Culture correspondent, Wales News
It is wrong to charge people to enter the Big Pit National Coal Museum, a Senedd report says.
The museum in Blaenavon, Torfaen, has started charging £8 per person, with some concessions, on a trial basis until July 2026.
But the culture and sport committee says access should remain free on principle and not be a luxury for those who can afford it, calling for better funding for Welsh museums so collections remain free for all.
The Welsh government said it was committed to keeping entry to all seven museum sites free, as well as to the national collections, and would consider the report’s findings.
Tours of Big Pit, one of Amgueddfa Cymru’s seven museums, are led by former miners and explore original mine shafts and museums.
A sign outside the entrance now states: “Due to financial pressures and funding cuts, from 5 April we will be charging for the underground tour.”
But Delyth Jewell MS, chair of the Senedd’s culture and sports committee, said the tours are “a fundamental part of our national collections, they are part of our national story, and that shouldn’t be limiting if people can’t afford to access them”.
The report says the Welsh government has “not fulfilled its responsibility in funding museums adequately”, citing a 17% cut in real terms to funding for culture and sport in Wales in the last decade.
“We appreciate that it is expensive for Amgueddfa Cymru to provide access to the underground workings at Big Pit,” it says.
“However, we think this is an argument for the Welsh government to provide an adequate level of funding, not for Amgueddfa Cymru to charge for access.”
Visitors gave a mixed response to the charge, with Deborah Clubb from Merthyr Tydfil saying: “I think [the fee] would make it something that I wouldn’t visit as often, definitely, because it was always a free attraction before and something that you could do as a family without thinking about.”
Mother-of-six Amy Hughes, from Aberdare, said she took the underground tour several times when it was free.
She said: “[The admission fee] does make me not want to take all my kids down there but I do feel it’s such good value to be able to go underground and see an actual mine.
“It would be good if they did a family ticket.”
Savannah Knox, visiting from Southern Ontario, said she didn’t mind paying because she is used to doing that back home in Canada.
She said: “If it’s historical or a museum it’s usually charged. It helps with the upkeep, right?”
Showing her around Wales was Lauren Price from Risca, who said she didn’t mind paying the fee “if the money’s going back into keeping it up and going”.
Amgueddfa Cymru said the Big Pit experience extends “far beyond” the underground tour, and the rest of the site remains free. It said it looks forward to continuing working with the Welsh government as they consider the report’s findings.
