The inscription on the World Heritage list of the Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales in 2021 is cause for celebration This joint meeting between members of ICOMOS-UK and ICOMOS Ireland will visit both this new World Heritage site and the adjacent inscribed site of the Castles and Town Walls of Edward I in Gwynedd where several interesting developments are currently underway. But World Heritage sites everywhere face challenges, such as climate change and development pressure to name but two, and the meeting will discuss these issues and the ways in which our two countries are trying to combat them.

The event will take place in Caernarfon at the conference venue at Victoria Dock, which also allows walking access to Caernarfon Castle and Town Walls (part of the Castles of Gwynedd WHS) and easy coach access to sites within the Slate Landscape of North-West Wales WHS, the latest UK inscription.

Partners for hosting arrangements: Gwynedd County Council; Welsh Slate Museum; Cadw, Welsh Government; David Gwyn.

Meeting Itinerary/Agenda

Friday, 8 April

18.00: Irish delegates arrive Holyhead. Trains meet ferry at harbour, to Bangor (30 minutes). Bus from Bangor Station every 15 minutes to Caernarfon.

20.00: Joint Board Meeting ICOMOS-UK/Ireland, conference room, Galeri, Victoria Dock.

21.00: Dinner at Harbour Table, Victoria Dock (own cost).

Saturday, 9 April

9.45: Registration at Galeri, Victoria Dock.

10.00: Welcome from Dawn Bowden, Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport, Welsh Government, and Lord Dafydd Wigley, Chair of Slate Landscape World Heritage Site Steering Group.

10.15: Current work of ICOMOS-UK (Clara Arokiasamy, President ICOMOS-UK)

10.35: Current work of ICOMOS-Ireland (Fidelma Mullane, President ICOMOS-Ireland)

10.55: Climate Change: Impact on Heritage (Anthony Corns)

11.15: Coffee

11.35: Faro Convention, Council of Europe and ICOMOS (Paul McMahon)

11.55: UK World Heritage: Current Issues (Susan Denyer, ICOMOS-UK)

12.20: World Heritage in Ireland and the Tentative List (Mona O’Rourke)

12.45: Slate Heritage in Ireland (Fidelma Mullane)

13.05: Discussion

13.15: Lunch

14.15: Caernarfon: Castle, Kings Gate, Porth Mawr and Slate Quay. A Walk around Caernarfon to view recent conservation and development projects including access ‘behind the scenes’ to Caernarfon Castle Great Gatehouse project (Kathryn Roberts, Cadw)

17.00: Tea

17.30: Coach to Llanberis Slate Museum

18.15: Welcome from National Museum Wales

Introduction to The Slate Landscape WHS (Roland Wyn Evans)

19.00: Reception : hosted by Gwynedd County Council.

19.30: Coach to the Padarn Hotel, Llanberis and Conference Dinner

21.30: Coach to Caernarfon/Bangor

Sunday 10 April

9.00: Coach to the Slate Landscape WHS: visit to Compartment 1 – includes representative attributes – eg settlement, quarry (active and relict), workshop (Guide: David Gwyn)

13.00: Lunch (own cost) and Conference disperses.

Notes for Participants:

1. Participants will be restricted to 50 to allow transport by a single coach; others, with a reduced fee, would be welcome to join the lectures at Galeri and the walk around Caernarfon and may be able to follow the coach to the Slate Landscape tour in private cars. Prior booking will be advertised to ICOMOS members and thereafter to the general public.

2. The conference fee of £100 pp covers the Saturday conference at Galeri with 1 lunch, and 2 refreshment tea/coffee, the Caernarfon walk, the Conference Dinner at the Padarn Hotel, and the coach. A reduced fee of £60 is available for those who wish to attend the lectures, lunch and refreshments at Galeri and the Caernarfon walk.

Sponsorship from Cadw, Gwynedd County Council and the North Wales Slate Museum is gratefully acknowledged.

All participants should pay their own accommodation and travel. Hotels in Caernarfon include the Celtic Royal, The Black Boy, Ty Castell and the Anglesey Arms with many other bed and breakfast places advertised on the usual on-line sources. Bangor, with many other hotels and bed and breakfasts, is easily accessible from Caernarfon by public transport.

3. This weekend is one week before 18th April, World Heritage Day, which will be celebrated on all Wales’s WHS. If participants wished to take the opportunity of staying for a week until then, or just extending their stay for a few days, we can offer suggestions for sites to visit. If there were enough interest, we might even use the coach on the afternoon of Sunday 10th to take participants to Harlech castle to see recent developments at the gatehouse.

4. We reserve the right to cancel the event if there are not enough participants to cover our costs.

Picture: Slate landscape, Crown copyright. RCAHMW