Travel Series. Cardiff: Day 6

By Saturday, it was time to start heading back to England. I had picked up a leaflet, whilst on our travels throughout the week, about 'Big Pit' in Blaenavon which is an old coal mine which now has free entry! Thus, en route home, we decided to pay Blaenavon a visit. Wales is historically known for its coal mining, and I have distant relatives who worked in the mining industry so it was really interesting to learn about the history and the politics surrounding it. 

 

None of us were particularly interested in actually going down the mine, and after seeing the queues I'm really glad we made that decision! There was still plenty to do above ground, though, and we must have easily spent a couple of hours there. I previously knew very little about mining, so it was great to learn more. The exhibits were very cleverly done as they had kept the baths as they would have been back when the mine was in use, and each locker was dedicated to a person and told their life story.

 

The museum also managed to provide a fairly balanced insight into the Maggie Thatcher saga, which I shan't go into but it was quite impressive!

 

After we had taken popped into the Rhymney Brewery which was just around the corner from the mine. I always like going on brewery tours as they are usually fairly cheap and you get to try samples. Rhymney was no different as it cost just £2 per person and we got to try the beer. Unfortunately they only had one beer on tap at the time so we could only try one, but it was a nice sweet one with gentle flavours. 

Soon we realised that time was getting on and it was about time we continued our journey to England. 

I think we all had a really good time in Cadw (Wales) and would definitely go back again. If I could suggest anything to future visitors, I would definitely recommend that if you go by car; there are so many places which are difficult to access without your own vehicle, a car is a fantastic asset. 

I hope you have enjoyed reading about my latest adventures!