Big
Pit Mining Museum
Blaenafon, Gwent, NP4 9XP,
Wales, UK.
Tel.
44 (0)1495 790311 |
|
The Big Pit National Mining Museum is located a mile west of the
World Heritage Site of Blaenafon, in the Valleys of south Wales.
Big Pit was
a working coal mine that operated for a hundred years, from 1880
to 1980, and employed around 1,300 men at its busiest period.
At the time of the mine's closure after the coal industry declined
the workforce had been reduced to only 250. It is now a fascinating
museum, the highlight of which is an atmospheric underground guided
tour 
deep
into the labyrinthine coal mining tunnels. The
tour begins with a 300ft descent in a cage down the mine shaft
to the coal faces below. The guides, most of whom are ex-miners,
provide lots of information about the different types of coal
mining and the fearsome plight of the workers, many of whom were
children.
Colliery buildings
- such as the smithy, winding engine house and the restored Pithead
Baths - are also open to the public, and house exhibitions where
visitors can find out about everything from mining life to methods
of coal extraction. There is also an audio-visual presentation
which offers a tour through a simulated mine, and the site has
a restaurant and gift shop. Nearby attractions include the Blaenafon
Ironworks, and the Pontypool and Blaenafon Steam Railway.
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Industrial history in our Industrial
revolution section:
Big
Pit National Mining Musem
Blaenafon Ironworks
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