The Silver Mountain Experience, a visitor attraction based at the Llywernog Silver Mine between Llangurig and Aberystwyth is travelling back in time to

1870 for its first Heritage Weekend on Saturday and Sunday, March 24 and 25.

The event aims to bring the community together, so people of all ages can come and explore the mine, as well as special shows and discussions being put on by a variety of mining history organisations. Visitors can even bring their own memorabilia to be identified by mining experts.

Entry to the site is free during the event.

With the help of members of the Welsh Mines Preservation Trust and Cambrian Mines Trust, a vast amount of work has been going on to restore the impressive Ore Jigger Machinery and run the Buddle and Jigger waterwheels, the grand unveiling of which will be on the Heritage Weekend, where some equipment will be running for the first time since the mining era!

There will be fun and interactive activities going on throughout the weekend, which delve deep into this incredibly fascinating history of mining. Interactive shows, demonstrations and talks will be running throughout the event. You can also enjoy one of the adventurous tours, including a hunt for the shy dragon in ‘A Dragon’s Tale’ for younger guests, or for those who are feeling braver, take on Welsh myth and legend in the frightful underground experience ‘Black Chasm’.

Llywernog Silver-Lead Mine dates back to the mid-1700s, and metal mining in Mid Wales back as far as 4,000 years ago! The ‘Miner’s Life’ guided tour and special displays put on for the Heritage Weekend will allow you to step in to the footsteps of a miner, immersing you in the original and rare setting of the mine, both above and below ground.

There will be a Mining Memorabilia stand, where visitors will be able to see mining-era artefacts, documents, photographs and books brought in by local organisations and the community. Some of these fascinating items include collections and facsimile material from the Ceredigion Museum and Ceredigion Archives.

Visitors are also invited to bring along their own possessions from the era, and will have the opportunity to enter the ‘Most Unusual Competition’: selected entries will be posted on the site's Facebook page in the week after the event, with the final winner taking the prize of a Silver Mountain Experience Annual Pass for two people!

A spokesman for the attraction said: "Bring anything that you think may be related to mining, and our mining experts will do their best to identify and tell you more about it!"

The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales’ youth panel will help visitors make ‘mini map badges’ or have a go at a ‘hat snapshot’.

The Mining Museum, Fossil Dig, Gem Panning and other attractions will all be open, and children will be able to take part in historic dressing-up in the new kids’ den.

Follow the Silver Mountain Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SilverMountainExperience/ in the build-up to this event.

The Heritage Weekend will run from 10am to 4pm on Saturday and Sunday, March 24 and 25, at the Silver Mountain Experience - located between Nant Yr Arian and Ponterwyd on the A44, 30 minutes from Llanidloes.

This will be launching The Silver Mountain Experience’s 2018 season.

Visit the website www.silvermountainexperience.co.uk for more information.

A small charge is made for the guided tours, Time Lab show and the ‘Shot Fire Mining Demonstration’; all other activities and the talk on ‘Mining Frauds of Mid Wales’ are free.