Wales History Trails Passport Challenge

Are you ready for it?

It kicks off from Autumn Half Term during Welsh Museums Festival.

It’s a great way to visit many of Wales’ fantastic museums – and to be in with a chance to win a special prize!

You can pick up your passport from any museum participating in the Challenge.

Two children in raincoats waiting to go on a trail. Dau o blant yn eu cotiau glaw yn aros i fynd am dro.

How to take part?

  1. Collect your passport from any museum below and remember to get it stamped!
  2. Be in with a chance to win a den making kit, by visiting just ONE museum by end of October half-term (Sunday 3 November).
  3. Be in with a chance to win a micro scooter, by keeping your passport and collecting stamps from SIX museums by end of the Easter holidays (Sunday 27 April 2025).
  4. Fill out the form in this link to tell us about your success after visiting one museum, and then six museums here.

Good luck!

#WalesHistoryTrails

North Wales

Map o leoliadau yng Ngogledd Cymru / Map of locations in North Wales

This engaging museum and art gallery tells the rich history and traditions of Anglesey, and is home to the Charles Tunnicliffe collection, with Oriel Kyffin offering exhibitions of national and international significance.

Come and discover the history of the Royal Welch Fusiliers in existence for over 300 years and find out about Hedd Wyn, one of Wales’ most famous poets who was killed in the First World War.

A teaching resource that’s part of Bangor University, this fascinating museum stores and displays skeletons, skulls, taxidermy, antlers, eggs and specimens preserved in spirit jars.

The collection at Storiel includes nearly 10,000 items that throw a spotlight on the history of Wales, including furniture, textiles, archaeology, ceramics, photography and social history such as the Welsh Not.

Visit the museum’s collection of more than a thousand objects and archive photographs illustrating life in this Welsh town from as far back as the Neolithic and Bronze-age.

Here you’ll learn about the life of Sir Henry Jones, the shoe-maker from Llangernyw who became Professor of Moral Philosophy at Glasgow University and worked hard to improve education in Wales.

Visit the Museum to learn more about their incredible history - 800 years of heritage to discover. Learn about agriculture, social and industrial history.

Discover the story of life in Flintshire throughout the centuries and see fragments of an original gold cape discovered here during the Bronze Age.

Make a stop at this Art and Heritage Centre of national importance, which combines art by Welsh artists, nature and culture through a range of activities and spaces you can explore.

Learn how the town of Porthmadog developed in the 1820, becoming a centre for ship building and slate exporting.

Dinorwig Quarry closed in 1969. Today, the workshops tell a very special story: the story of the Welsh slate industry.

Mid & West Wales

From Milford Haven’s history of whaling, fishing and boat building, to the town’s transformation into a thriving industrial port; this museum takes you on a journey through the ages, bringing local history to life.

RAF Pembroke Dock was once the world's largest World War II flying boat station and this is where the Star Wars the Millennium Falcon starship was built, seen in the Oscar-winning film, The Empire Strikes Back.

Visit the house where Dylan Thomas and his family lived from 1949, and see the famous writing shed where he wrote Under Milk Wood.

Learn about the Physicians of Myddfai, possibly the most famous Welsh doctors, and see the Gilfachwen hydrophobia stone – a treatment for rabies in its time.

Explore the mighty industry that produced woollen clothing, shawls and blankets that were sold across Wales and the world.

The museum is home to both permanent and temporary displays that explore Ceredigion’s heritage, culture and art.

Given to the people of Llanelli in 1912 by Lady Howard Stepney, Parc Howard is now a creative, community-focused, family-friendly museum.

Come and discover an ancient Egyptian artefact of a Pharaoh, called a Shabti.  This was collected by Henry Vivian, the first Baron of Swansea.

It is the 110th anniversary of the birth of Dylan Thomas in 1914, and the 150th anniversary of creation of Cwmdonkin Park (Dylan's "..world within a world..")

This fascinating exhibition celebrates renowned poet Dylan Thomas’s life and work.

Come and hear the story of industry and innovation in Wales, including the world’s first ever railway journey from the ironwork at Penydarren to the Merthyr-Cardiff Canal.

Hewn out of a single trunk of oak and associated with the Llan-gors crannog - a royal residence during the Kingdom of Brycheiniog, this rare logboat at Y Gaer was discovered in 1925 at the bottom of Llan-gors Lake.

South Wales

In February 1983, the National Coal Board announced the closure of The Lewis Merthyr Colliery, which led to 28 miners staging a five-month sit-down strike, while local women delivered sandwiches to sustain them. The nationwide miners’ strike took place shortly after, between 1984 and 1985.

Opened in 1986 in the former Tabernacle Welsh Baptist Chapel, this Museum tells the story of an area transformed, from a quiet Valleys community to a thriving industrial town at the heart of the South Wales coalfield.

Discover the site where the finest porcelain in the world was once made, guided around the site by a welcoming volunteer. Meet ceramicists, buy unique products, and stay for tea!

This open-air museum chronicles the historical lifestyle, culture, and architecture of the Welsh people.

With hands-on and dressing up activities, informative displays and educational events, the Firing Line Museum celebrates the Welsh soldier over a period of 300 years.

From the Evolution of Wales gallery, art works by Botticelli and Rembrandt to special exhibitions such as the story of the 1984 miners' strike; there's plenty to see here.

Explore the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution in South Wales with the museum’s collection of beautifully decorated Japanware.

A fantastic location to learn more about the area’s history, including coal mining, iron production, Lady Llanover and Roman history in Wales.

Built in 1724, Shire Hall is most famous for the 1839/40 trial of the Chartist leader John Frost and others for high treason during the Newport Rising.

Step back in time to discover Chepstow’s trading history, including the introduction of the Town Charter in 1524 – 500 years ago!

Competition Terms & Conditions

1. The entire competition begins on Saturday 26 October 2024 and ends on Sunday 27 April 2025.

2. There will be two draws:

  • Attending one museum during October half-term – Tuesday 5 November 2024 
  • Attending six museums by 27 April 2025 – Wednesday 30 April 2025

3. No cash equivalent of the prize will be given.

4. People working directly on the Welsh Museums Festival, their immediate family members, and / or persons living in the same household are not eligible to participate.

5. One entry per applicant.