Fascinating insight into the industry that defined South Wales. The mine is in a beautiful area with original buildings and equipment preserved, making for an interesting walk around especially if weather is good to you. However the crown jewel is the underground mine tour which gives you first hand insight into what working in these mines would've been like. Our tour guide Pete was incredible! He was a retired miner himself, from generations of Welsh miners. He was extremely informative and entertaining, and could give us his own experience of working in a mine. The tour lasted around 45 minutes and covered a lot of important aspects of the mine. There are very low ceilings at some parts, at nearly 6ft I found myself almost at a right angle at some parts to get through, but the bits where you have to duck are quick and you won't be walking for more than a minute or so in those parts. However due to this, uneven ground, and the dark setting, I don't recommend the tour for those with mobility impairments or those who are claustrophobic. Parking is £5 which I think is more than fair when the museum is free. Staff are friendly and there's a gift shop with a good mix of tourist novelties, information, and independent artist goods. If you are able bodied I would definitely recommend going to the Big Pit!

What a lovely place. The staff/guides on site are extremely friendly, passionate and informative about the site and the history of the mines. There is lots of buildings to visit on the site and if you get the chance be sure to go in the cage 90m down into the caves - an amazing experience. Lots of interesting facts, illustrations, equipment and machinery to learn about. A great day out. Would recommend bringing your own food, as canteen on site offers limited food cater to limited tastes (not a hit with the kids). Would definitely visit again, even if it were to learn more from the staff/guides.

Excellent, everyone should pay a visit to see to see the danger miner's faced every day. Their fight for better working conditions and pay fully justified their actions in 1984. The trip underground is amazing with the knowledgeable guides, some ex miners. Museum is informative and interesting. So much history to see and read about. It's free and "a must visit" .

The Big Pit is a must see museum, parking is £5 and entry is free into the museum. I think you have an option to fast track the queue for £5 a person which could definitely be worth it if you happen to be there when it’s really busy (wait times can be up to an hour.) All the staff are super friendly and really thorough on the knowledge when giving you a tour of the mines. I learnt a lot about the history of mining in general in the early to mid 1900’s. Worth noting that you are not allowed anything with a battery down into the mine. These are collected and locked away in a safe place. When the tour is finished make sure you climb up the steps and check out the building at the top. The views are incredible and all the lockers, showers etc are up there (plus a cafe.) I would honestly recommend this to anyone. Definitely worth the few hours you spend there! Thank you to all the staff for such an amazing experience.

Super interesting and cool museum to visit in Wales. Just the surroundings are amazing and the museum is an old coal mine were they show you around and explain how mining was done in the old days. The staff were incredibly friendly and nice. 100% recommended!

This is an experience of a lifetime. My friends recommended we stop in and go here because when else am I ever going to be able to go down into a coal mine? We arrived as the second to last tour of the day, and it was absolutely wonderful, because we basically had our own private tour with a miner. Just a fantastic time learning all about coal mines and the history of the region, I found it absolutely fascinating. If visiting Wales, add this to your list!

Lovely educational experience. Great galleries and underground experience. Super enthusiastic guide lady from east London 😘 made our experience wonderful. Modern kids learning about kids life and conditions just over 100years ago give them some thinking... and questioning. Mind opener. Must visit

Absolutely brilliant! It's all I've thought about since going. The tour underground was incredible. Ian, our tour guide was funny, knowledgeable and just a pure delight. I highly recommend this place to anyone. We had 4 children ranging from 6 - 17 and they really enjoyed it to. We can't wait to go again.

Well worth going to see. We actually went down into the mine and it was really interesting to see how they got the coal from there. Our guide had worked there so he know all about the day to day life at the pit. We stop for some food at the pot canteen and again the food was very tasty and well priced. The staff at the canteen were really nice and welcoming.

Well laid out since last time I was there. £5 parking fair price towards upkeep of exhibition . Experience of doing down 90 metres was eerie but fun. The guide was very good and knowledge made for a good experience. Same canteen was shutting as we finished tour. Overall good experience and family enjoyed it worth the drive.

