Blaenau Gwent
BLAENAU GWENT sits at the head of the south Wales valleys, where steep hills and open moorland frame former iron and coal towns such as Ebbw Vale, Tredegar, Abertillery, Brynmawr, Blaina and Nantyglo. It’s a compact county borough with a big story: landscapes shaped by industry, communities shaped by resilience, and plenty for visitors who like their trips served with scenery and substance.
For fresh air and easy adventure, start at Parc Bryn Bach on the edge of Tredegar. This Local Nature Reserve spreads over 340 acres with a 36-acre lake, gentle trails and year-round activities from open-water swimming and paddle sports to cycling and wildlife walks – plus a friendly lakeside café.
Hikers gravitate to the high ground north of Ebbw Vale. Mynydd Llangynidr’s broad, wild plateau nudges into Blaenau Gwent from the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) National Park, with far-reaching views, limestone shakeholes and the storied Chartist Cave just over the county line above Trefil – an evocative spot linked to the 19th-Century struggle for democracy.
The area’s industrial heritage is unmissable. In Tredegar, elegant Bedwellty House & Park – once the ironmasters’ residence and later a civic hub – sets the scene for the political and social history that shaped modern Britain. It’s closely tied to local MP Aneurin ‘Nye’ Bevan and the Tredegar Medical Aid Society, whose model helped inspire the creation of the NHS; you can follow that story around town and at nearby heritage sites.
Down the valley at Six Bells, Abertillery, the 20-metre tall corten-steel Guardian statue stands watch over the landscaped former colliery, a powerful memorial to the miners lost in the 1960 disaster and a striking piece of public art in its own right.
Elsewhere, the unusual Nantyglo Round Towers – rare, privately-built defensive towers from the early 1800s – glimpse the tense relationship between ironmasters and workforce; they’re Grade II-listed and viewable from the road. On the windswept ridge above Tredegar, the Cefn Golau Cholera Cemetery offers a sobering window onto the valley’s 19th-Century epidemics. Both sites make atmospheric stops for history-minded walkers.
Ebbw Vale itself tells a story of reinvention. The vast steelworks closed in 2002; today ‘The Works’ regeneration and the green spaces left by the 1992 Garden Festival have turned much of the site into places to live, learn and explore – proof that heavy-industry landscapes can have hopeful second acts.
If you prefer your exploring at an easy pace, follow the Ebbw Fach Trail, a valley-long, family-friendly route linking fourteen community green spaces from Beaufort Hill Ponds to Llanhilleth, with wildlife stops, picnic spots and heritage markers along the way.
Why visit? Because Blaenau Gwent condenses the best of the Valleys into a weekendable package: lake-loop strolls and high-moor hikes, Regency elegance and raw industrial archaeology, bold public art and living community trails. Come for the views; stay for the stories – and leave with a deeper sense of Wales.