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Items on this page in alphabetic order:

Aberdare Museum
Bacchetta's Caf‚ Museum
Castell Coch - Wales's Fairytale Castle
Dolaucothi Gold Mine
Guided visit to a farm operating under the Tir Cymen Scheme
Joseph Parry's Cottage
Lewis Merthyr Colliery
Pontypridd Historical and Cultural Centre
Reenactment of the Siege of Coity Castle by the forces of Owain Glynděr

Reports on Organised Activities and Visits to Sites of Interest

Warfare in the time of Owain Glyndŵr Surprisingly gunpowder was used in warfare six hundred years ago. Simple cannons such as the one shown may well have played a part in the assaults on castle walls. A cannon being fired as part of the reenactment of the siege of Coity Castle by Owain Glyndŵr.

Lewis Merthyr Colliery

Date of Visit: 9.8.01

Entry Fee: £5.60 - adult, reductions for families

Guided visit to engine houses with film including light and sound show describing the mine and life in the Rhondda from the time the mines were sunk to the final closure of the last mine in the Rhondda in 1990. Colourful descriptions of family life at the time, the avarice of the the mine owners and the trade unionism with the demands for "not a penny off the pay, not a penny on the day" along with the strikes which followed.

The underground visit includes a view of mine workings of different eras and a ride on a "man rider" - a sort of undergound train for getting miners to and from the coal face - although (without spoiling the surprise at the end of the visit) all is not quite what it appears.

As in the case of the Dolaucothi Gold Mine visit, there are graphic descriptions of the conditions under which children worked.


Dolaucothi Gold Mine

Date of Visit:1.8.01

Entry Fee:Variable with reductions for families and members of the National Trust. I paid £6.20 for entrance to the site and a guided visit to the Victorian Mine Workings

Guide:Explanatory Leaflet. Visits to the mineworkings by a guide.

Travel and Access:Near the village of Pumpsaint on the A482 between Lampeter and Llandovery.

Elderly and Disabled Visitors:Most of the site is on the level. The guided tours involve significant climbing. One of the visitors to the Victorian mine was an elderly lady who walked with two sticks. She said she had artificilal hips and knees and had had part of her spine removed. She managed all right - but took the easy way out - see below.

Note: For the guided visits you should wear appropriate footwear.

Description: There are three separate attractions:

1. The grounds. Including access to several sheds containing mining equipment. The visit also includes an opportunity to pan for gold.
2. Visit to the Victorian mineworkings - mainly underground.
3. Visit to the Roman mineworkings - mainly on the surface.

Video
At the entrance was a video giving the history of the mine, explaining how it was discovered by the Romans, then reworked by the Victorians, with mineworking continuing almost to the outbreak of the Second World War.

An idea of the effect of the dusty atmosphere on the miners' health can be gained by the fact that the compressor drill was named "the miner's widow".


Panning for Gold

It's a good job I've never had to make a living this way! Despite the fact that bits of glitter have been added to the rocks and sand (they give you a platic bag for your findings!) I never found any. The kids did much better than I did.


The Victorian Mineworkings

This is the only guided tour I joined.

The guide was entertaining, humerous and informative - with some quite clever ways of getting some of the points across. Getting a couple of kids on the tour (aged eight and nine) to hold a rod, which would have been hammered into the hard rock with a sledgehammer, emphaised the fact that in late Victorian times children of the same age would be doing that work for real.

The visit ends with two alternative ways to leave the mine. The upward route to the surface via a narrow shaft is the one which mine workers would have used at the end of a shift. On my visit the kids went first with their parents following timidly behind.

For the less adventurous there is the option of leaving the wqy you came.

For further details - see Local Attractions

Report by:Eddy Hunt

Aberdare Museum

Date of Visit:22.7.00

Entry Fee:Free

Guide:Written and Audiovisual material in English and Welsh

Travel and Access:on edge of town oppositie shopping centre

Elderly and Disabled Visitors:Main exhibition on ground floor - level with street - wide doors

Description: History of the Cynon Valley and South Wales generally depicted through artifacts and audiovisual displays - footage of 1984-85 miners' strke.

Special feature - history of the area from 1860 to 1998 as told by the Price family in multimedia displays.

Report by:Eddy Hunt


Joseph Parry's Cottage

Date of Visit:20.7.00

Entry Fee:60p Adult, 50p OAP or Child

Opening Hours:1400 - 1700, Thursday to Saturday, April to September only

Guide:Leaflet in English

Travel and Access:near Merthyr Tydfil Town Centre

Elderly and Disabled Visitors:Main exhibit on first floor accessible by fairly steep stairs.

