GO! Trip x Geoscience Society: Big Pit & Abergavenny …

Student Life welcomes you to join us on our GO! Trip: Big Pit and Abergavenny in collaboration with Geoscience Society!

Please note this event is for students currently enrolled at Swansea University (and their friends/family) and is not open for bookings from the general public. A valid Swansea University Student Number will be required on booking

Date: Saturday 9th May 2026

Time: Departing Fulton House at 8:15am with pick-ups at City Centre (click here for location) at around 8:30am and Bay Campus – on campus bus-stops - at approximately 8:45am.

The journey takes around 1 hour and 15 minutes. 

We’ll leave from the Big Pit at 12:30pm to make our way to Abergavenny. We will arrive at Abergavenny at 1pm and leave at 4:30pm. 

*If you do not arrive for the coach and you do not tell us you are late, we will assume you have decided to stay longer at Big Pit or Abergavenny and are making your own travel plans. Please also let the staff know if you are planning to make your own way back*

Description: Ever imagined what life was like for the men, women and children who worked deep underground? Big Pit was on ce a working mine, and today is a museum with former miners on hand to share their stories and history. Come along and experience what life was like working on the coal face and travel 90m in the ‘cage’ to pit bottom with your guide. There’s more to see above ground too in the multi-media tour of a modern coal mine with a virtual miner, historic colliery buildings and exhibitions to explore in the Pithead Baths.

Abergavenny meaning “mouth of the River Gavenny” is a market town in Monmouthshire, Wales. The town centre is packed with coffee shops and restaurants. For a quick bite, try the Fig Tree Espresso, which serves up tempting hand-made cakes. Or try locally sourced dishes at The Art Shop and Chapel.  

In the centre of town is the indoor market and farmers’ market. The general market is held on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. 

Dotted around Abergavenny are interesting buildings, plaques and notices. Look out for the information about Periwigs Makers from the 18th Century who sold wigs for 40 guineas! Or the Jubilee plaques celebrating the Abergavenny Bridge and the cattle markets. On the High Street, there is a beautifully painted building with panels depicting how the town was in years gone by.

Wander around the Linda Vista Gardens , home to a variety of exotic plants, trees and plenty of places to relax! Linda Vista translates as “beautiful view” and with views of Blorenge Mountain from the garden, it lives up to its name. Below Linda Vista is the Castle Meadows which is bordered by the River Usk. With an abundance of wildlife including over 150 different plant types, the meadows are kept in a traditional way. Welsh Black cows graze during the autumn and early winter.

As with the majority of our city trips, we’re not able to provide a ‘guided tour’, so we suggest making some plans for your visit before you go. We are also hosting a Meet-Up Mixer for those of you who are coming along – this is a chance to meet others coming along and possibly plan some things to do together - GO! Social: Meet-Up Mixer – Big Pit and Abergavenny

Please be aware that for some of the attractions, you will have to pre-book your tickets, so make sure you check before you go!

We hope you'll come along on this enjoyable day away!

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Important Information:

Additional Information:

*Arrival Time Information - please note arrival times both to the destination and on return to Swansea are approximate and may be subject to change depending on unforeseen circumstances beyond our control including, but not limited to, diversions due to accidents / road closures, technical and operational issues among others. The driver will do their best to keep you updated. We always recommend carrying a Power Bank with you as we cannot guarantee that coaches will have power supplies for passenger use.

Refund policy: Refunds for tickets cannot be given after the date of the event if you fail to attend for any reason. If you require a refund, you must email gosocial@swansea.ac.uk at least 24 hours before the trip departs. Any refunds will not include the booking charge, this will be lost - apologies for any inconvenience caused. We will make an exception to this policy if you are not attending due to COVID isolation or positive test, please email proof of this.

Late Arrival: In some limited cases we may be able to delay departure by a few minutes but this is never guaranteed. If calls to trip leaders are very very close to or after the advertised departure time, there may not be sufficient notice to do anything due to the trip leaders co-ordinating the imminent departure of the coach.

Conduct & Safety: You are responsible for your own behaviour and timekeeping throughout the trip. Please act in a considerate, respectful and appropriate manner at all times. Any form of inappropriate, offensive, aggressive or disruptive behaviour towards other participants, staff, members of the public, or anyone you encounter during the trip will not be tolerated. Individuals who engage in unacceptable behaviour may be asked to leave the activity or trip. Please take reasonable care of your own health and safety, as well as that of others. Ensure you familiarise yourself with the safety information and instructions provided onboard any transport and at all locations you visit. If you have any concerns regarding safety or conduct—whether about yourself or others—please raise these with the Trip Leader as soon as possible. In the event of an emergency, contact the emergency services on 999.

Accessibility: This trip requires boarding / disembarkation of the coach. Big Pit - Visitors with limited mobility and wheelchair users must call 02920 573 650 or email bigpitemail@museumwales.ac.uk before visiting. Please be sure to check accessibility with any location you plan to visit before you travel! If you have any concerns or queries regarding the suitability of this event, or have any specific accessibility requirements, please contact gosocial@swansea.ac.uk as soon as possible. We will do our best to assist, however we cannot guarantee all requirements can be met.

Children: Children (aged 3 and over) are welcome on this trip and must be accompanied by a responsible adult. Children must occupy their own seat on the coach and must not be seated on another passenger’s lap. Children under 3 years of age will not be allowed to board the coach. Please be advised that child safety and well-being is the responsibility of their accompanying adult at all times – Student Life and its partners accept no responsibility for children attending.

Data Protection: Student Life will use the information you provide for attendance and safety purposes. We will use your data to produce internal statistics but will not share it with third parties or use it for marketing purposes. Your information will be provided to our trip leader on the day of the trip for the purpose of attendance monitoring and emergency situations. The information will be kept confidential and passed back to the team and destroyed on return from the trip, Native’s policies can be found on their website.

Photos: We will be taking photos throughout the event which we will use to promote future activities in the form of leaflets, social media posts, digital screens and on our website. If you would not like to be included, then please tell us on the day of the event. If you see yourself in any pictures and would like to be removed, please email us at gosocial@swansea.ac.uk and we will make sure that any photos of you are deleted.