Wales was once home to a huge range of industrial activities – coal mining, iron working, slate quarries and the products were moved by railway or canal. It's all here – scenic narrow gauge railways, including the newly-opened Welsh Highland Railway, the National Slate Museum, Big Pit Mining Museum, Blaenavon Ironworks plus lots more. The scenery is great too!
The Steam Heritage Guide includes contact details, opening times and description of preservation and heritage attractions across Wales.
The Silver Mountain Experience, llywernog, Ponterwyd, Aberystwyth, Cardiganshire/Ceredigion, SY23 3AB.
The museum is full of interesting artefacts and information all about the history of the silver-lead mine, and the mining in Wales.
Fountain Road (opposite the Nature Reserve), Aberkenfig, Bridgend, Bridgend, CF32 0EH.
Miniature railway of various gauges is located in over four acres of woodland adjacent to the Parc Slip Nature Reserve.
You are able to visit the museum at four locations – the Museum itself on Oystermouth Road, the Museum Stores in Landore and the floating exhibits in…
Unit 2, Viking Way, Winch Wen Industrial Estate, Swansea, Swansea, SA1 7DA.
The collection consists primarily of vehicles from South Wales Transport (SWT) and First Cymru, together with two fine examples of London Transport Routemasters.…
Houses a collection of objects, pictures and written material relating to the life of Robert Owen. In his late twenties, Owen became a partner and manager…
The Old Station,
Tintern,
Monmouthshire/Sir Fynwy,
NP16 7NX.
Tel: 01291 689 566.
Set in 10 acres of riverside meadow with stunning views. The old Victorian waiting room is home to a multi-award winning tearoom. There are three railway…
Lower House Farm, Manafon, Nr Welshpool, Powys, SY21 8BJ.
The railway is built to 15in. gauge and runs for approximately ¾ mile around Lower House Farm alongside the River Rhiw. Founded in 1970 by Jack Woodroffe,…
Take a trip back in time and visit our unique restored WWII control tower, discover what it was like hiding in an air raid shelter in a bombing raid and…
The Copper Kingdom Centre, Amlwch Port, Anglesey/Sir Fon, LL68 9HE.
Award winning heritage centre based in Amlwch Port, and houses a number of interactive displays which help describe the history of copper mining in the…
Liberty Stadium (opposite), Cross Valley Link Road, Landore, Swansea, SA1 2JT.
Collection is housed on the former Hafod/Morfa Copper Works site in Landore in a building which dates back to about 1830. In the mid-19th century this…
Gwern Avenue, Senghenydd, Caerphilly, Cardiff, CF83 4HA.
The Universal Colliery in Senghenydd was the scene of the largest mining disaster in British history, when in 1913, 440 men and boys (including one rescue…
Wharf Hill, Llangollen, Denbighshire/Sir Ddinbych, LL20 8TA.
Horse-drawn boats trips available on the picturesque Llangollen Canal from Llangollen Wharf.
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…
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…
Stephenson Street, Newport, Monmouthshire/Sir Fynwy, NP20 2JG.
The bridge is one of only six operational transporter bridges left world wide from a total of twenty constructed. It opened in 1906 and has dominated the…
The Engine House, Parc Tondu, Maesteg Road, Tondu, Bridgend, CF32 9TF.
The best preserved Victorian Ironworks in Wales. Now developed into a heritage park for those wishing to learn more about the importance of the iron making…
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…
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),…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…