Press Releases

Coity Tip has been taken over by plants like heather and bilberry, and now hosts an abundance of wildlife which local people, schools and tourists will be able to enjoy thanks to the new nature trail. Today, it is difficult to imagine this pleasant location was once simply a spoil heap of unwanted waste, brought to the surface when the coal was dug out.

Developed by Big Pit, Torfaen County Borough Council, Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway and funded by the Welsh Assembly Government Heads of the Valleys Programme and the Department of Enterprise, Innovation and Networks, the nature walk around Coity Tip comprises a boardwalk around the tip pond, interpretation panels and a trail leaflet. This opens up an area that was previously inaccessible.

"The trail breaks new ground not just here in Blaenafon but throughout Wales" said Bob Wellington, Leader of Torfaen County Borough Council, who officially opened the Coity Tip Trail together with Paul Loveluck, President of Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales on Thursday. "It is one of the few areas in Wales and possibly the UK where a spoil tip from the former mining industry is celebrated for its outstanding nature and conservation value."

The site also provides a safe level link between Big Pit, Garn Lakes and Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway, as Mr Loveluck explains:

"A great example of an effective partnership between Torfaen County Borough Council and some of the key attractions in Blaenafon, we hope the scheme will enhance the visitor experience and add to the overall World Heritage Site offer. It is also an additional and valuable resource that we can offer as part of our educational package at Big Pit, which will be enhanced later this year when a new educational facility opens financed by the Gulbenkian Prize money for Museum of the Year and the Heritage Lottery Fund."

Coity Tip Trail will help protect a historic feature that was being damaged by motorbikes and off-road vehicles, and has turned an area where anti-social behaviour was on the increase into an amenity for local people.

"This exciting scheme is part of the Welsh Assembly Government's programme to ensure sustainable development for Heads of the Valleys communities as part of a dynamic Welsh economy," said the Deputy Minister for the Economy and Transport, Huw Lewis.

"The Valleys are greener and cleaner today than they have been for 200 years, and this most welcome development helps carry forward that process."

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For further information, photographs or interview opportunities, please contact:

Catrin Mears
Communications Officer
Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales
(029) 2057 3486 / catrin.mears@museumwales.ac.uk

or

Katie Gates
Informal Recreation Officer
Torfaen County Borough Council
(01633) 648329 / Katie.Gates@Torfaen.gov.uk.