]] the Welsh Aggregates Company launched a range of composite building materials that have been used extensively in the regeneration of [[Cardiff]]'s historic waterfront.