Walk Routes - Gentle

Going for a walk around Blaenavon World Heritage Site doesn’t always mean putting on your walking boots and ruck sack – here are a couple of more gentle routes that the whole family can get involved with. They might be gentle but they each have a unique story to discover.

The Whistle Stop

This walk takes you through a unique post-industrial landscape, passing through the picturesque Garn Lakes Nature Reserve – created during an extensive land reclamation project in the 1990s. The walk passes dramatic coal tips where you can see how nature has reclaimed these former eyesores.

Suggested walk start points

• Garn Lakes Car Park [SO 234 098]
• Whistle Road Car Park [SO 230 103]
• Blaenavon Heritage Railway Station [SO 235 093]
• Big Pit: National Coal Museum.

Moderate 5km (3mile) circular walk (approx 1.5hrs)

Download a copy of the Whistle Stop Tour leaflet.

Coity Tip Trail

This is a short walk around an old waste tip from the Coity Pit, an ironstone mine sunk during the 1840s. Whilst it may seem to be an unusual place to go for a walk, you will learn much about the wildlife, plants and natural habitats of the site. The trail also commands an excellent view of the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape and illustrates the way in which heavy industry once ravaged the mountainside.

Start at Big Pit National Coal Museum Car Park.

Gentle 1Km (0.6 miles) walk (approx 15 mins)

Download a copy of the Coity Tip Trail leaflet.