A day at the museum

Victorian blacksmith at work at St Fagans, Cardiff by Nikonsnapper

Being surrounded by animals, cliffs, rocks and sea might not make you think of steam and industry, but from the 18th century onwards this was as important an industrial region as any. Rewarding the vision of the Marquess of Bute, the minerals of the valleys – particularly coal and iron – saw Cardiff become a vital port, reaching its peak a few years after World War I. Spend some time at the city’s brilliant St Fagans National History Museum, where you’ll find living history among the open-air set-up of dozens of rebuilt buildings. Potteries, blacksmith forges, churches and gardens are all here.

Having opened in 1927, the striking home of National Museum Cardiff is also an alluring place. One of its galleries, Origins, takes Stone Age Welshmen as its starting point on a journey to the Middle Ages encountering plenty of glittering archaeological wonders along the way. Try the Evolution of Wales display if you feel like going even further back – we’re talking meteorites, mammoth fossils and the Big Bang – or experience tales from the mining community in a more recent part of the country’s history.

South Wales mining attractions

Big Pit: National Coal Museum, South Wales Valleys by Sun Peng

Rhondda Heritage Park stands on the site of the former Lewis Merthyr colliery, which was once one of more than 50 collieries in the surrounding valleys, only closing during the 1980s. Taking a cage underground, you’ll be looked after by the people who wore hard hats for real. The tour guides are all former miners, so you can be sure they’ll have a few good stories to tell.

Another great mining attraction not to be missed is Big Pit, the National Coal Mining Museum. Located in the World Heritage Site of Bleanavon this former working mine opened as a musuem in 1980. Led by former miners you can discover what the mine was like as you descend 100 metres underground into it’s dark depths.