Hilly Blaenau Gwent is set on the fringe of Bannau Brycheiniog National Park in the northeast of the South Wales Valleys, where the scenic Heads of the Valleys road draws its arcing line across South Wales. Being right on the northern edge of industrial South Wales, there is a rich history of coal mining and iron and steel production.
The main towns are Tredegar, in the Sirhowy Valley, and Abertillery, Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr, Wales' highest town, in Ebbw Valley. Between them are some of the loveliest green spaces in the South Wales Valleys, where visitors can spend their days rambling, hiking and biking on Blaenau Gwent trails and treks, such as up Trefil mountain.
Local history and culture
This is a landscape that was once at the forefront of Cymru's industrial heritage. Whilst the valley bottoms are dotted with coal mining pit wheels, further up the steep valley sides iron ore and limestone quarries are gauged into the rock face. These, now softened, industrial remnants are interspersed with Celtic burial grounds harking back to an even more distant past.
Blaenau Gwent can proudly claim to be the home of the NHS, as Aneurin Bevan was born in Tredegar. He was the MP for Ebbw Vale and he based the health service on the Tredegar Medical Aid Society. Locally, there are trails exploring his local haunts, including up lonesome Trefil near Tredegar, and along the mountainsides where he rehearsed his speeches.
The Aneurin Bevan Stones memorial stands at Bryn Serth and in Bedwellty House & Park, you can see artworks and a film about him. Tredegar's heritage centre, No 10 The Circle, tells the story of how he Tredegarised the UK.
If you head to Parc Arael Griffin near Abertillery, a must-see is the 20m high Guardian of the Valley sculpture. Completed in 2010, it commemorates the 50th anniversary of the 1960 Six Bells mining disaster, which sadly claimed the lives of 45 men. Their names are inscribed on plaques on the sandstone base of the sculpture. If you'd like to learn more about the Guardian, the nearby heritage centre in Tŷ Ebbw Fach has more information.
Wales’ oldest picture house, the fabulous Market Hall Cinema in Brynmawr, regularly shows the latest films, exhibitions and even hosted the International Film Festival of Wales in 2022.
Legacies of steel and iron
The production of both iron and steel brought great wealth to industrial South Wales right through to the 19th Century. The legacy of this can be seen today at Bedwellty House & Park, a Tredegar Regency villa and gardens formerly the residence of the Tredegar ironworks manager. The park also contains the largest block of coal in the world, hewn by ‘Colliar Mawr’ to celebrate the 1851 Great Exhibition.
Remnants of industry can be seen at Sirhowy Ironworks, just outside Tredegar. It was established in 1778, and towards the end of its working life it supplied the Ebbw Vale ironworks with coke. Today it is a scheduled ancient monument where the unique remains of iron furnaces are of great national importance.
The Nantyglo Round Towers, in Nantyglo just south of Brynmawr, was the last private castle built in the UK in 1816 by the Nantyglo Ironworks bosses. It was a symbol of strength, as well as offering protection from the potential threat of rioting workers during this tumultuous time. The towers are viewable from the outside.
Several excellent museums bring the region’s stories to life further at Tredegar Local History Museum in Sirhowy Valley, and Blaina Heritage Action Group Museum, Abertillery Museum, Ebbw Vale Works and Brynmawr and District Museum in Ebbw Valley.
Get active – walking, cycling and golfing
Blaenau Gwent is a wonderful place to get out in nature with tranquil trails leading walkers and cyclists through shady woodlands and valleys, across remote hilltops and around glittering lakes.
Get put through your paces with the Ebbw Fach walking trail, a lovely 16km trail linking fourteen nature parks, green spaces and sites of historical importance right the way around the borough of Blaenau Gwent. These include Festival Park Ebbw Vale, Beaufort Hill Ponds and Woodlands and Cwmtillery Lakes.
Cefn Golau Cholera Cemetery on a lonely mountainside west of Tredegar is a poignant scene for a contemplative walk. Here over 200 weathered and lichen-covered gravestones stand as a testament to the lives lost in the cholera epidemics of 1832 and 1849. Near Tredegar is also the walk up onto the moorland mountaintop of Trefil, where there is a memorial to NHS founder Aneurin Bevan.
Meanwhile at the lush park and nature reserve of Parc Bryn Bach in Tredegar there are family-friendly activities galore, from exciting peddle karts to more serene wildlife trails, and water-based activities on and around the large lake.
Near Ebbw Vale, Silent Valley Nature Reserve is another former industrial landscape now reclaimed by nature. Here trails lead through woodlands and flower meadows and there’s a beautiful bluebell display in spring. Blaenau Gwent Council's website has a great list of varied walks to explore the area.
Golfers can get their steps in at the West Monmouthshire Golf Club, Britain's highest golf course, in Ebbw Vale.
Read more: Fitness enthusiast Janine Price's guide to the best walking, running and cycling routes in Blaenau Gwent.
Where to stay in Blaenau Gwent
For a stay in the heart of one of Blaenau Gwent’s most interesting towns, you can’t beat the historic four-star Tredegar Arms Hotel in Tredegar. Renovated in 2019, it has ten luxurious bedrooms, two bars and a restaurant.
Alternatively, there’s the venerable The Cambrian right on Tredegar's town square that has been welcoming weary travellers and thirsty townsfolk for over 200 years.
Eating and drinking in Blaenau Gwent
Afternoon tea is a delight at the Bedwellty House & Park near Tredegar, and it also serves an excellent Sunday roast. Morgan’s Wine Bar in Ebbw Vale is the place to go for weekend cocktails and tasty meals in a lively atmosphere.
