Blaenavon Industrial Landscape
Blaenavon town owes its existence to the early production of iron and coal in its mines and ironworks. It got World Heritage status because of the numerous historical buildings in town and its industrial landscape.
Ironmaking here was already practised by the Romans. In 1788 the Ironworks were built, using two furnaces blown by one blowing engine. In 1812 they were claimed to be among the most productive in the world.
There were many mining pits around Blaenavon. The town is situated on a rim of the South Wales coalfield. The coal initially came from levels and drift mines cut into the hillside which followed the coal seams. In 1800 the first vertical shafts were in operation.
A lot more mines followed, especially when the demand for iron rose sharply through the ages. The Big Pit for example opened in 1880. A hundred years later it stopped producing coal, and was turned into a mining museum.
Visit June 2002
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Blaenavon is a small town in the green hills of Wales. The surrounding countryside is a great place for hiking. I went to the old coal mine instead, and took the underground tour. The tours at the Big Pit are lead by ex-miners, and take about an hour.
Before your visit underground you get a sturdy helmet with a light in front. Off you go then, in the elevator 90 meters downwards. It's dark and cool. Water is dripping. The tunnels you walk in most of the time are just a bit too low to stand upright.
At one moment, our guide asked us to switch our lights off. It became as dark and scary as it can get. To hear that there used to run rats here, and that children as young as 7 or 8 were employed under the ground, with no light but the odd candle, makes you really think ...
Reviews
Ian Cade (England):
 I managed to fit this in to a long day trip with breakfast at Stonehenge, lunch in Bath and getting to Bleanavon for the last tour of the day! Bleanavon makes a lot out of its UNESCO status there were banners all through the town and it was nice to see as many places in Britain don’t make much of a big deal of it!
But there is a fair bit to see here the main site ‘Big Pit’ is interesting as you get to go into the mines with the people that used to work there as your guide. There seems to be a really community feeling to the valleys of South Wales, and it was not a surprise to find that the whole thing is free!!! Especially in an area of Britain where Socialist morals were once so strong.
It is easy to drive to Blaenavon as it is easily marked from the M4 which runs from London, if you do not have a car apparently the No 30 & 23 buses run every 30 minutes from Newport (easy to get to from Cardiff). If you are in the area it is worth exploring Cardiff which is rapidly becoming a major cultural centre in Britain and also if you carry on about 5 miles north of Blaenavon you are in the Brecon Beacons which are one of the nicest natural areas in the British Isles, ideal for hiking and camping |
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Amy (england):
I visited Blaenavon's Big Pit on a school trip. I found it very interesting to actually see what it was like for miners when they had to work in the dark, damp and dusty environment. We had to go underground in a sort of cage lift. At one piont we had to turn off our lights, it was pitch black!!! Children had to work in these conditions every single day for upto around ten hours. i just wouldn't have coped. Any way it is a very memorable experience and you should vist it yourself (if you haven't already!)have fun!!!! |
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