Senghenydd new miners' memorial

Unveiled one hundred years after the horrific pit explosion, in September 2013, the national miners' memorial sited at Senghenydd is well worth a visit, especially if you approach over the common from Nelson, enjoying the scenery and fantastic views beforehand.

The car park is small, but there are no parking restrictions on the road outside.

The two miners depicted in bronze are very well sculpted and each holds a miner's lamp.

Implanted in the top of a wall surrounding the sculpture is a series of engraved tiles, each naming one of the miners killed in the explosion in 1813.

Surrounding this wall are two circles of engraved tiles at ground level.  These each provide the names of collieries, the dates of disasters which occurred and the numbers killed.

Each tile has been sponsored by families or companies named on the tile.

I can't help feeling that although impactful, the impact would have been so much stronger if the tiles had been arranged en bloc, rather than spread in rows.

The whole arrangement is surrounded by gardens, making a place of contemplation and thought.  When planted up will add to the serenity to the whole area.