This flight of 16 locks may be the most impressive anywhere on the UK's waterways. They were engineer John Rennie's solution to climbing the very steep…
Open Access
Trevithick Trail
From Merthyr Tydfil, to Abercynon, Merthyr Tydfil, .
Explore the ‘Trevithick Trail’ that includes the ‘Trevithick Tunnel’, and enjoy a walk through history surrounded by nature’s beauty as it nestles…
Tawe River Navigation Heritage Trail
Oystermouth Road, Swansea, Swansea, .
Starts at the ‘National Waterfront Museum’, which is best arrived at by using the Park & Ride service to the city centre. With so much to see among…
Swannington Incline
Main Street, Swannington, Coalville, Leicestershire, LE67 8QN.
Part of the Leicester & Swannington Railway, one of England's first, built by Robert Stephenson to carry coal. An engine house at the top housed an engine…
Sedgwick Gunpowder Works
Low Park Wood Caravan Site, Sedgwick, Cumbria, LA8 8AD.
Operated from 1857 until 1935. Includes the remains of buildings, mill races, leats and curious earthworks abound. Six incorporating mills, all of which…
Ram Hill Colliery
Ram Hill, Coalpit Heath, Gloucestershire, BS36 2TY.
This historically important site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument under the control of English Heritage, which has been largely cleared of vegetation by…
Rockley Furnace & Engine House
Rockley Lane, Nr Birdwell, Yorkshire, .
The furnace was built around 1700 to smelt the local iron ore. The engine house once housed a Newcomen type pumping engine that kept the iron mine dry.…
Pontcysyllte Aqueduct
Llangollen Canal, Trevor, Denbighshire/Sir Ddinbych, LL20 7YG.
Built by Thomas Telford and William Jessop, it is 307m (1,007ft) long, 3-4m (11ft) wide and 1.6m (5.25ft) deep. It is a navigable aqueduct that carries…
Pont y Cafnau
Cyfarthfa, Merthyr Tydfil, Merthyr Tydfil, .
Located just below the confluence of the Afon Taf Fawr and the Afon Taf Fechan rivers, it is now used as a public footpath. This cast iron aqueduct (1793),…
Phillip’s Harbour (Harrow Harbour)
Pentland Firth coast, Mey, Sutherland, .
On the road sign it’s called Harrow Harbour. It is easy to jump to the conclusion that when Phillip's Harbour was built in the early 1800s it was primarily…
Penderyn Quarry Line
Penyard Road, Hirwaun, Rhondda Cynon Taff, .
The line dates from the mid-1780s when a horse-drawn tramway was built on a gentle gradient. The horses hauled trams from the quarry to the blast furnaces…
For nearly 200 years, this was a thriving family business. Hundreds of people were employed here and its iron and steel were exported around the world.…
Oare Gunpowder Works Country Park
Off Bysing Wood Road, Faversham, Kent, ME13 7UD.
- Parking
- Part disabled access
Once one of the main gunpowder factories in the South East, the park is one of the best places to discover history of gunpowder manufacturing in a tranquil…
Substantial remains of former lead mines and processing works, much of which has been restored on conserved. Cornish engine house. Located in Minera Country…
Melingriffith Water Pump
Ty Mawr Road, Whitchurch, Cardiff, Cardiff, CF14 2BH.
A ‘water lift engine’, the only one left in the world. Installed in the 1790s to a design by Jessop & Rennie, it lifted water from the tailrace exiting…
Kennall Vale Gunpowder Mills
Kennall Vale Nature Reserve, Nr Ponsanooth, Cornwall, .
- Part disabled access
A site of great historical interest having a wealth of industrial archaeological features. A great producer of gunpowder for the mining industry from 1812…
Greenside Lime Kiln
Greenside, Kendal, Cumbria, .
Preserved in 2009 and designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Saved from dereliction to become an enduring link between the lime burning industry and…
Dylife Lead Mines
Off B4518, Machynlleth, Dylife, Powys, .
A large complex with a spectacular waterwheel installed called Rhod Goch or Red Wheel, it had a diameter of 63ft and a width of 31/2ft it was one of the…
It is an internationally important industrial remains associated with the development of the iron and steel industries, started by David Mushet around…
Cyfarthfa Iron & Steelworks
Off Swansea Road, Merthyr Tydfil, Merthyr Tydfil, .
The impressive remains that can still be seen are of the six massive blast furnaces. A large brick arch, which is still standing, was built to bridge the…
Cobb’s Engine House
Nr Windmill End Junction, Warren's Hall Local Nature Reserve, Rowley Regis, West Midlands, DY2 9HU .
(Properly known as Windmill End Pumping Station), and is a scheduled ancient monument and a Grade II Listed building built around 1831. It housed a stationary…
Built in 1726, this is the world’s oldest surviving railway bridge. This impressive arch, 80ft in height and with a span of 100ft, once carried a horse-drawn…
Chirk Aqueduct
Off Castle Road, Chirk, Wrexham, LL14 5BS.
21m (70ft) high and 220m (710ft) long aqueduct that carries the Llangollen Canal across the Ceiriog Valley and which marks the border between Wales and…