Torfaen is a Welsh county with a history of hard coal mining. Most of its territory is made up of towns and villages, of which Blaenavon is the most important tourist destination. Its surroundings have been entered on the UNESCO list as a unique post-industrial landscape.
The northern part of Torfaen is mountainous, with peaks reaching less than 600 m above sea level, the highest of them is Coity Mountain, a mountain covered with meadows with a flattened top, which is also a good viewpoint of the surrounding area.
At the foot of Coity Mountain lies the Blaenavon Industrial Area, entered on the UNESCO list in 2000 as an example of a 19th century coal and iron ore mining area. His and all of Torfaen's biggest attraction is the National Big Pit Coal Museum. It is a closed coal mine established in the second half of the 19th century with perfectly preserved mining equipment and facilities for miners. Thanks to it, you can see what the work in Welsh mines looked like in the 19th and the first half of the 20th century.
Pontypool is the largest town in the county and has been associated with iron ore mining in the past. Many post-industrial relics have been preserved in the area, but the most important attraction of the city is the Pontypool Park Residence, built at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries and surrounded by a picturesque park. Today it houses a museum that presents the heritage of the Afon Lwyd valley, its history and the lives of its inhabitants.
