The Big Pit

Near the end of our South Wales Govilon trip we paid a visit to the National Coal Museum at Blaenavon, the heart of which, was the pit itself. It was a working coal mine from 1880 to 1980 and opened to the public in 1983. It is one of the few mines that one can travel down the 89m (293ft) shaft to the tunnels below and experience what it may have been like for those, men, women, boys and horses. Unfortunately, for safety reasons neither camera’s not phones were allowed down there. Manned now by very enthusiastic x-miners, we were serenaded down by splendid Welsh choral harmonies. On returning to the surface, heavy rain had set in. My photograph shows a view of the pit itself as it has always been but the surrounding background buildings are far removed from what they were a century ago. The Pip shows the shaft winding house, now run by electricity but in the old days, steam would have been king here. In 1923, 1399 men were employed here.
More info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Pit_National_Coal_Museum

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