Blaenau Gwent: Valleys, Nature and Industrial History
Accommodation in Blaenau Gwent
Blaenau Gwent encompasses the Ebbw Fach, Ebbw Fawr and Sirhowy valleys. It also lies on the edge of Bannau Brycheiniog National Park. For your trip, natural spaces and trails sit alongside memorials, industrial history and historic architecture. When planning your hotel stay, you can consider whether outdoor activities or the history of the area should be the focus.
Natural Spaces and Landscape
Silent Valley is designated both a Local Nature Reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It has two woodland walking trails, as well as a public footpath that continues further into the valley. Parc Bryn Bach is a local nature reserve with 340 acres of grassland and woodland; its grounds include a 36-acre lake. Cwmtillery Lakes lie in a wooded valley. Sculptures around the lake bring the area's mining history to life. Fishing and duck feeding are available as family activities.
Walking Trails and Outdoor Activities
Blaenau Gwent offers a variety of leisure, trail, BMX and mountain bike routes. Walking trails follow old colliery transport routes and winding paths up to the mountain peaks. Activities for visitors include canoeing, gorge walking, archery and super tubing. Group water sports are offered on the water at Parc Bryn Bach. Open-water swimming can be particularly seasonal; keep this seasonal aspect in mind when planning.
Industrial History and Remembrance
The 20-metre-high Guardian sculpture was commissioned in 2010 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1960 mining disaster at Six Bells. The disaster claimed the lives of 45 men. A heritage room at Ty Ebbw Fach documents the story of Guardian, Six Bells Colliery and the village of Six Bells.
The privately owned Nantyglo Roundhouses can be viewed from the road. The complex was built around 1816 by Joseph and Crawshay Bailey, the ironmasters of Nantyglo Ironworks, as a fortified refuge against an armed uprising by their workforce. It is regarded as the last private castle in Britain, in a figurative sense. The complex, built around 1816, and the commemoration of the 1960 disaster illustrate different chapters in industrial history.
Bedwellty House & Park is a listed Regency villa. Its historic garden was laid out in the 19th century for the Homfray ironmaster dynasty. The grounds include an arboretum, tea rooms and a coal block described as the largest in the world. St Illtyd’s Church is considered the oldest building in Blaenau Gwent and offers a sense of 800 years of history. A museum in Ebbw Vale displays a unique collection of artefacts and documents about iron and steel production in Ebbw Vale.
Discover more destinations: Tredegar, Ebbw Vale, Cwm, Blaina, Brynmawr; Rhondda Cynon Taff, Wrexham, Powys.
Go to the main travel overview: Wales.
