badman
  • badman
  • 50.2% (Neutral)
  • Newbie Topic Starter
15 years ago
does any -one know if it is possible to go on a u/ground visit , in England, down a coal mine?
RJV
  • RJV
  • 50.2% (Neutral)
  • Newbie
15 years ago
Yes, if you can travel to Wakefield.
http://www.ncm.org.uk/ 

Its part of the museum rather than a working mine but its certainly worth visiting.
rhychydwr
15 years ago
If you can travel to Wales there are three:

Rhondda Heritage Park
Cefn Coed
Big Pit

Do not forget to bring you passport.
Cutting coal in my spare time.
Ty Gwyn
15 years ago
Big Pit is an underground tour,not sure about the Rhondda,
But Cefn Coed is only surface
rhychydwr
15 years ago
I have a photo of me underground in Cefn Coed. When I find it I will add it to the forum.
Cutting coal in my spare time.
ICLOK
  • ICLOK
  • 50.2% (Neutral)
  • Newbie
15 years ago
The Caphouse underground tour is the better one as more extensive... but Big pit well worth the trip too..... 🙂
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh Creeper!!!!!
Mr.C
  • Mr.C
  • 50.2% (Neutral)
  • Newbie
15 years ago
Don't forget Apedale, well worth a visit - as seen on TV! 🙂
http://www.apedale.co.uk/index.php/mine 
We inhabit an island made of coal, surrounded by a sea full of fish. How can we go wrong.......
lipsi
  • lipsi
  • 50.2% (Neutral)
  • Newbie
15 years ago
I'm pretty sure Cefn Coed is a cut and cover, so is the Racecourse Colliery at the Black Country Museum. Caphouse and Big Pit are both very good, and of course, they're both free as they're classed as national museums.
There's also Hopewell colliery in the Forest of Dean. This is a down to earth real working freemine and worth a visit as well.
Where there's a mine or a hole in the ground.
That's where I'm heading for that's where I'm bound
So follow me down Cousin Jack
(Grateful thanks to Show of Hands)
AndyC
  • AndyC
  • 50.2% (Neutral)
  • Newbie
15 years ago
Also, Big Pit is not that far over the border. And visit the ironworks while you are there.
Been injured while at work and are not to blame?

Get over it.
Ty Gwyn
15 years ago
Robin Morgan of Hopewell even though in his 70`s works underground in the winter months and runs the museum in the summer ,a real character.

Cefn Coed is as you say,a surface layout,backfilled to give the effect of underground,the surface of Cefncoed was used by Blaenant till it closed 1990,Cefncoed shut 1968.
Graigfawr
15 years ago
Cefncoed's 'underground' is the former ash removal tunnel that lay beneath the stean boilers. Its a straight line about 50m long with daylight at both ends.

Rhondda's is shallow cut and cover; not being in a seam or at depth enabled them to include a lot of electrical sound-and-light that would not have been possible in a real mine. It was mainly designed and built by former miners and is worth a visit.

Big Pit has two tours underground in the seams. The tunnels you traverse are a mix of genuine and of rather cramped connections, including a long flight of steps. The guides tend not to explain what is genuine and what is links put in the the museum so I suspect that many visitors emerge with an innacurate impression. As well as the real underground, Big Pit also has a shallow cut and cover. Like that at Rhondda, it has a lot of electrical sound-and-light that would not have been possible in a real mine. It is rather good and well worth visiting during a trip to the museum.

Personally, I find the Rhondda and Big Pit cut and covers to be better than the real underground workings at Big Pit, which are dead and lifeless, with no noise and plentiful evidence of long disuse (feels like Cwmorthin in places!). The Big Pit cut and cover wins over the Rhondda one by a nose in my opinion. The Dosco heading is good, but best of all is the 1960s gate and face - listen out for the cynicism and swearing on the sound track! This bit comes about as close to the real thing as you can get in a museum, I suspect...

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