Blaenavon World Heritage Site
Explore the World Heritage Site, packed full of attractions, activities, heritage, arts and a spectacular landscape. The attraction in the Site tell the story of an area which was the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. With FREE entry to most attractions!
Visit www.visitblaenavon.co.uk for itinerary ideas
www.visitblaenavon.co.uk
Blaenavon World Heritage Centre
The Blaenavon World Heritage Centre, in the heart of the Blaenavon World Heritage Site, is the UK’s first dedicated World Heritage Centre, and the perfect place to start your visit to the World Heritage Site.
The Centre features exhibitions, film and multi-media displays which tell the story extraordinary story of the people of Blaenavon, and introduces visitors to the area’s many attractions.
The Centre has a Tourist Information Centre with a wide range of visitor information, including walks leaflets and event information, as well as a gift shop and a Café offering a tempting range of refreshments, lunches and snacks.
The Centre has a full programme of events taking place throughout the year. Visit www.visitblaenavon.co.uk, or call 01495 742333
www.visitblaenavon.co.uk
Rhymney Brewery
Rhymney Brewery is an award-winning Welsh brewery located in the heart of Blaenavon. Its brewing centre and visitor facility is open daily and allows visitors to learn about the brewing process as well as discovering the history of the brewery.
www.rhymneybreweryltd.com
Big Pit: National Coal Museum
Big Pit is a real coal mine and one of Britain's leading mining museums. With facilities to educate and entertain all ages, Big Pit is an exciting and informative day out.
Enjoy a multi-media tour of a modern coal mine with a virtual miner in the Mining Galleries, exhibitions in the Pithead Baths and Historic colliery buildings open to the public for the first time.
All this AND the world-famous Underground Tour. Go 300 feet underground with a real miner and see what life was like for the thousands of men who worked at the coal face.
www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/bigpit/
Blaenavon Ironworks
Captivated by the Coal House series? You’re not alone! The BBC television series, filmed on site, has attracted thousands of new visitors to witness how difficult life was for working families at Blaenavon Ironworks’ Stack Square cottages.
The site is free to all and along with the refurbished cottages and recreated company truck shop; new cutting-edge audio post technology helps bring the story of Blaenavon Ironworks to life like never before.
www.cadw.wales.gov.uk
Blaenavon Heritage Railway
Blaenavon's Heritage Railway is set in the heart of a World Heritage Site on the edge of the Brecon Beacons in South Wales. There is ample free car and coach parking at Furnace Sidings, by Garn Lakes, our main Station. From here our trains head north to the Whistle Inn, south to Blaenavon High Level Station (which is only a short walk from Blaenavon town centre) as well as to Big Pit Halt, which is adjacent to the Big Pit Mining Museum.
www.pontypool-and-blaenavon.co.uk
World Heritage Walks
A number of walks have been created to help you discover the hidden corners of the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape World Heritage Site. These take you from the Bronze Age, through the Industrial Revolution and into a landscape and history that inspired the author Alexander Cordell.
The walks range from easy strolls to energetic hikes with distances of just under 4km (2.5 miles) to over 18km (12 miles). A range of walks can be downloaded from the Visit Blaenavon website.
www.visitblaenavon.co.uk
Blaenavon Community Heritage and Cordell Museum
If you are a fan of the famous and prolific author, Alexander Cordell (1914-1997), a visit to the Blaenavon Community Heritage and Cordell Museum is essential. Alexander Cordell took inspiration for much of his writing from the people and places of south Wales, including Blaenavon, the setting of his most successful novel, Rape of the Fair Country, which was published in 1959.
The dedicated volunteers of the Cordell Museum are equipped with a wealth of information about Cordell and his novels, which will help you bring Cordell’s characters and stories to life. The museum has a number of the late author’s personal effects, including his writing desk and typewriter. You can also learn about Cordell Country and discover the landscapes and sites that inspired the writer.
The museum is located in heart of Blaenavon Town Centre and has an extensive collection of local artefacts and records, often donated by local people, that illustrate the fascinating story of Blaenavon and its people.
www.visitblaenavon.co.uk