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WALES BORDER EXPLORER

 Staged
 Every Thursday all-year-round
 Highlights
Blaenavon Big Pit Underground Coal Mine Tour
Crickhowell Market Town
Hay-on-Wye Border Town and Thursday Market
Brecon Beacons National Park Eastern Range Black Mountains
 Price
 Adult £45.00 GBP, Concession over 60s & students £40.00GBP and Children under 16 years £20.00GBP (Great British Pound)
 Inclusive
 Tour guide (female), Driver (male), Transport & Admissions
 Exclusive
 Lunch & Refreshments
 Times
 Start 9am/Return 6pm (approx)
 Start Point
 National Museum Cardiff, central location

Escorted guided tour and live commentary en route . . .

First stop is Blaenavon, a town which played a vital part in the Industrial Revolution which transformed the landscape, culture and society of Wales.  Situated at the head of the Afon Valley on the slopes of the Coity and Blorenge mountains is Big Pit, (Pwll Mawr) the National Mining Museum of Wales.  A real colliery where for over 200 years was once the workplace for hundreds of men, women and children.  Discover what life was like on an underground guided tour led by real miners. 

We cross the River Usk by an ancient and narrow arched bridge to Crickhowell, a picturesque market town, built on the edge of a hill looking towards the Sugar Loaf Mountain and Table Mountain.  Above the town on the hillside is Crug Hwyel, where the first settlement was made over 2000 years ago, and where the name Crickhowell comes from. The town has small independent shops, bustling atmosphere, one of the richest areas in Wales for 17th-century architecture and used as a film set for historical dramas.

Hay-on-Wye, a character-filled old market town with quaint narrow streets.  Its on the national border of Wales and England, on the northern border of the Brecon Beacons National Park and on the county borders of Powys, Hereford and Worcester. Hay is also the home of the world's largest second-hand bookshops started in 1963, selling books in unusual premises such as disused cinema, 12th century castle and old fire station.  Lunch stop with ample free time to explore the town and local market.

Brecon Beacons National Park over 519-square miles of stunning countryside.  Our tour visits the far eastern side of the park to enjoy views of the Black Mountains, quaint villages with stone cottages, Llangorse Lake, once considered to have magical powers, and the 18th century Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal, considered by many to be Britain's most picturesque canal.  Crossing the canal we follow the scenic road to Talybont-on-Usk and  reservoir, set in a charming wooded valley surrounded by splendid hills.