Tower Colliery was the last deep coal mine in Wales — and the pit with the greatest ending in mining history. When British Coal shut it in 1994, 239 miners each staked £8,000 of their redundancy money, bought the mine themselves, and marched back to work in triumph. They ran it profitably for thirteen more years.
Today the site has risen again — hence the name of its star attraction. The Phoenix is billed as the world’s fastest seated zip line: four parallel lines racing side-by-side at up to 70mph down the Rhigos mountainside and out across the Llyn Fawr reservoir, with the preserved pit head in view.
There’s also an alpine coaster you drive yourself, a three-storey climbing course themed on the mine, a gentler family zip line, and a bistro for the spectators. Seated zips mean no superhero position — it’s far less intimidating than it sounds, and all the better for it.
Worth knowing
- Tower Colliery was the oldest continuously worked deep coal mine in the UK when it finally closed in 2008.
- The 1994 workers’ buyout was led by union man Tyrone O’Sullivan OBE — 239 miners bought their own pit for £2 million.
- The Phoenix is billed as the world’s fastest seated zip line, hitting around 70mph.
- Four parallel lines mean you and three friends can race.