Seven Sisters

Seven Sisters offers two distinct perspectives to consider when planning your trip: a local history connected with deep coal mining and natural attractions in the surrounding area. When looking for a hotel, you can consider whether historic buildings and mining heritage or habitats and wildlife watching should play a greater part in your stay.

Mining History and Local Character

The name Seven Sisters is said to come from the seven sisters of Evan Evans Bevan, whose father sank the first shaft. Commercial deep coal mining began in 1872; Seven Sisters then developed rapidly. This traditional account of the name sits alongside a dated industrial milestone.

On Church Street, near the main southern entrance to Seven Sisters, stands a particularly interesting row of single-storey miners’ houses. It brings miners’ housing into view as part of the area’s history.

St Mary’s Church was built by J. Cook Rees of Neath between 1910 and 1911. The time between its construction and the start of deep coal mining marks two distinct stages in the area’s history: the changes beginning in 1872 and a later, dated building. The winding wheels at the shaft, also known as sheaves, recall the nearby Seven Sisters coal mine. While the houses make miners’ housing tangible, the sheaves preserve the connection with the colliery.

The Seven Sisters Village Trail offers a map with clickable points and images in pop-up windows. If you include the trail in your plans, check the current version, as it may change.

Nature in the Surrounding Area

The separate SINCs (Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation) around Seven Sisters are designated for their grassland habitats and, in some places, heathland features. They are important stepping stones for several rare invertebrate species. The designation therefore highlights the habitats, while their role as stepping stones also shows their importance for invertebrates.

Colonies of marsh fritillary butterflies in some marshy fields around Blaendulais (Seven Sisters) are monitored annually. A field grazed by ponies near Seven Sisters Rugby Club is home to one of the most species-rich wet grassland floras in Neath Port Talbot and the very rare lady’s bedstraw meadowsweet in South Wales.

The statement about species-rich flora refers to the field as a habitat, while lady’s bedstraw meadowsweet names a single rare plant species found there. The natural features also relate to different locations: the SINC sites are around Seven Sisters, the butterfly colonies are in marshy fields near Blaendulais, and the wet grassland flora is in the field near the rugby club.

Seven Sisters is considered the best place in Neath Port Talbot to watch barn owls.

Planning Information

Seven Sisters is one of the areas included on Neath Port Talbot’s active travel network map. As the map is updated regularly, check the current version when planning your trip.

You can therefore choose between different focuses: named buildings and memorials to local history, or natural attractions relating to several habitats and locations in the surrounding area.

Discover more destinations: Crynant, Skewen, Aberdulais, Neath, Rhos, Port Talbot, Cymmer, Ystalyfera

For the wider travel overview: Neath Port Talbot.