Industrial and rural heritage sites in the Brecon Beacons National Park
Picture a national park, and what do you see? Is it a beautiful, natural area of grasslands, forests or open hillsides, perfect for walking, relaxing and watching wildlife? The Brecon Beacons has plenty of wild, green landscapes like this, but there's more to our National Park than that.
The Brecon Beacons is a region with a complex past. People have lived here for 8000 years and the landscape has been shaped by their activities. Massive changes took place during the Industrial Revolution, in which South Wales played a leading role.
Some of our farm buildings, industrial sites and constructions are now museums where you can learn about our history of toil, productivity and invention. Others, such as the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal, have been reinvented as lovely places to spend time outdoors, shared by walkers, cyclists, boaters, horse riders, animals and birds.
HIGHLIGHTS
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Gunpowder Works
Welcome to the Gunpowder works An engineering marvel in its heyday! Nes...
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Black Mountain Quarries
Also known as Herbert’s Quarry, this is a large area of abandoned limesto...
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Blaenavon World Heritage Site
The area around Blaenavon has a fascinating range of landmarks from the Ind...
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Big Pit National Coal Museum
This Gulbenkian Prize winning colliery museum is the highlight of the Blaen...
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Blaenavon Ironworks
Blaenavon Ironworks is the best preserved blast furnace complex of its peri...
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Brecon Mountain Railway
Take a short trip by narrow gauge steam train on one of the most popular vi...
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Brecknock Museum and Art Gallery
This expanding cultural centre is home to Brecon's principal local history ...
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Brinore Tramroad
Follow the route of the early 19th century horse-drawn railway that used to...
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Clydach Ironworks
This historically important site consists of excavated and semi-restored ru...
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Goytre Wharf
Goytre Wharf is a 200-year-old industrial heritage site on the Monmouthshir...
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Henllys Vale
At Henllys Vale, next to the Afon Twrch in the southern part of the Brecon ...
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The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal
Our scenic canal celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2012. This peaceful wa...
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Penwyllt Quarries and Brickworks
Located in the Upper Swansea Valley, to the east of the Black Mountain rang...
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Pontypool Museum
Pontypool Museum has changing exhibitions relating to the industrial, cultu...
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The Regimental Museum of The Royal Welsh, Brecon
Opened in 1935 and formerly known as the South Wales Borderers Museum, this...
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The Tithe Barn, Abergavenny
Abergavenny's Tithe Barn dates back to the 12th century. The building has b...