A group of 35 of us headed up to Ebbw Vale on a damp September day where we were met at the station by Simon from the Ebbw Vale Works Museum. That was first for us – we’ve never had a personal welcome at a station before! The group was divided into two with one half first visiting the Ebbw Vale Works Museum and the other the Gwent Archives before swopping over.
The Ebbw Vale Works Museum is well worth a visit. As well as being able to see artefacts from the two hundred years of iron and steel making in the town it was an opportunity chance to hear the personal testimonies from ex-steel workers themselves and have questions answered.
In the Gwent Archives Rhi gave us a tour told us not just all about the records stored but the whole process involved from when new items are received, often in poor condition, to being cleaned up, preserved, catalogued and stored. We also heard from Rhiannon, a conservationist, about some of the more challenging preservation tasks.
A ride on the cableway then took us up into the town centre for a quick look at some of the sculptures before seeking sustenance. Some even stuck to the original plan of walking back down to Ebbw Vale Parkway station.
