arigna mining experience

Visited this experience many times over the years and really enjoyed it. The tours are operated by past miners who have many stories to tell. You can really experience what mining was like and the atmosphere down there was dull. Highly recommend this visit. Outside the experience you can walk a path known as the Miners way and you can enjoy views of Lough Allen and surrounding area. There is also a beautiful little cafe inside it which sell some lovely fresh food. The staff are very nice and if the tour is on when you arrive you can look at the many items on display in the reception area.

The guide was able to share his lived experience with us which made it more authentic. Strongly recommend a visit to Arigna mining experience

I travelled with 2 teenage boys to the Mining experience & we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The staff are super friendly & our tour guide Seamus was a wonderful character & full of knowledge. The views are amazing & its almost like going back in time :-)

A wonderful insight in the life of those who worked in these mines. The tours are conducted by ex miners My advice is to visit these mines while you can get eyewitness accounts.I believe that they do a wonderful Christmas experience for children.

well worth a visit to see how those poor men had to work, tour given by actual retired miner and the price is fantastic

This is a truly great tour. We spent two hours here for just about €8 a head (I think) The mine closed in 1990 although the working conditions were from the 1800's. The conditions in the mines for workers were increadable and I left feeling guilty for ever whinging about my own job. Ex-miners give the tour and our guide (think his name was Michael) was very interesting as well as being amusing. If you're anywhere near-by make sure to take a look, it's a great experience. NB You don't go down in a lift to access the mine, you simply walk into what looks like a cave. (A point that one friend was very relieved to learn)

We Went on the tour of the Coal mimes today, Maurice the tour guide was a retired miner give us a great tour and told us plenty of stories about the working mines, well worth a visit. and maurice made it more interesting being a miner himself. well done

We went today and to be honest it could of been a lot better.The visit to santa was very brief a hello smile for the camera here is your present and good bye was what we got, and we went 1st thing in the morning and there was no Qs so a little more time actually talking to the child would of made this a better experience.The shows although not terrible, we're not great.On the plus side the staff seemed very nice and the decorations was fantastic. The face painters were very good.It seemed a lot of money for what we got out of the experience. Which is a big shame as there is a lot of potential here. Maybe the organisers should pay a visit to allowee caves to get ideas.

We have just returned from going to see Santa in Arigna. It was awful and such a waste of time and money. We brought our two sons aged 8yrs and 10 yrs. We travelled about 2 1/2 hours to go . There was no que to pay and we were brought in to see Santa. This was down a long passage and there was a small que at the bottom. When we got to the top there was two men there collecting tickets, in normal clothes (definitely not elves). These men I think would have preferred to be anywhere but there !! We were then brought in my a very grumpy elf that didn't speak or interact in any way with adults or kids. Santa was in a small dark garden shed. It was even difficult to get a family of four photograph with Santa. And as the kids said that "it was not the real Santa cause there was rubber around his beard". The present was fine but the kids were so disappointed with the Santa Mining Experience. They had the potential to do so much more to make this experience worthwhile. There is so many better experiences available.

We went with our small kids and our ex miner guide was great with them and even let them "blow" something up. So interesting to hear how it was done and his story. Not an enviable job. Staff on reception & cafe lovely too and good food available. View amazing of surrounding countryside. Definitely recommend.

We were coming from a wedding in Kilronan Castle and simply had to go and visit. What an experience . Our guide was Maurice, a miner and worked the mines for thirty years until its closure. He was great, especially with the young children and you really got a good feel for what went on in his life as a miner and the work that was done in them. It was so interesting and amazing. This has to be a must be to do. At the end of the tour we had a coffee and lovely home baked goodies. Outside the view was great, even if it was slightly overcast. Would suggest you have a jacket as it is quite cold in the mine.

just wanted to take wife and kids to somewhere different for a change and granparents and what a day and the tour guide and the complete staff was out of this world i would fully support any body young or old to visit this Mining Experience THANK YOU SO MUCH X

This was recommended to us by the cousin that I was staying with and we were certainly not disappointed. To get the you take a drive up into the hills where you find the experience. From the car park you get a great view of the surrounding area. When you enter there is a small shop and cafe for refreshments and souvenirs. On purchasing your tickets you are introduced to your guide having been given a hair net and helmet. My advice would be to wear a warm coat as it is cold and wet down there. Our guide was Maurice, an ex-miner who was obviously extremely passionate about these mines having worked there himself. Maurice gave an extremely informative tour, he was great with the children on the tour and answered any questions thrown at him expertly. This was worth every penny of the entrance fee and certainly opened my eyes to what working conditions were like years ago. must see for anyone visiting the area.

This is a great place to spend some time, an opportunity to visit a mine led by one of the men who worked there. Wear a jacket as it is quite cold but very worthwhile. It helps us to remember and appreciate what working conditions were like and how dangerous places of employment were in the past.

you do not need to have any interest whatsoever in coal or in mines to be fascinated by this tour. We had Maurice as our tour guide and he was the best guide ever telling us from personal experience what his job was like and what he and his colleagues went through. Very appropriate for all ages.