Blaenavon is one of the best-preserved examples of a traditional South Wales iron-making town. It is unique in Europe for possessing one of the best preserved late 18th and early 19th C ironworks in the world. Although part of the town dates from the late 1780s, most of the buildings in the town are representative of an early to mid-Victorian Welsh industrial community with much of it built before 1870.
"Big Pit" ("Pwll Mawr"), Blaenavon's ironworks, ceased production at the beginning of 1980 after more than a century. Three years later the old blast furnaces and foundries were reopened as a mining museum. Even the tower of the hydraulic lift, with which the ore-laden iron wagons used to be raised on to the loading ramp, has survived. As well as touring the workshops, winding engines and workers' residential area, entry to the 328ft/100m-deep shaft gives visitors an impression of the hard life of a miner. The tours below ground (warm clothes are recommended) are sometimes led by former miners.
Address: Big Pit Mining Museum, North Street, Blaenavon NP4 9XP, Wales
Hours:
February 1 to November 30: 9:30am-5pm
December 1 to January 31: 10am-3:30pm; Closed: Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri
Tips: Call to check availability in December and January.
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