Visiting Wales ~ The Blaenavon Ironworks

Last week I told you about our visit to the Big Pit in Wales, this week I’ll tell you about another attraction just up the road from the Big Pit. Blaenavon Ironworks is a World Heritage Site, dating back to 1789, it has the best preserved blast furnace in the world. 

In the early nineteenth century at the height of the industrial revolution Blaenavon Ironworks was the most important producer of Iron in the world.

We really loved the hands on history of the Ironworks. The reconstructed company shop & workers dwellings are fantastic, it’s like they haven’t been touched by the hands of time. Our children had a great time on our free self guided tour of the Ironworks. 

Some of the workers cottages were refurbished for the award-winning BBC series Coal House which was set in the 1920’s. More of the cottages were refurbished for a spin off show Coal House at War, this time they were decorated as 1940’s houses.

It’s very surreal & feels like your snooping as the cottages are set up like the families are just out at work for the day. Meanwhile we’re in having a look at their kitchens & bedrooms complete with family photos of that era on the walls. Highly educational and fascinating! Opening hours are generally 10am – 5pm Entry and parking are free, there are picnic tables should you wish to bring a picnic. 

Tell us, have you been to the Ironworks in Blaenavon? Would you consider it on a furture trip? 

Our Travelling Family Have Gone to the Pits!

And now for something a little bit different of a Travel Tuesday...

If you find yourself in Wales looking for something to do, I highly recommend a trip to the Big Pit in Blaenavon and Pontypool, not to be confused with Pontypandy! We usually travel by boat so we can take our car, large family & kitchen sink. This time we travelled with Irish Ferries from Rosslare to Pembroke.

The Big Pit is the UK’s National Coal Museum, an award-winning interactive museum which includes an underground tour. I can honestly say that this is one of the most impressive museums I’ve been to anywhere in the world. Do you want to know the best bit? It’s free entry, however there is a nominal charge for the car park.

There are numerous out buildings to explore, our little ones soaked up all the information like sponges, they loved it. I wasn’t sure if they'd all want to go underground to see the coal mines but they did and there were no nerves or apprehension at all. The underground part of the tour is an hour long & only for those over one meter tall so we had to split up so one of us could stay on the surface with our baby. 

You're kitted out with a hard hat & a torch with battery pack weighing 5kg, sensible footwear is advised as the ground is uneven.  I went in first with 3 of our children, the tour is led by an actual coal miner that worked in the pit so he can give you first hand information & regale you with stories of his time working there. They were a really great bunch of lads, so friendly & funny, they ensured to include the children in their story telling.

They have state of the art facilities including baby change facilities and fully wheelchair accessible toilets on all three levels. It’s also a breastfeeding friendly venue. While my husband went down the Big Pit, I took a stroll up the hill to the old canteen that’s still in use today for tourists. The same building as the canteen houses the showers & the doctor’s office. Everything has been left as if the miners were still at work today, just like stepping back in time. 

There are picnic tables outside to take in the stunning view from this vantage point. I enjoyed a chilled class of wine, while the children munched on crisps & a cold drink, all sold at great prices in the canteen.

Luckily we spotted an old steam engine as we approached the road to the Big Pit, we pulled in as our little lads are train mad. We soon found out that you can park there free of charge & take the steam train one stop to the Big Pit. Our boys were thrilled as there was a first class carriage that’s exactly like the train from Harry Potter. 

We paid £21 for a family return ticket, they are pay once & ride all day tickets. Unfortunately we didn't have time but you could take the train to the Whistle Inn for a cold refreshment. In all of our family adventures, this little pit stop truly was one of the most memorable, the kids talk about it to this day. We can't recommend it enough!

 Next week I’ll bring you more from our Welsh trip.

The Dublin Ghost Bus Tour - Do You DARE?!

Afternoon All, Aaron here bringing you a little fun Tuesday's Travels flavour from our very own Fair City. Enjoy!

One thing I've always wanted to do was go on the Dublin Ghost Bus Tour - so when I was offered the opportunity to go with my good friend Ally I couldn't say no!

First Stop:

First impressions on both our behalves was how well this bus is decorated. Sure, it's clear from the outside that it's a ghost bus but the gothic interior is on another spooky theatrical level. 

Our first stop on this bus is the Royal College of Surgeons - here we learned all about Dr. Clossey - a man who was way too blasé about acquiring fresh corpses to torment his poor students with. 

An amazing border over the bus windows

While stopped outside of the college itself, we were treated to a hilarious recreation of what a typical morning with the good Doctor himself would be like - which consisted of a severed torso hung on a hook and a poor passenger getting a good feel for anatomy; all acted brilliantly by one of two professional Irish actors on-board, fair play lads!

Second Stop:

Now before we go to the stop we were treated to a great horror movie quiz (which I failed atrociously) in which one person was picked to guess what movie certain song clips were from - winning gets you a copy of Dracula on DVD, and failure gets you DEATH. 

I think this is an owl - 

the bus if FULL of stuff like this!

After the quiz and a very informative lesson on the history of Dr. Acula (which was fantastic, I love that neckbiter), we pulled up to the beautiful Christ Church; now I've never been so I was sure we'd be going in the front door but nope - straight down to the crypts for some great learnings on the children around Dublin. They would hook bodies up the nose and drag them up out of the grave, often leaving some sitting up in their coffins to scare the bejaysis out of poor Gravedigger Billy in the mornings.

It was in these crypts that I found out just how disgustingly suggestible I am, which involved getting worked over by a man dressed like Doctor Who with a thumbscrew, Spanish Tickler and to add insult to injury - a nutcracker..

After that horrific trip down BDSM road, it was time to move on to learn about the intriguing story of the Madame of the brothel(now pub and hotel) across the road, Mistress Darkey Kelly. She was burned at the stake as a witch for carrying an illegitimate child of the Sheriff at the time - good to see Ireland's good auld morals haven't changed eh?

This appears when you google Darkey Kelly - 

maybe her? 

Next up in spooky crypt shenanigans we were treated to the story of a Dublin "hypnotist" by the name of Dolocher who had quite a zombie-esque taste; funnily enough he was said to be the original werewolf, well, a ghost of a wolf that would savage women for the duration of the winter and come to be known at the Dolocher. Suddenly we were paid another visit but I couldn't possibly tell you by whom...

Final Stop:

Our final stop was at St. Kevin's graveyard. A Protestant church just outside the old city walls where Catholics could pay through the nose for burials of family members so that they make it to the pearly gates.

We flew by Bram Stoker's original house, 

I did my best!

In this precariously perched graveyard behind the church we learned that it wasn't just good god-fearing Catholics looking for burial, it was also shallow (at the time) graves of victims of highwaymen and the sort just turfed in on top of each other.

To think that tiny little graveyard on a hill looks down into a meadow of 30,000 bodies jammed together - interesting stuff indeed, that is, until an attempt that very evening to get the count up to 30,035-ish. My nerves will never be the same!

A selfie with 30,000 people,

tacky just like Weird Al said

All in all it was a brilliant trip and totally worth your time, I know for sure I'll be going again to subject treat pals to the experience. Open all year round, not just Halloween, it's 14+ so no scared children to be seen. We learned a huge amount about Dublin's dark history through terrified laughter and begrudging respect for our tormentors. Also Darkey Kelly's is right across from the Christ Church and I highly recommend dropping in, it's a good pub with great atmosphere. 

Ticket Price €28.Duration 2hrs 15mins. Leaving from Dublin Bus Headquarters on O'Connell St, nightly. For further info & Private Hires see the site HERE or contact info@dublinsightseeing.ie.