Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway

Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway

Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway
4.5
Historical & Heritage ToursRail Tours
Saturday
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
Blaenavon's Heritage Railway is located in the heart of the Blaenaon World Heritage Site on the edge of the Brecon Beacons in South Wales. There is ample free car and coach parking at Furnace Sidings, our main station located close to the Garn Lakes. From Furnace Sidings our trains head both north to the Whistle Inn, and south to Blaenavon High Level Station, located above Blaenavon town centre. Since 2011 we also have a separate branch serving Big Pit Halt, adjacent to the Big Pit national mining museum. Whether you're looking for a family day out, or are a devoted railway enthusiast, we have something for you. With free car parking at Furnace sidings, why not combine a visit to Big Pit with a ride on the train? Enjoy a snack in the tea room at Furnace Sidings, or shop in Eric's Emporium (an outpost of The Railway Shop in Blaenavon) stocking a selection of railway models, gifts and souvenirs. Many trains also have a buffet service offering light refreshments.
Blaenavon, Wales

Awards
Travelers' Choice
2023

Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listing
Travelers talk about
(15 reviews)
(13 reviews)
(6 reviews)

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles205 reviews
Excellent
141
Very good
40
Average
14
Poor
6
Terrible
4

Squirrelmanuk
Croxley Green, UK407 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2022 • Couples
A lovely little gem to visit if you love a steam train.

Although they have limited runs every day, if you miss one you can grab a cuppa and something to eat from the tea room.

The volunteers are happy to stop and chat to you (they really are lovely, friendly people).

The journey takes about an hour from start to finish and goes through some lovely countryside.

I would recommend you pay the little extra to sit in 1st class and use the seats that face the back - one way you have uninterrupted views and the other way you see the locomotive and the guys working.

Really worth a visit
Written May 31, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

JP
Newport, UK3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2021
I went on the Halloween Ghost Train last night with my family, including 2 kids who are 8 and 9. I knew it was only going to be a short ride on the train to the next stop, so I wasn't expecting to have such an amazing time! There was obviously a lot of effort put into decorating the station, with spooky displays everywhere. The actors were fabulous in their scary costumes and did a really good job of scaring us all multiple times!
The train itself is brilliant. It has old fashioned carriages - the type where you go in to a little compartment and there are about 6 seats on 2 benches (like big sofas) facing each other. You can close the door on your little compartment too. It reminds me of the Harry Potter train, the Hogwarts Express.
So you go into the train and sit in your compartment, then the monsters come around while the train is on the platform and bang on your window from outside and scare you, which is really entertaining. Then when the train leaves the station, the monsters patrol the train, coming into your little compartment and scaring you. When you get off the train at the end, there is a little monster disco in the cafe.
We all loved it. There were plenty of monsters, the costumes and actors were brilliant and the whole experience was much longer than I was expecting because we were being entertained the whole time we were waiting to get on the train and sitting on the train at the platform.
We will definitely be going back next year. It was absolutely brilliant.
Written October 31, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

badger34004
Yeovil, UK21 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2023 • Family
Enjoyable visit to the railway during the Coal Train Weekend. The trains were all clean and tidy and locomotives were looking great. The only negative point was a tepid cup of tea on the train. The yard tour was excellent and the guide took us to all areas of the extensive set of buildings where restoration and maintenance are undertaken. This was all done in a relaxed manner despite it being a working site, commendations to the guide. The journey is one of short shuttles with some great non-stop runs through Furnace Sidings station. The on-site cafe is reasonably priced and also staffed with some friendly folk.
Written June 3, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Victoria A
London, UK31 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2021 • Couples
As we were visiting during the pandemic with my elderly Dad, I booked a carriage at £35 for the 3 of us. Started well (the only good bit of the trip): good parking, sunny day, got there 30 minutes early so saw steam engine coming in and being prepared etc. Things went downhill after that. It's supposed to be a 50 minute trip and it was but we hardly went any where. First bit was a slow trundle to the stop at the campsite by Garn lake about half a mile away, then back to station where we stopped to pick up a coach load of people, then back to the campsite stop (now 20 minutes into trip), a short trundle to a stop above the town, 10 monute stop for photos then back to station! No views of the industrial landscape, just the backs of modern industrial units. The stop to Big Pit didn't happen due to Covid. The website should make it clear how limited the 'trip' is...and offer a discount. Expensive, not worth the money, disappointing and very dull. Wish we hadn't bothered.
Written July 5, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ian H
Fareham, UK20 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2022
The staff were very helpful, cheerful and welcoming, the engine beautifully turned out, the rolling stock was charming and comfortable, access was easy, parking simple, booking straightforward and the price was fair. Had we made a day of it would have been great value. There is much good to write about this attraction!

