Private Tour: The Valleys Heritage & South Wales Landscapes

Discover the industrial heritage of South Wales on a guided day trip from Cardiff. Travel in a luxurious fully electric vehicle, limited to a maximum of seven passengers, in the company of your guide, Andy, who is a Mountain Leader and a Green Badged Tourist Guide.

South Wales is geologically 'lucky', having all of the elements required to fuel the industrial revolution, iron, coal, limestone and silica rock. From the 1750's iron boom through the 1850's to the 1980's when coal was king, South Wales was a hive of activity, smelting, mining and developing technologies to improve production.

This tour has been designed to look at this history, its effects upon the landscape and people who laboured so hard and also at those who profited from that labour.

We'll also have glimpse the scenic beauty of the Brecon Beacons National Park which lies to the north, on the fringes of the coalfields, and how the mining communities are recovering, post the closure of the mines in the 1990's.

Itinerary:
14 Locks and 14 Lock Canal Centre: Fourteen Locks is the most spectacular flight of canal locks in South Wales. A scheduled ancient monument situated in this idyllic part of Newport. It lies on the Crumlin Arm part of the Monmouthshire and Brecon canal. Surrounded by striking landscape, it is one of the most beautiful scenic waterways. The canal centre has a gift shop and a tea room.

Cwmcarn Forest Drive: In the vehicle we will meander around the twisting bends and allow the enchanting forest to immerse us in tranquillity where you can leave the rest of the world behind. We will park up at one of the seven car parks to absorb the breathtaking panoramic views of the surrounding countryside and the tour guide will give you more information about the area.

Guardian of the Valley: a sculpture commemorating the Six Bells Disaster: In the summer of 1960, the community of Six Bells near Abertillery, south Wales witnessed a devastating disaster. On June 28th an underground explosion at 'Arrael Griffin' colliery led to the deaths of 45 miners, all were local men. Fifty years later, to the day, after tireless work by the community and local organisations, a steel sculpture by Sebastien Boyesen, over 60ft high, was dedicated to those who died.

Abertillery: traditional-style town centre mainly developed in the late 19th century and as such has some interesting Victorian architecture. We will be here for lunch.

Mountain Road: We’ll take a drive from St Illtyd to Abersychan along a beautiful mountain road with open views of the Brecon Beacons to the North, the road we travel is 1200 feet above sea level.

Big Pit: a real coal mine and one of Britain's leading mining museums. Enjoy exhibitions in the Pithead Baths and Historic colliery buildings AND the world-famous Underground Tour: go 300 feet underground with a real miner and see what life was like for the thousands of men who worked at the coal face.