Had an absolutely wonderful time down the mines with Ian, who was a great and very funny guide. I hadn't been since primary school, and it's wonderful to see how many extra exhibits have been developed since then. Excellent value with only £5 for parking, and £20 for food and drink for three people in the cafe.

I had a good time here, going down the mine was fun and a real good experience. The miner who gave the tour was very polite and gave plenty of information and did a good job at including the guests in questions and engaging with everyone about the pit. I have been 3 times now and found this to be the best visit due to being included in the tour, I also been during covid and had a good experience then with minimal amount of people. My family enjoyed every time, I will visit again in the future and do recommend. I was happy with the overall experience from start to finish.

Such a great place! The tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable with a great sense of humour making it a great experience. Exploring by ourselves after was just as fun, the little museum we didn’t know about beforehand so was a bonus! Overall great place, will be back again sometime no doubt :)

Second time here and enjoyed it as much this time as I did last time. Very knowledgeable tour guide and just a fabulous experience. Tour lasts around 50 mins. Then we went to the pit head baths and other ancillary buildings before having a cup of Welsh tea in the canteen. We finished off by checking out the modern mining experience which was also great. Kids really enjoyed it. Great learning experience. Highly recommended.

A fascinating and informative experience. Deep tour guide Emma really brought the very harsh realities of working underground to life. The King Coal exhibit is very clever and the bathhouse exhibition is very good as well as an interesting piece of modernist architecture. You'll need sensible shoes for the underground tour. It seems to be worth booking a timed tour at the weekend, but we only had a short wait on a wet Friday afternoon.

This is a great place for all the family. (children less than 1metre tall aren't allowed down the mine for safety reasons). Before we went down the mine we were kitted out with lamps and safety gear. Our guide was an ex-miner who gave an excellent tour. His stories about life below ground for the men, children and animals who worked there really gave us food for thought. The trip down the mine lasts about 50 minutes; you should wear sensible clothing and shoes as it is cold, and slippery in parts. We had to wait a bit for our tour as we went on a Sunday. You can also book a time for your tour online for 5 pounds. Otherwise the whole museum is free. As well as the mine tour, I really enjoyed seeing the baths, canteen and medical centre. Highly recommended!

I really love what the miners did to the Big Pit to turn it into a tourist attraction site. My favourite part The Big Pit tour, baths, and the King Coal. Thank you Robert for a fantastic tour and gifting me a piece of the Black Diamond to take it back with me to London.

Great time out with the family. We did have to wait for about an hour for the mine tour although it was worth the wait. The staff were very friendly and knowledgeable. Plenty to see and do. This was during the school holidays.

This was perhaps the best experience in Wales travelling south and north of the country. It is a lot better in my opinion than visiting Cardiff castle which is supposed to be one of the key emblems of it's capital. It's not everyday that you get to go down inside a mine, hearing from an ex miner what life inside the mines used to be like. For those who want to learn a bit more about very recent Welsh life and economy, then this is a great tour. The guide we had was amazing as well. On top of everything, getting in the mine is free! Wonderful! I have no regrets paying just £5 per person to secure a timed tour with the intention of donating it to this place. Outside of the mine there's also a very nice set of presentations about mine workers and you can also visit the former showers, machine room etc. Amazing. The views from the mine area are very nice and super calm. You can also do the tour inside the mine on a wheelchair.

Definitely place to go and visit. Great experience for anyone. Free tour through underground and much more. If you want to see and learn about Wells history and its people here is one way for you.

Had a great time checking out 'Big Pit' in Bleanafon today. I really particularly loved the 'King Coal' simulation, which uses a combination of videos and props to show what it was like to mine coal to fuel the Industrial Era and beyond. It was certainly worth going out of our way for!

What an amazing place, it has changed so much since I went there over 35 years ago, the tour guides where amazing, they made it so much fun as well as a history lesson, plus they knew more or less everything. Very enjoyable, glad we went. They rely heavily on donations so dig deep for this brilliant place. Lovely little cafe, with one of the best Welsh cakes i have had. The shop is great, you can purchase some memorabilia.

