South Wales Miners Museum — Attraction in Cymer and Glyncorrwg

As a sort of connoisseur of museums in South Wales, this takes ranks incredibly high for me. Maybe even the top spot.

South Wales mining runs in my blood, so I alway relish the opportunity to learn, live and breathe the history of our proud and savage land.

This leads me to the review.

I decided to call up to enquire as to how to book the tickets for admission. The lady on the other end was very friendly and polite. Even said "we look forward to seeing you later." As soon as I heard that, I immediately got the missus and got into the car.

The parking is plentiful, and £2.50 for 4 hours (pay and display).

Admission is £3 for an adult. £3! That's less than a cup of coffee in most places and with this you get all this history!

We spent an hour or so, being taken on a guided tour through the museum. There were multiple exhibits, explaining the types of coal, what it was like for those underground, etc. There's plenty of interactive games, including a dress-up area, which is great for families!

Sam, our guide, was an absolute gent, as was Colin (who we met quite early on for a minute or two).

I always love that places like the SWMM employs ex-miners. They often have an insight and a banter that you just don't see with someone who learned about it from a book.

Listening to how they both spoke to each other, there's a level of respect and friendship that is absolutely beautiful to see. Even later on when Sam would recall stories that involved Colin, that respect still remained. This is a common theme amongst miners.

We could have listened to that man talk all day, he was genuinely a lovely bloke.

At the end of the tour, we went into a separate room and purchased some things from the little gift shop that was there, all of which were reasonably priced!

There we met someone who referred to herself as "the queen" and a lovely lady who we bought the tickets from at the beginning. Both of them were beautiful souls. Very kind they were.

I could sit here and talk about the staff for ages. They are what make this site incredible.

I have been to many museums in South Wales. Many to do with mining. So, when compared to somewhere like Pwll Mawr (Big pit) or the Rhondda Heritage park, it is quite small.

But what it lacks in size, it more than makes up for in literally everything else.

But the main thing for me, was the sense of family that I got from the staff there. When you think of the history of mining, family was everything and in the time we were there, we went from being museum visitors, to a part of that family.

This place needs to be known about. Everyone I speak to about Welsh history and Welsh mining is going to hear about this place.

Due to where it is, there are a multitude of different walks or cycle paths for you to enjoy, with varying levels of intensity. But all of which with absolutely stunning, breathtaking views.

I full heartedly recommend this place. I would scream it from the rooftops if I could. But I only have my network, and my reviews.

We will definitely be revisiting in the future.

Keep it up you...

we were a large group of 9 and welcomed by the lovely Elwyn and June 3 weeks ago! they were so warm, friendly and knowledgeable. not only did we get a history of the region and of Wales, we also got to see first hand the friendliness of the people here. tickets are £4 although booking in advance is recommended. Elwyn gave us a very informative tour of the museum and then we had a lovely chat at the gift shop. it's completely volunteer-run so highly commendable how much effort the team puts in here - the staff all have family who have worked in the mining industry in the area so they have a wealth of experiences to share. beautiful people, highly recommend coming here 💓💓💓 we were touched by their hospitality, it's so rare to come across...

we wanted to visit a welsh Mine museum while on holiday and stumbled across this one. With a very warm we were given a guided tour with 2 very interesting and informative volunteers. we really enjoyed ourselves and I would highly recommend a visit it's very affordable and you can see exactly where the donations go. we also had a coffee and cake at the adjoining cafe. we had a walk on one of the sign posted walks down to the river. there is plenty of walking and cycle trails to do from the car park they also have very clean free toilets. so all in all there is enough to keep yourself occupied for...