Big Pit National Coal Museum, South Wales, United Kingdom

5Sue W 5:00 PM Oct 30, 2022

A brilliant place to visit for adults and children.
I loved being able to go down underground, kitted out with hard hat, head torch and other gear. We went down in the ‘cage’ and had a wonderful guide who explained some of the history of the pit and coal mining in general. Our guide included adults and children in his commentary and was extremely engaging. I also loved the fact that the whole entrance fee was the £5 car park ticket for the car and it’s passenger, although, you could make a contribution at the end of our tour underground as well, it was not mentioned or requested. It made it a cheap outing for families instead of some of the extortionate entrance fees at some attractions. The Bath House was also fascinating with its rows of showers and banks of lockers with information about some real miners and their work both back when the mine was in private hands and later once it was nationalised. This building also had some information about mining in general and the real dangers of the industry. Altogether, a really interesting and worthwhile visit which made me appreciate the hardships of miners and the conditions in which they worked.

4Michael T 5:00 PM Oct 8, 2021

Humbling
This is free to visit, although there is a £5 parking charge and donations are welcome. You have to book in advance if you want to go underground and there is simply no point in going if you are not prepared to venture underground. Going underground is a reasonably authentic experience – you are asked to remove anything that could cause a spark, cameras and watches for example. You are then given a helmet and a miner’s lamp before getting in the cage to descend some 90 metres. A guide will take you around showing you the coal seams, where the ponies were kept and generally explaining the harsh conditions of life underground. Quite humbling to learn what miners had to endure to be able to put a loaf on the table. Overground, there is a museum, which centres on the old wash-house for the miners and a audio-visual experience further amplifying what was involved in coal-mining. The site is not far from Blaenavon Ironworks, and if you are coming by car, it would seem sensible to make a day of it in Blaenavon visiting both and perhaps also doing the town trail. Blaenavon is a UNESCO World Heritage site and there is a very informative tourist information office in the library.