Treharris: Mining History and Walking Trails

Explore Treharris through its mining history, historic buildings and practical outdoor activities. When planning a stay, the town offers a range of options: you can focus on industrial heritage, parks, climbing or walks. If you’re looking for a hotel for your stay in Treharris, this selection can help you organise your travel plans around your interests.

Mining History in Treharris

By 1879, the shafts at Harris’s Navigation Colliery had reached depths of 593 metres in the North Pit and 695 metres in the South Pit. At the time, they were the deepest shafts in the South Wales Coalfield. The South Pit was therefore 102 metres deeper than the North Pit. Another date in the area’s industrial history is 15 June 1916, when the first pithead baths in Wales opened at Ocean Deep Navigation. The former mine site has now been cleared and landscaped.

Historic Buildings and Places of Remembrance

Treharris Conservation Area is a good example of a planned “model” industrial settlement of the late 19th century. The settlement was established under the patronage of Frederick William Harris, founder of Navigation Colliery. The Conservation Area includes a group of historic buildings: Treharris Library and Independent Tabernacle Chapel are listed buildings; Navigation Hotel, Masonic Temple and Royal Hotel are locally listed.

Treharris Library was built in 1909 with support from the Carnegie Foundation and officially reopened after renovation. Above its former main entrance on Perrott Street is the war memorial clock. Made and installed by Smith of Derby in 1933, it is Treharris’s principal memorial to the First World War. The library thus combines architectural history with a tangible place of remembrance.

Parks and Climbing

Treharris Park has a bowling green, a children’s playground and a paddling pool. Its facilities also include a bandstand with seating, a pavilion, public toilets and a football pitch. The park therefore offers both opportunities to be active and places to relax; you can plan for each of its facilities separately.

The Rock UK Summit Centre is located at the Old Drift Mine in Trelewis, Treharris, CF46 6RD. Activities include more than 120 indoor climbing routes, an 8-metre-high Aerial Adventure and over 20 instructor-led adventure activities. First-time participants receive instruction and equipment; experienced participants can take advantage of expert coaching. These activities give a clear idea of the centre’s range without requiring any particular level of experience.

Walks and Countryside

Treharris Ramblers organise sociable walks every Thursday from 10am along the paths of the Taff Bargoed and Merthyr Valley. Walks start at Treharris Boys & Girls Club, and people of all hiking experience levels are welcome. As the walking schedule may change, it is advisable to check the date in advance.

Near Trelewis, the Three Parks Trail follows Route 476 to Parc Taf Bargoed. Alternatively, Route 47 leads to Quakers Yard, where you can continue along the Taff Trail. The two options differ in that one route leads to Parc Taf Bargoed, while the other connects with the Taff Trail at Quakers Yard.

Near Treharris, Pontygwaith Farm has a 4.5-acre garden with herbaceous borders, a lakeside walk, a rose garden and a Japanese garden on the Taff Trail. Access is seasonal, so take this into account when planning your visit.

Parc Taf Bargoed is a 140-hectare reclaimed landscape on the site of former coal mines in the Taff Bargoed Valley. A Park Warden on site can tell you about the park, its history and its habitat. Alongside the walking trails, the site’s former use and its present-day landscape are also topics to explore.

Discover more destinations: Merthyr Tydfil, Troed-y-rhiw.

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