Great day out with Grandchildren, very educational for children and adults! The underground exploration of the mine with our very talented young Lady guide was wonderful, the children were enthralled and have been excited to talk about what they saw. A repeat visit is most definitely needed as we still have much more to experience, the time passed so quickly and we are already looking forward to being able to visit again.

Cannot recommend this museum enough! Fabulous afternoon with so much to see and do. We didn't go underground but the virtual underground experience was really interesting. Lots of different building to explore and a fab canteen with tasty meals (the beef called was delicious)

We thought we'd only be there for a short while, after all, how interesting could it be? How wrong we were! Really surprised! Great tour, really friendly and informative guides. Lots to see in displays and exhibits. We were there for hours.

Superb museum. Tour underground was an eye opener for those who have never been down a pit. Very knowledge friendly staff. 5 stars all the way..plus it's free.. so don't forget to drop some cash/tip at the end of the tour

The big pit was an amazing experience where you go down into the mines themselves using the same equipment as they did back then. The staff were lovely and very informative of the history of the mines. We were looked after and taken care of generously and all in all would 100% recommend a visit!

Quite a lot to do in this small area all for the price of the parking (As of this time August 2023 £6) as well as all the mine workings all brought to you by some colourful ex coal miners. The big pit is obviously a former coal mine, on its doorstep is a working steam train station and about 5-10 minutes walk away (depends on the size of your feet and legs, will take longer with kids) there is the ironworks which you pass on your way to The Big Pit carpark. There is a bit of a wait to get down the mine as the miners lift only carries 18, and one of those is your guide.

Fantastic learning experience and the children were actively encouraged to be involved. I only wish I had more time to go around the exhibition. A great day out.

The Big Pit National Coal Museum is a fascinating and educational experience that offers a unique glimpse into the history of coal mining in Wales. The museum is located in Blaenavon, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is set in a former colliery. The highlight of the museum is the underground tour, which takes you circa 90 feet below ground to experience what it was like to work in a coal mine. The tour is led by former miners who share their stories and knowledge of the mining industry. You will see the machinery and equipment that was used to extract coal, and you will learn about the dangers and challenges of working in a mine. The museum also has a number of other exhibits, including a recreated miners' village, a coal preparation plant, and a pithead bathhouse. There is also a visitor center with a cafe, gift shop, and interactive displays. If you are visiting the Big Pit, there are a few things you should know. First, you cannot take your phone, smart watch, or other valuables down into the pit. You will need to leave them in your car or in the locker with everyone else's at the visitor center. Second, admission to the Big Pit is free, but there is a charge for parking £5. Third, children under 1 meter tall are not allowed on the underground tour. Finally, people with bad backs or who cannot bend over or duck down may not enjoy the underground tour, as there is a lot of bending and crouching involved. Overall, the Big Pit National Coal Museum is a great place to learn about the history of coal mining in Wales. The underground tour is a unique and unforgettable experience, and the museum is well worth a visit. Here are some additional tips for your visit to the Big Pit: * Wear comfortable shoes that you don't mind getting dirty. * Bring a jacket, as it can be cool underground. * Drink plenty of water, as it can be hot and humid underground. * Listen to your guide and follow their instructions. * Be respectful of the miners who worked in the pit and the dangers they faced. I hope you enjoy your visit to the Big Pit!

What a great experience for our granddaughter's, we went down the shaft in a small cage, and we then had a guided tour from the pit bottom ,(which is 90m below the surface), we walked for a couple of hundred yards experiencing the dark damp atmosphere where whole families worked 12hr shifts all those years ago. Our guide was excellent and very knowledgeable. One of my granddaughters couldn't believe that I could have worked underground for twenty years. In similar conditions. Anyhow, we were all delighted on arrival at the surface...and the experience continued with the pit head workshops, pit head bathes, and museum 😀

