Going Underground!

On Wednesday 25th November, Class 5 had a great day out in Big Pit, Blaenafon, as part of our topic on "Energy". When we first arrived we watched an interactive presentation about mining and found out how big the South Wales coalfield once was.....they even used to mine for coal in Tenby!! It was a great presentation and we saw lots of the machinery they used and even experienced how they used to blast the coal face with explosives!
                       

Then it was time for us all to go underground! First of all we had to get kitted out with our safety helmets, safety belts and lamps.

Then, once we made sure all of our lamps were working we were ready to travel 90 metres underground in the cage with our guides, John and Ian.

We spent about an hour underground - it was so interesting to find out about how the men mined for coal. We even saw all of the stables where the horses lived underground but the best part was when we all turned our lamps off....we couldn't see our hands right in front of our faces! When our lamps were on though, we could see coal in the walls all around us, glittering in the light just like black diamonds!

When our underground tour came to an end, Ian told us how the miners would sing as they travelled back up to the surface as they were happy to be going home after a long shift. So we started to sing one of the songs we have been learning for Christmas.....the other people in the cage said we sounded like angels as they sound of our singing echoed around the mine shaft! Giving in our lamps and belts, we saw the two canaries, Maggie and Arthur and watched as the cage filled up with others making their way down the mine shaft.

Finally, we looked at the old pit showers where the miners would wash before going home and could see the lockers they would all have had to store their possessions.

We had a great day and would like to thank all of the staff at Big Pit for a fantastic day, but especially our guides, John and Ian, for making the tour so interesting - "diolch yn fawr iawn!". Also, a big thank you to Mr. Collingridge, Mrs. Langston and Mrs. Buick for helping on our trip to Big Pit.