Is It Worth Visiting Big Pit Mining Museum, Wales?

Experiences of visiting Wales and Big Pit Mining Museum, as an adult and with kids. My kids were pretty small the first time we toured the UK and we had a wonderful time, taking them to Wales, my birth country, in particular. We enjoyed it so much that we returned recently, to take them again as teens. This post will explain what Big Pit Mining Museum is like. We think it’s a great place to take kids, but maybe not for small children and not for the elderly or anyone with mobility issues. I am fairly claustrophobic, and I was OK at Big Pit. We’ll also talk about costs, admission, opening times and parking to help you plan your visit. It was free for us when we visited and was a real highlight of Wales with kids.

My first tour of Wales and the UK with my kids, was my first as a tourist. I lived in Wales and London for almost my whole life, now I had four weeks to show the children the bits I had always loved and maybe find some new bits, too. Touring the UK with the children, just the three of us, was brilliant. We had loads of fun. Wales or even the whole of the UK is relatively small so we covered a lot of ground.

We had a lot of miles to cover, from Heathrow, to Cambridge and Manchester, to my parents in Wales. Hiring a car at a good rate was the only way to go, cheaper and more convenient than trains. Having your own car gives you the freedom to go anywhere whenever you like, and to turn up the radio and sing as loudly as you can. Some days we drove from Wales to London and back again to see some amazing attractions like London Zoo or The Doctor Who Experience. It’s only a 2 hour drive.

We have a post with more ideas on things to do in London with kids. It’s more economical to drive there and back than to pay for overnight accommodation in London. Sure, it cost us a bit in petrol, but a return flight from Australia to see the things we’d missed in our precious few weeks just wasn’t going to happen.

So let’s get on to Big Pit, and what makes it such a must-see place in Wales and in the UK.

Big Pit Wales

Big Pit Was an Unexpected Gem

I’m Welsh, I’ve lived in Wales for 33 years, but I’d never been to Big Pit. I drove around the Welsh Valleys, showing the boys the sheep and the mountains.

“What are all those lines and squares Mum?”

“They’re fields love”

Yes, Really!

We happened across the Big Pit Mining Museum and stopped to check it out.

Big Pit Mining Museum is one of The Best Educational Field Trips!

As field trips go, Big Pit is right up there with The Kennedy Space Centre.

One of the most fantastic things about Big Pit, and there are many, is that it’s FREE! I’m a cheapskate  budget traveller, so anything free, particularly if it’s great for the kids, is a winner, but this place was outstanding, fantastic and excellent. Want to see more?

Anyone should enjoy Big Pit, so long as you don’t suffer from claustrophobia or any fear of being deep underground in a disused mine, for that is what it is, an actual coal mine turned tourist attraction. Doesn’t sound much does it? But it’s brilliant!

We were all equipped with helmets and headlights and told to leave anything electrical at the surface. Including cameras and car keys. It’s a REAL mine, they’re worried about gas and sparks and all that stuff. This means I’ve no photos from down the pit, unfortunately.

The men helping us get kitted out and guiding us were all real ex-miners and they were gorgeous, had beautiful accents and so much to tell us.

They talked about the history of the mine, how the little children used to sit in the dark and the cold opening and closing doors all day, took us to the underground stables where the pit ponies lived and showed us the cramped coal faces where men would work by hand, bent double under the low roof.

When we came back to the surface, again, in the cage, we explored the pit head baths and discovered that the miners’ wives were the real heroes in those days.

Before those baths opened their men would return black, in body and in clothes, everything would be scrubbed to get the coal dust out, every night, by hand with water boiled in a kettle. They were tough in those days. Once the baths opened they only had the miners’ clothes to keep clean.

There were re-creations of miners’ homes and a mine simulation with modern mining technology. The boys adored it and learned loads. Fossil fuels and non-renewable resources are very much on the Australian curriculum, we had the best lesson possible at Big Pit that day.

Where to Stay Near Big Pit

You could easily visit Big Pit for the day if you were staying in Cardiff, or even close to the Welsh border in England. For apartment rentals or holiday lets nearby, try Stayz/VRBO Wales.

So if you’re in the UK and you have a car, maybe head over to the South Wales valleys and give Big Pit a go. There is loads more to do around there, my home. We were really pleased we went. Hope you can get there.

If you'd like to hire a car during your stay, use this car rental comparison tool to find the best deal!

We also suggest you take a look at this company to get a quote for all kinds of the more tricky adventure or extended travel insurance.

Try Stayz / VRBO for an alternative way to find rentals on homes/apartments/condos in any country!