Description:The house is interesting both as a typical ironworker's cottage of the 19th century and also as the home of the musician Dr. Joseph Parry. Photographs and artifacts from the age of ironmaking in Merhyr Tydfil.

Report by:Eddy Hunt


Reenactment of the Siege of Coity Castle by the forces of Owain Glyndŵr

One of the many events organised by CADW - see Useful Addresses

Date of Visit: 24 June 2000

Entry Fee: 3.50 pounds adult - one pound children

Guide: Public commentary throughout the day

Travel and Access: Near Coity village about 2 miles from Bridgend. Car parking arranged in field.

Elderly and Disabled Visitors: Wheelchair access was provided.

Description: The 600th anniversary has brought about renewed interest in the six-year rebellion by Owain Glyndŵr.

In 1404 he laid siege to Coity Castle, a siege which was eventally lifted by the arrival of troops loyal to the King.

The event provided not only the opportunity to see the siege recreated, but also to learn about warfare and other aspects of life six hundred years ago.

Report by: Eddy Hunt


Guided visit to a farm operating under the Tir Cymen Scheme

Guided walk of 3-4 miles organised by the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority and included in the catalogue of organised walks "Fesitval of the Countryside" - see Useful Addresses

Date of Visit: 17 June 2000

Entry Fee: None

Guide: Two guides willing to provide information in Welsh or English

Travel and Access: Meeting in pub carpark on a main road - difficult without a car.

Elderly and Disabled Visitors: Easy walk, but some uneven terrain.

Description: Under the Tir Comyn scheme farmers are paid to allow fields to develop into natural habitats - providing visitors an excellent opportunity to observe native wildflowers.

Farmers are also required to keep the land free of rusting machinery and other waste. One aspect is a subsidised scheme to recycle plastic waste, although controversially the reprocessing occurs in Scotland, thus incurring high energy costs.

The farm visited is one which has successfully diversified into the market of providing visitor accommodation.

Report by: Eddy Hunt


Castell Coch - Wales's Fairytale Castle

Date of Visit: 3.2.00

Entry Fee: 2.50 pounds

Guide: Self-guided with the aid of an audio cassette (in English or Welsh)

Location and Access: Castell Coch is located on the northern outskirts of Cardiff. OS coordinates:ST131826. By road from Cardiff, follow the A470 and take the first turing after the M4 and follow the signs. Nearest station: Taffs Well, approximately 750 metres

Elderly and Disabled Visitors: No special arrangements. Wheelchair access to the courtyard only. Steps are narrow and sometimes steep and slighly uneven, particularly going into the dungeon.

Description: Castell Coch is Victorian Folly.

It was built on the site of an earlier castle by the Third Marquess of Bute, reputedly the richest man in the world at that time and his architect William Burgess.

It was intended to depict a castle in the Middle Ages, but it is in fact the product of the joint immagination of the two builders. Because it is a such a recent castle, it is almost perfectly preserved.

Report by: Eddy Hunt

Bacchetta's Café Museum

Date of Visit: 2 March 2000

Entry Fee: Free

Guide: Some information in English on the exhibits.

Travel and Access: Porth town centre near railway station.

Elderly and Disabled Visitors:Access via steep steps.

Description: A curious collection of items dedicated to Italian families who went into the ice cream and cafe business: ice cream making apparatus - scales - miners lamps - ice cream seller's barrow. An interesting feature is the coronation flags fir the coronation of Edward VIII, but which never got used for that purpose.

Report by: Eddy Hunt


Pontypridd Historical and Cultural Centre

Date of Visit: March 2000

Entry Fee: 25p Adult 15p Child

Guide:Extensive documentation in English and Welsh.

Travel and Access: Pontypridd town centre by bridge. Paid parking in the town centre. From Pontypridd station follow Taff Street to the end - about 10 minutes.

Elderly and Disabled Visitors:

Description: Collection relating to the history of Pontypridd, including some working models. Engineering model of the famous six-holed bridge showing how the holes break up the stress lines. Photogrphs and instruments for making naval anchor chains. Model of the rail station. Mock up of the makeup room of Sir Geraint Evans - the town's famous baritone opera singer.

Report by: Eddy Hunt

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This page was last updated on 9 August 2001 __________ Back to:net-cymru Home Page