Well worth a visit. It's free, although we did give a donation because it's definitely worth it. Car park does have a charge of £5 but you could park further away and walk. The museum has a guided tour going down the working lift shaft to see the coal faces and where the horses were kept. The tour guide we had was an ex miner so he knew his stuff. Warning: No electronic devices can be taken down the lift into the mine. Anything you have is collected and stored in a locker. This includes phones, watches, car key fobs, fitbits, etc. This is a legal requirement due to it been a coal mine and meathane could be ignited. Also, take a warm coat, it was cold down there and a strong wind in places to help ventilation of the mine. Tours are frequent and in groups of about 17 people. I suggest getting there early to avoid queues or buy a ticket to jump the queue / join the queue at a specific time. The rest of the site has lots of interesting displays like blacksmith, winding house, locker rooms, various equipment outside sadly going rusty, museum artifacts, another fake mine to show more modern equipment (there are some flashing lights during this tour), and of course the little shop at the end. All in all a really good place to visit. Afterwards we went over to the near by steam trains which were burning the coal and making a lot of black smoke

Fabulous! I was a bit worried about going 90 metres underground, but was reassured I could go back any time, and I'm so glad I braved it. There was nothing to worry about, just a couple of low parts, not claustrophobic at all. Our guide, Phil, was great. I would recommend this 100%.

Super great attraction. Interesting tour of the mine, with a little bit of wait for it but no big deal. A lot of info stion about how mining was 200 years ago all the way up to modern times. The whole place is free and runs on donations you are encouraged to leave. There is a canteen for a pit stop to refresh as well. Highly recommended!!!

What an experience very well organised and lovely informative museum. We didn't book in advance for the underground tour and luckily got in with only a ten minute wait - the guide was very informative and an excellent experience. Free to enter (I don't know how been open to the public 40 years this year) they do ask for donations.

Fantastic couple of hours spent here. The guided tour is definitely worth doing. It's not scary! It can be a bit challenging for taller folk though as there are some sections where bending while walking is required. The guides are great and do a fine job of taking care of the visitors, while being informative, amusing and knowledgeable. Highly recommended.

Very informative and engaging experience, spread over several sites and exhibits over the area. Make sure you visit the key sites of the Big Pit - which involves a 45 min guided tour underground, all walking with some steps. Get your timed visit from reception to save lining up. And King Cole, with a virtual guide, both excellent. The Baths is also very interesting, which includes a social history section. Overall a 5 star visit.

The Big Pit Coal Museum in Blaenavon offers a captivating journey through coal mining history. The guided underground tour is authentic, and the museum exhibits are informative. A must-visit for industrial heritage enthusiasts. The friendly staff, many with coal mining backgrounds, enhance the experience. I had a wonderful time there!

Lovely place to visit, too small to go in the actual mine but the experience up the hill was a great representation. The site itself was lovely to walkabout the bathhouse was fascinating. Had some freshly made Welsh cakes and sat enjoying the view. Highly recommend a visit £5 to park all day. Short walk and there is more to explore

Recommend. Gave us a solid understanding of coal mining and the importance and impact on welsh society, and how it was to be a miner (health, pay and comrades). If you visit, taking the guided tour (5 £) down in the pits is a must and a pice bargain. Local guide (former miner) made the tour even more special. Great pea-soup with ham.

Lovely free family day out. You only have to pay £5 for parking which is well worth it. We enjoyed it especially going down into the pit.

My kids and I thought it was awesome!! To be able to see what people young and old did before our time was a real eye opener. The coal mines are amazing. The team were lovely and informative and we would return definitely!

This was fantastic. Our tour guide was Lee and he made our trip really special. Very knowledgeable and approachable. So much history here inside the mining community. Would recommend a stop at the Big Pit.

