South Wales Miners’ Museum

Welsh Miners’ Museum

Useful Information

Location:	Afan, Cynonville, Port Talbot SA13 3HG. Afan Argoed lies south of the A 4107 trunk road. Follow the brown tourist signs. (51.6417927, -3.7054962)
Open:	All year Tue-Sun 10:30-15:30. [2026]
Fee:	Adults GBP 4, Children (5- GBP 3, Children (0-4) free, Seniors GBP 3. [2026]
Classification:	Bergbaumuseen
Light:	Electric Light
Dimension:
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:	Powell Afan (1977): Welsh Miners Museum at Afan Argoed Country Park, 28 pp illus Afan Powell and Glyn Thomas (1999): The Rise and Fall of the South Wales Coal Industry, with a View of Port Talbot and the Afan Valley. 135 pp illus.
Address:	South Wales Miners Museum, Afan Forest Park, Afan, Cynonville, Port Talbot SA13 3HG, Tel: +44-1639-851-833. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1247	coal mined by the Monks at Margam Abbey
1516	coal mining rights leased to local landowners.
1730	mining increases as coal was used for furnaces.
1859	first coal railway opened.
1947	coal mines nationalized.
1970	last pit in the Afan Valley closed.
1976	opened to the public.
2008	new mine building erected.

Geology

The geology of Welsh coal seams is explained in the museum, although the main emphasis is on the cultural, social, and technological side.

Description

The South Wales Miners Museum is also known as Afan Forest Mining Museum. The last pit in the Afan Valley closed in 1970, two years later a public meeting took place in Glyncorrwg where a Miners’ Museum was proposed. It was opened in 1976, and it was actually the first mining museum in Wales. It received the Prince of Wales Award and numerous other prestigious awards and recognitions. At first, it was housed in a number of cabins. In 2008 a purpose-built museum was started, wich was financed by donations and by the work of volunteers.

Coal was mined by the Monks at Margam Abbey in the year 1247. In 1516 the Abbot at Margam Abbey leased the right for mining to a farmer in Duffryn Fredul Farm in the Bryn Area for a rent of Twenty Shillings and Two Pence yearly. The lease allowed the farmer to work the minerals on his own land to the sea shore for 70 years. Coal was used in daily life, for cooking, heating and by blacksmiths, but demand and production increased massively when the timber required for smelting was finally exhausted around 1730. New mines were opened at Cwmafan and again in 1750 at Cefn Mawr and Blaencregan. The coal was used by furnaces in Neath and Briton Ferry. It was transported by donkeys with pannier baskets at the sides.

The next development was a tram road from Blaencregan to Aberdulais to transport coal to the canal basin at Aberdulais, from where the coal was transported to Swansea with barges. The good idea named Tonmawr Tram Road was started around 1839 by Robert Parsons and a friend, but it failed and became known as Parsons Folly. Much more successful was the first railway in the Afan Valley, the South Wales Mineral Railway. An Act was passed in Parliament in 1853, and the first part to the Afan Valley opposite the Afan Argoed Country Park was completed in 1859, the extension to Glyncorrwg in 1861. The railway was specifically built to carry coal, there was no passenger traffic until the First World War. Subsequently additional collieries were opened and the amount of mined coal increased massively.

The South Wales Miners Museum is only one of the attractions to be found in the Afan Argoed Country Park, where facilities have been developed for forest walking, wayfaring, orienteering, cycling and Land Rover touring. There is also a touring caravan park.

The Welsh Miners’ Museum portrays mining through the eyes of the miners themselves. Their stories of hardship, and struggle, dangerous and dirty work, and also the warmth of their valley communities. The main features include a traditional miner’s cottage scene; historic photographs illustrating the miner’s way of life; the poignant story of children underground; and early mining equipment displayed in a realistic setting. This is supplemented by several outdoor exhibits, including a pithead wheel, a haulage engine and a coal tram.

Facilities for the disabled include: free loan of an electric wheelchair for use from the main car park to the Countryside Centre and entrance ramps to the Welsh Miners’ Museum and Snack Bar. The Museum features Braille information panels.

There is also a restaurant, shop and facilities for the hire of mountain bikes. The car park is very popular at weekend with walkers and cyclists. Either get there early or visit mid-week. There is a large outdoor display [free!] of coal trucks, winders and other bits of mining machinery. Indoors, the display occupies a large room. The centre part is partitioned off to resemble a coal mine complete with a rat and a running commentary between a miner and his horse! There is the usual displays of mining lamps, mine disasters and old photographs. This is a site the whole family will enjoy as there are numerous marked walking and cycle ways of various lengths and standards of difficulty. Well worth a visit.

Text by Tony Oldham (2003). With kind permission.