Field Trips

The first of the pictures are all of the scenery surrounding Big Pit National Coal Mining Museum.



'Ello! The past week has been a whirlwind of new culture, people, learning about Welsh history, and lots of beautiful scenery. My British history course is going great. It is amazing to hear about the Wars from this side of the spectrum.

Yesterday was a day of field trips. We first went into a Welsh museum which was called Big Pit Coal Mine. In 1947 (apx...) in an effort to restore the nation's economy post WWII (kinda in a nutshell...) the coal mines were all nationalized instead of privatized (parents, take note I AM learning....). We got to go into one of these coal mines. It was only about 300 feet down I believe. Some run 3,000-4,000 feet down into the ground. Anyway, it was a fantastic adventure. It was a little tight down there, but so worth it. I hit my head a couple of times...good thing I was wearing one of those sweet looking helmets with the lamp on my head. It was a very eye opening experience. The smallest coal front we went into was about three and a half feet high, and that was relatively large compared with what some men worked in. Our tour guide, who worked in the mines for 30 years, said his brother worked in a coal front which was 28 inches. Amazing! I am so grateful to never have to experience the fear of having a loved one go to work every day in such a dangerous environment. Unfortunately, because of the risk of sparks from dry cell batteries, we were not allowed to bring cameras down into the mine. But I did take some pictures of the outside. There were no lights underground. It was such small quarters, dark and dank. We got to see some trams, and we saw coal lines which was neat. Copper water flows through the mine, and we saw the system they use to pump out the water. Floods are a concern with mining, as they contribute to the danger of mining. There were horse stables underground as well. The guide told us a bit of history, and until the Children's Act, extremely young children were allowed to work in the mines. Children as young as young as 4 or 5 I believe operated the door shafts for ventillation into the mine. After we went into the mine, we went into a walk through type of center with an interactive guide on the screen, and some simulations. There was lots to do, although unfortunately we were restricted in time. You could see the blacksmith shop, the lockers where the miners kept things, and many other neat mining stops. Here are the pictures I could take from the outside!

This was the top of the mine that we went down into. So neat!




This was a mining tool

Neat building, not sure what it was

After we went to the Coal Mining Museum, we went through Cardiff to go to Saint Fagans National History Museum. So Cool! It was kind of the equivalent of Murphy's Landing in MN. There were about 35 different stops which were all either recreated or original, preserved houses, churches, and recreated ancient villages. So neat! There were tour guides to help you out and answer questions and tell you stories. Just walking on the beautifully maintained gardens was satisfactory, but being able to see the different areas such as the smithy, the farmhouse, the stables, the Church, a recreated Celtic village from 2,000 years ago, and the castle were all certainly topping on the cake. My favorite was walking the castle grounds. Such sheer beauty. Additionally, we had a LOVELY day here. It was just perfect. High 60s and even a little bit sunny. No rain! Here are the pictures from St. Fagans.


The trees were so tall!!!!



The castle grounds











































































































If you look closely you can see the grapes growing in the green house










That's it for tonight, I will finish posting the St. Fagans pictures tomorow :) Have a great night everyone. PS- I went running today. On a path. Next to the ocean :) Yup, be jealous.