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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/05/welsh-wonderland-slate-feral-goats-wales-country-diary
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| A Welsh wonderland of slate and feral goats A Welsh wonderland of slate and feral goats | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The glug-glug of bubbles on the surface is a sign of divers in the depths. I watch their dark shapes rippling slowly in the emerald water for a while, before taking a slippery slate staircase winding up through the still autumnal oak woodland surrounding the flooded Vivian quarry. | The glug-glug of bubbles on the surface is a sign of divers in the depths. I watch their dark shapes rippling slowly in the emerald water for a while, before taking a slippery slate staircase winding up through the still autumnal oak woodland surrounding the flooded Vivian quarry. |
| In a clearing lit briefly by November sun, a brown-coated, blacked-headed beast with horns as magnificent as any fairytale faun, is munching grass next to an old red-painted winding house. It is a scene of storybook strangeness. The horned head turns slowly, fixing me briefly with a pair of yellow eyes, then returns indifferently to its business. | In a clearing lit briefly by November sun, a brown-coated, blacked-headed beast with horns as magnificent as any fairytale faun, is munching grass next to an old red-painted winding house. It is a scene of storybook strangeness. The horned head turns slowly, fixing me briefly with a pair of yellow eyes, then returns indifferently to its business. |
| To me the feral goats of Wales seem quite wondrous, a remnant of the Neolithic, but they suffer from the “nuisance” stigma, and in the past have been subject to culls or killed for sport. I have some sympathy for conservationists guarding rare arctic alpines in Cwm Idwal, less for horrified home owners in Nant Gwynant protecting their petunias. | To me the feral goats of Wales seem quite wondrous, a remnant of the Neolithic, but they suffer from the “nuisance” stigma, and in the past have been subject to culls or killed for sport. I have some sympathy for conservationists guarding rare arctic alpines in Cwm Idwal, less for horrified home owners in Nant Gwynant protecting their petunias. |
| On a broader level, however, if grazing by a few hundred of these shaggy creatures is so damaging, what does that say about the policy of publicly subsidising countless thousands of sheep to chomp the hills of Eryri bare? | On a broader level, however, if grazing by a few hundred of these shaggy creatures is so damaging, what does that say about the policy of publicly subsidising countless thousands of sheep to chomp the hills of Eryri bare? |
| I carry on upwards, into the epic surroundings of the main Dinorwic quarry. Two centuries of slate extraction came to an end in 1969, leaving behind a hole half the size of a mountain and some astonishing industrial archaeology. | I carry on upwards, into the epic surroundings of the main Dinorwic quarry. Two centuries of slate extraction came to an end in 1969, leaving behind a hole half the size of a mountain and some astonishing industrial archaeology. |
| The vast dry stone constructions supporting the funiculars used to transport the slate have the aura of ancient monuments; under a sky of scudding clouds, these could almost be the echoing remains of some abandoned Andean city. | The vast dry stone constructions supporting the funiculars used to transport the slate have the aura of ancient monuments; under a sky of scudding clouds, these could almost be the echoing remains of some abandoned Andean city. |
| These quarries now host hundreds of climbing routes, on rock that can be as sleek and frictionless as a blackboard. At first glance, Llanberis slate is a gloomy grey, but closer inspection reveals rippling, pulsing, iridescent veins of purple and green. | These quarries now host hundreds of climbing routes, on rock that can be as sleek and frictionless as a blackboard. At first glance, Llanberis slate is a gloomy grey, but closer inspection reveals rippling, pulsing, iridescent veins of purple and green. |
| With sun showers drifting through, drenching and lighting the sidings, spoil heaps, slabs, derelict buildings and crumbling terraces, it is a kaleidoscopic display of black magic, and a reminder that forms of brilliance can be found even in the heart of winter’s darkness. | With sun showers drifting through, drenching and lighting the sidings, spoil heaps, slabs, derelict buildings and crumbling terraces, it is a kaleidoscopic display of black magic, and a reminder that forms of brilliance can be found even in the heart of winter’s darkness. |
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