Blaenafon is situated at the head of the Afon Lwyd, Torfaen or Eastern valley, 13 miles (20kms) above the M4 at Newport. Abergavenny and the A465 Heads of the Valleys road are 5 miles (8kms) away over the Blorenge mountain.

There is a railway station at Abergavenny and another at Pontypool, 7 miles (11 kms) from Blaenavon. Trains run from Newport, well served by London Paddington and there are also occasional direct services from London Waterloo. Buses also run locally, but infrequently. Taxis are available from Pontypool, Abergavenny or Newport.

Car parking in the town is easy and free, but Blaenafon is also well suited to the visitor without a car. Get to Newport or perhaps Abergavenny, catch a bus and when you arrive in Blaenavon ask in the ironworks visitors centre (or a pub) for somewhere to stay - it's as simple as that. Tell them we sent you!

It's always best to buy maps and guides before you visit an area if possible, as it gives you a much better chance to plan your trip. The best maps available are the OS Landranger 1:50 000 series. Sheet#161 Abergavenny & the Black Mountains covers Blaenafon and Abergavenny, unfortunately with Blaenafon near the bottom edge. Sheet#171 Cardiff, Newport & Pontypool is needed for locations further south and is also well worth having. If you're not from Britain you'll be amazed at the scale of the Ordnance Survey maps - those mentioned give excellent detail to less than 100m as shown at the top of this page.

The Garmin GPS maps also cover this area down to house number level (if you have the appropriate equipment) and are highly recommended. Set your receiver format at 'British Grid' to reference the OS maps. Satellite acquisition in Blaenavon is surprisingly good, possibly because of the elevation.

If you intend to do any exploring of the valley communities, you'll find a lot of the main roads now bypass towns, so you will need Philip's Ordnance Survey Street Atlas: Cardiff, Swansea and the Valleys which shows every named road, street and lane.

A good guide to the canal is the Nicholson/Ordnance Survey Guide to the Waterways 4: Four Counties and the Welsh Canals which is not only a map, but gives information on restaurants, opening times etc.

Map of Blaenafon
Zoom in for street names and zoom out to show location of Blaenavon in South Wales

Historical maps of Monmouthshire
See a 1886 map of Blaenafon