There’s an overnight stay in Wales where you can cosy up in your own cabin… 1375 feet below ground.
Not for the faint-hearted, this unusual accommodation is the deepest underground sleep on the planet, built into the bottom of the world’s largest and deepest former slate mine.
While the cabins themselves are pretty luxurious, with proper beds, electricity, and even WiFi, it’s stressed that this is very much an off-grid adventure camp.
Guests have to hike up into the mountains of Eryri, or Snowdonia, with a guide, before descending all the way through the abandoned Victorian slate mine.
You’ll have to traverse decaying bridges, ancient stairways and via ferratas (basically planks of wood fastened to the sheer mine walls), obviously with proper safety gear and a guide to help lead the way.
Still, once you’ve travelled 1375 feet underground, at least you’re rewarded with… Oh… A huge cavern where the temperature sits at a chilly 10⁰C.
The cabins are heated but the spaces around them are not, and guests are advised to wrap up warm for their night in one of the most beautiful and unusual locations in the UK.
Go Below’s Deep Sleep experience in north Wales opened earlier this year, with four twin cabins as well as the extra-special grotto available to book.
The grotto is built into the rock face and has a log burning fire – it truly looks like something from Lord of the Rings.
As well as the two-hour guided scramble through the mine, the package to stay at Deep Sleep includes an expedition-style evening meal, with dishes like BBQ pulled pork, orzo pasta Bolognese, and Tuscan stew, plus breakfast the next morning to fuel your journey back to above ground.
Deep Sleep costs £350 for a private cabin or £550 for the grotto, with expeditions happening once a week.
Manchester’s ‘busiest’ road Mancunian Way to close for resurfacing
Emily Sergeant
Mancunian Way is set to close for resurfacing works next month.
As Manchester City Council looks to ‘improve’ what is, by far, one of Manchester’s busiest and most-used roads, given the fact it is the main thoroughfare in and out of the city centre, it has been confirmed that Mancunian Way is due to undergo crucial resurfacing works.
With an estimated 15 million journeys taken along this road annually, the Council says it’s vital that necessary maintenance is carried out to keep traffic flowing.
As a result, plans are now in place to resurface Mancunian Way overnight during a four-week period, beginning from next Monday (3 March)
The resurfacing work will be split into two sections, starting with the eastbound carriageway from River Street to Fairfield Street, before moving on to the westbound lane from Fairfield Street to Upper Brook Street.
Work along the eastbound section – in the direction of Ashton Old Road – will run between Monday 3 March to Friday 14 March, with the operating hours being between 7pm and 5am, during which the carriageway will be fully closed, while the westbound carriage in the direction of Regent Road will take place overnight between Monday 17 March until Friday 28 March, with closures at the same time.
Manchester’s ‘busiest’ road Mancunian Way will be close for resurfacing next month / Credit: Pixabay
Due to events taking place during this period of works, slightly later road closures will be in place from 7:30pm on the 7, 10 and 14 of March during the eastbound section, and on 19 March during the westbound secion.
No work will take place Europa League fixture dates, or on Saturday or Sunday nights either.
“These works are taking place overnight to mitigate any potential disruption,” explained Councillor Tracey Rawlins, who is the Executive Member for Clean Air, Environment and Transport at Manchester City Council.
“But as always, we would encourage people to plan their journeys ahead of time and allow more time to travel if they need to go via the Mancunian Way.”
Signed diversions will be in place during the course of the works, and details of this can be found on the Council’s dedicated webpage here.
Featured Image – Geograph
Travel & Tourism
Life-saving defibrillators to be installed on dozens of trains travelling through Greater Manchester
Emily Sergeant
Life-saving defibrillators are set to be installed on dozens of trains travelling through Greater Manchester.
Rail operator TransPennine Express (TPE) has started work to install the units on all 51 of its Class 185 trains over the next two months, and can be used by both staff and passengers if someone goes into cardiac arrest.
The defibrillators will be fitted by technology company Siemens Mobility, and will be located in an emergency equipment cupboard in the middle of the train.
Every defibrillator being installed on the trains has step-by-step, spoken word instructions built in to them, which explain how to use on someone in an emergency, so passengers and staff need not panic if they’re unsure what to do.
Computers inside the defibrillators will work to analyse a person’s heart rhythms to find out if an electric shock is needed, and if required, electrodes then automatically deliver the shock.
⚡Work has started to fit defibrillators across more than 50 TransPennine Express trains
🚆 The life-saving units will be installed on all 51 of our Class 185 trains by the end of March
The defibrillators – which are already installed on TPE’s Nova 1 trains – have been purchased from the British Heart Foundation charity, which is the biggest independent funder of heart and circulatory research in the UK.
The news that the defibrillators are being installed on trains travelling through Greater Manchester and across the UK come after it was announced back in 2023 that the machines were being installed at more than 100 Northern stations to help save people in cardiac arrest.
Speaking on the installing of the defibrillators on trains, Bushra Khan, who is the Head of Engineering at TransPennine Express, said: “Our defibrillators are a huge benefit to both our customers and the communities we serve.
“This rollout will ensure that people travelling on our services will feel safe and confident that defibrillators are available to help in the event of an emergency, potentially saving lives.”
Daisy Jackson -
17th December 2023 