However.........the journey went nowhere! Owing to internet problems at our hotel we were unable to research the attraction and were expecting a more A to B experience. We set off with high expectations - a heritage railway journey to a World Heritage site. Wow! What is not to like?

Unfortunately we undertook the journey in foggy conditions which limited to views to those immediately next to the railway track. So it all looked much of a muchness, standfast the train v cycle race with a family on the adjacent bike route
The weather was not the fault of the attraction, but needs to be borne in mind if you are choosing (as we were) an alternative to hillwalking.
The round trip was an hour in duration and we could have made a day of it as the the ticket entitled us to unlimited travel. But with a long car journey home and wilting spirits we cut our losses after one round trip.
Steam railway fans will find much to appeal here, and if making it part of a day with a the Big Pit, I am sure the package would be a good one. But my seven year old train-loving son though the morning's entertainment was "a bit rubbish".
Many thanks to all the staff who work so hard to upkeep this heritage railway.
Written June 5, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

a1sal
Blaenau Gwent, UK11 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2019 • Friends
I have been attending the ghost train for the past 5 years. This year has got a bit out of hand the queues to get on were awful! Out in the wind and rain with no entertainment.
Then it was a case of rushing on to the train for the whole of 10 mins to whistle and back.
And rushed off the platform for others to do the same.
Shame we have had such a laugh as the years have gone by
Written March 15, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Peter B
Brisbane, Australia80 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2022
Terrific heritage railway run by a dedicated group of volunteers, although fiddly to find off google maps. Well worth the effort, with a collection of engines...Do yourself a favour and pay the extra to ride on the foot-plate of the steam engines
Written October 3, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

markH8236GX
Essex, UK69 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2022
Very enjoyable train ride in restored carriages, but the highlight was seeing the demonstration Coal Trains showing what the line was originally built to do. Coal Trains only run a few times a year, but worth watching out for (Not that visiting at other times wouldn't also be enjoyable). Steep gradients mean the locomotives work hard so quite a show. Basic, but very nice catering available at the main station.
Other stations very convenient for Big Pit and Garn Lakes so handy for combining a train ride with other attractions.
Written May 9, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Gary C
Cumbernauld, UK408 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2023 • Couples
Went along on a damp and drizzly day and we had a fab time. Having smiled at some of the other negative reviews here’s mine, I hope it makes you smile as well.

The trip and what it contained was all spelt out clearly on the website so it didn’t really come as a surprise that it wasn’t an Orient express trip for 7 days and nights across Europe.

We loved the running stock and seats. They are old and authentic and therefore we were not disappointed that it wasn’t some sort of luxury cabin that you might expect on a cruise liner.

We paid 1st class (a very reasonable fare in my opinion). 2nd class compartments looked more comfortable and friendly staff allowed people to change. But we loved being free to move about in the carriage and the wee observation bit was nice.

Speaking of observation we were gutted not to see the hanging gardens of Babylon or herds if wildebeests moving majestically across the Welsh mountainside out of the windows. Never the less seeing the rugged countryside, industrial units and the town didn’t come as much as a surprise either.

Yes it takes a while to move amongst the three stops, yes it’s not a long journey (it was surprisingly longer than I expected though) yes it’s run by volunteers (lovely to see some young people involved, not sitting at home on some ps whatever) but it was a very pleasant hour out of the rain.

My only suggestion here might be a wee bit of a talk from the staff at some point with a wee announcement as to how long the stops are.

I would fully recommend the tea room who serve exceptionally well priced good food. Yea pit for 2 could have been a wee bit bigger.

My advice would be if you want a longer journey then get your hand in your pocket and donate a large sum of cash which would allow these hard working volunteers to extend their already lovely wee railway a bit more - envelopes are handily provided for this very purpose.

Thanks for the fun trip, keep up the good work.
Written July 30, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Madmaidenman
Dursley, UK199 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Couples
We had a lovely trip along the line and visited all the stations. There were two locomotives running when we went, one of which is the oldest working steam loco. We enjoyed walking around the lakes, visiting the town, and exploring the Welsh industrial heritage of the area. It's a great idea to combine your trip with another activity while you are there unless you are a real railway enthusiast as the line is not very long. The prices are very reasonable and refreshments are available along with an interesting gift shop.
Written August 26, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Showing results 1-10 of 204

Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)