What an incredible museum. From the outset, let me suggest you book the underground tour (I'll come back to this).There is ample parking on site, which is pay and display, so don't forget your ticket. We arrived for 10am, with our underground tour starting at 10:45. This have us a chance to see some of the surface exhibits before "going down the pit". On booking in, you'll be given your tickets and a leaflet containing a map of local attractions / trails around the area, plus a map of the Big Pit site. After a little wander around, we went to the waiting room for the tour. While they are now taking groups underground, a mask IS required for the tour, even for children. Our guide was a wonderfully knowledgeable lady called Emma. She is an apprentice at Big pit and you can tell she loves her job. The tour encompasses being kitted out with miners lamp and a hard hat, then giving up your "contraband" - that is anything with a battery, smoking equipment etc. Big pit is classed as a working mine, so they have to abide by regulations (gas explosions caused by sparks are not nice!). From there, its into the cage and a 90m drop down the shaft to pit bottom. I won't spoil your tour by giving away more details. Its fascinating and you'll really enjoy it. I'm a taller chap, and did spend some time ducking under support rings and such, but the hard hat did a splendid job of keeping my head safe. There are some low tunnels, but nothing bad. See if you can find a little piece of coal to take home. Once back on the surface, we collected our things, and explored the many exhibits including the pit head baths, the explosives magazine, fan room, winding room, blacksmiths shop and more. Make time to see the main mine exhibit with its museum and film. The cafe is also good. I can recommend the pasties and home made bread and butter pudding. The site shop has a range of great mementoes and gifts, many of which are made locally. We rounded off out day by taking a walk to the station just below the museum, as there was a live steam gala taking place. That's another story though. I thoroughly recommend a visit to Big Pit. I'll be returning, as there is more than one route you can take on the underground tour, and I want to see more. The staff are helpful, friendly and knowledgeable. Excellent sums it up nicely.

Big pit is always a good day out.there is a charge if £5 each now for the underground tour which is still pretty good .tours are now groups of 5 plus the guide ,so bear that in mind when you book. But even with current restrictions you can't beat big pit and the local area for a good trip.

A must see for Welsh history, the underground tour is worth it for a first hand view of the mines and the men who run the tours are full of knowledge and experience. Pre-booking is essential as the tour is separate to the rest of it. The king coal experience was great too - a 20min experience of the mine works.

Had an amazing time, our tour guide Emma was wonderful she was so kind and supportive with my mother who was terrified. She managed to make what was a nerve racking concept into a wonderful experience for her. Can't recommend Emma enough she was fantastic. I can't wait to go back again and spend more time exploring everything above ground now that we've taken the time to go down the pit.

Excellent day out for all the family,very interesting and informative. We couldn't go underground but was still an excellent day out. This is a free museum you just have to pay £5 parking. It is well worth a visit.

Absolutely fantastic experience and free entry too. Highly recommended the underground tour too. It is 50 minutes and the guides are fantastic and it is fascinating. Highly recommended for all the family

Absolutely brilliant and completely free. Had a guide who was an ex miner and very knowledgable. You can go down to the actual mine in the cage they used when it was a working mine. Definitely worth a look. Highly recommend.

What a fantastic day we had visiting THE BIG PIT. So much to see regarding Pits history, highlight for me was going underground with our guide Noel who gave an excellent tour, when we listened to Noel telling us of the conditions in the early days of the mine and how men took thier sons down to earn more money, very emotional. If you are in the area make this your must visit place. Great parking, welcoming cafe and static exhibits, great day out for all the family

The coal is museum is really worth visiting the staff is nice explaining the history of the region how the mine was opened. Car park right below the mine, gift shops also here. The Big Pit is part of a network of coal workings from Blaenavon. Hard helmets are provided before entering the mine. During the tour you can understand more about how the mine operated and the harsh condition men, women and small children had to work. The animals used in the mine work had also a bad life. The Big Pit employed over 1000 people. All the maintenance necessary operating the mine was done here. Many houses were built around the mine. Many people died at a quite young life due to the pollution surrounding the area. The staff are restoring the mine. The road leading up to the mine is narrow twisty offering a nice view of the hills.

To be honest, above ground is nothing special. The tour through the mine, however, is brilliant. Spent about 3 hours there all together. Well signposted, ample parking, fair prices. We'd go back again.

Great as always. With a big group tge covid number restrictions make it very slow, but smaller numbers mean the students get to learn more and ask more questions.

