The Mines of Moria

I dreamt about this place the other night. It was a murky dream full of unresolved events and angst. But this scene was so vivid, that when I woke up, I couldn't remember if I'd only dreamt about it or if it was a place I'd really been to. I had a vague idea that it was in Wales. And sure enough, when I trawled through my photos I found this.

Its unusual for me to forget an image I've taken. Among the thousands and thousands of photos, I can pretty much always pinpoint the location. So it is curious why I should forget this place, given its unusual nature and sense of foreboding.

I couldn't remember exactly where in Wales this was... but from the chronology of my photos I knew it was located between Swallow Falls just outside Betws y Coed and Portmeirion. So I retraced my journey on Google Maps til I found it.

It is a disused Slate Quarry just outside LLanberis. I do remember, at the time, looking at the impossible gradients and wondering what kind of industry took place there. It felt as though the whole mountainside was about to slip and crash into the waters of Llyn Peris below.

Here's what Wiki has to say:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinorwic_Quarry