About
Blaenafon Ironworks, Gwaith Haearn Blaenafon, or Blaenavon Ironworks in the English spelling, is the best-preserved 18th-century ironworks in Britain and a main monument of the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape World Heritage Site, inscribed in 2000. On hills rich in coal, limestone and iron ore, the works first used steam to blow its blast furnaces in 1789, and a century later Sidney Gilchrist Thomas worked out here how to strip phosphorus from iron ore, transforming the world's steel industry. The ruined furnaces survive alongside the foundry, the cast houses and the water balance tower of 1839 that lifted wagons 80 feet, and the furnished cottages of Stack Square and the recreated truck shop show how the workers lived. Reviewers say the volunteers bring the site alive, going inside the cottages is the highlight and the best view is from the top of the balance tower; follow the road signs rather than the satnav. Dogs on leads are welcome except in the cottages, and the Blaenavon Town Walk passes the works.
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- Blaenafon Ironworks10:00 – 17:00last admission 16:30
Opening times may change at short notice.
30 March to 1 November 10am to 5pm daily; 2 November to 29 March 10am to 4pm, Friday to Sunday only (closed Monday to Thursday). Last admission 30 minutes before closing. Closed 24, 25 and 26 December and 1 January. Cadw may close monuments at short notice in extreme weather. The visitor entrance is on Estate Road.
Terrain level 3, moderate: a narrow uneven path from the gateway, a level but rough gravel lower area with a small grassy picnic space and six benches, the cottages up a gravel incline through standard doors with a threshold lip, and the balance tower and calcining kilns up a steep incline; the surface can defeat some mobility scooters. The audio-visual show in the Cast House has loud sound and flashing lights. Toilets by the shop with an accessible cubicle (no baby changing). Portable induction loop, defibrillator, dog bowl. Gift shop with guidebooks and light refreshments, but no cafe. Free Cadw Wi-Fi. Drones are not permitted; do not feed the horses.
Dogs: Dogs on leads are welcome on the site but not inside the furnished cottages. The open-air ironworks (furnaces, cast houses and the paths to the balance tower) inside the paid site are open to dogs on leads; a ticket or membership is needed. Dog bowl available. Torfaen County Borough Council's Blaenavon Town Walk and Iron Mountain Trail leaflets, which pass the works, carry the Countryside Code line asking walkers to keep dogs under control, preferably on a lead.
Photo: The twin-gabled cast houses, the engine-house chimney and the bank of blast furnaces at Blaenavon Ironworks. Alan Stanton, CC BY-SA 2.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blaenafon_Ironworks-24May2008.jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.
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Walking routes2 routes
Blaenavon Town Walk (Torfaen County Borough Council)(opens the full route on the National Trust site)
WalkmoderateDogs, with restrictions3.5 km distance