We turned up on a rainy day with no high expectations. But we were wrong. It was a brilliant experience. The tour and exhibits really conveyed the true nature of the hard work, camaraderie, dedication and humbling work that went on here and elsewhere. We stayed for over two hours and could’ve stayed longer. The staff were super friendly and keen to share their knowledge and stories. We loved it, and usually nonplussed about such things. Highly recommended!

We visited today, our guide for the underground tour was Mark, fun, knowledgeable and a nice guy. The "over" ground parts were equally as good. Well worth a visit ☺️

Really enjoyed the experience. Very interesting opened my eyes about how whole family's worked the pit. Children as young as 6 doing a twelve hr. shift completely in the dark. Times have changed dramatically for the best. Our children need to realise how hard if was for them. Our tour guide was amazing. Spent a good part of the day there. HIGHLY RECOMMEND A VISIT.

This is a fantastic Living History experience. Dramatic, poignant and a true memorial to Welsh History. You have an underground tour of the mines, an above ground interactive museum experience, and a walk around the site which is full of machinery and Industrial heritage. You have the freedom of the grounds too walk around, and the underground tour gives you a 40 minutes guided tour, where you wear a hard hat, electric light, gas mask and battery. It is very exciting!

Wonderfully welcoming staff, some great exhibits of coal mining life. The underground tour was amazing, our tour guide Lee was so knowledgeable and made it fun for the kids. Fascinating pit baths exhibit showing development of nationalisation and improving quality of life. Would definitely go again. Lots of steps and hills which might make it difficult for wheelchair access

A fantastic experience. Fairly accessible despite being a former real mine and even the underground portions are still fairly smooth. There are slopes but almost everything can be reached by young and old. £5 parking, but the venue is free.

A really wonderful, engaging and informative place to visit. The galleries are fantastic and tell interesting stories really engagingly, and highlight some of the less well known stories too. When I was there (July 2022), there was an exhibition on women & mining, and I believe there's an exhibition on the Windrush generation and mining coming up. The best bit for me was the fantastic tour of the mines below. You're not allowed to bring phones (or anything else battery powered) down with you, but while I missed being able to take photographs, it made me pay more attention to what our very engaging and knowledgeable guide had to tell us. It was an experience that has really stuck with me. Unfortunately I don't think the mine is accessible to those that use wheelchairs as there are quite a few steps, but the rest of the museum is accessible. The canteen was decent enough, and although limited in options they did have a small number of vegan options in sandwiches and soup. Parking is £5 for the day, but entrance to the museum is free (though donations are encouraged), so it's still a great deal! Overall a fantastic day out, though I wish I'd budgeted more than three hours for it!

This place is brilliant. Was £5 to park my car and thats all your charged. Entry to the museum is actually free, and that includes going 300ft underground into the Old coal mine. Lovely staff, thoroughly interesting. Would certainly recommend this as something to do if your in the area.

Such a cool museum! The mine tour was amazing. All the tours are led by former miners and they do a great job conveying the atmosphere while making everyone feel safe and comfortable. The sensation of being lowered into the mine was so creepy! But it was awesome learning about the history of the mine and getting a former miners perspective on what it was like to work in one.

Brilliant day out. The underground experience is well worth the cost. Lots of good history and very hands on. Relevant to kids and adults alike. Thoroughly enjoyed our visit there.

Amazing morning at the Big Pit. Incredibly well organised with an excellent tour by Peter who was hugely knowledgeable, engaging and friendly. He made the trip something special! Lots to see and do and for a free museum it’s incredible! Would 100% do again!

Superb attraction. One of the best in the UK. So much to see and it's free. So make sure you donate to them. To see it all it takes about 3 hours. Friendly staff and passionate about what they are preserving

Good place easy to find. Plenty of parking available which is a cost of £5 however it is free to enter the big pit. Tour guide was fab and and was extremely knowledgeable and gave us a great insight into the coal mining industry and welsh history. Lovely gift shop at the end of the tour Right next to the blaenavon Steam Railway station and the steel works is close by too. Definitely worth a visit.