day 10

Had to wake up quite early this morning to get breakfast and get on the bus. I got double seats again, so I was able to nap on the bus throughout the day, so the early wake up wasn’t that big a deal.

W got on the bus and made our way to the Brecon Beacons National Park and got to the Bit Pit mining museum. The national park was really lovely. Everything was green and there were hills and trees all over the place. Today was the hottest day on record or something like that at a scorching 82 degrees Fahrenheit (that was sarcasm, it wasn’t that hot unless you stood out in it. I’d like to see some Londoners at band camp, then we’ll see what they think is hot. Then again, I wouldn’t want to be here in the winter, so I guess it balances out.)

Bit Pit was once a very thriving coalmine, but today it is a museum to the miners and the mine itself. We got about half way up a hill and there were a bunch of big wheels and machines that used to be used in the mining. We all got out and got in line to go into the mine. They said we would be going 300 hundred feet down, which wasn’t so horrible. I’ve been in caves before and I was sure it wouldn’t be that different. I was with a lot of my friends, but I also had the misfortune of being with a lot of very screamy, whiny, complaining girls who freaked out about everything and said things like “This is NOT cool” and “Is it going to be dark down there?” They were also all wearing flip-flops, tank tops, and shorts, and for anyone who has ever been underground, you know how cold it is. They all complained that we should have been told that it would be wet and muddy down there. I was thinking “We’re going into a COAL MINE. What did you think it was going to be like? Rainbows in your tea?”

Anyway, we got equipped with our hard hats and flashlights and descended into the mine. Our guide was a nice old man who had been a miner when he was younger, before the mine was shut down. All of the guides were one-time miners, so they were filled with stories that, to be honest, were very depressing. They all pretty much went “No air, no light, no happiness.”

Once we were down, we started walking through the different tunnels inside the mine. Most of the walls were held up by timbers, and they were a little moldy, so there was a constant sour smell about the place. We learned how miserable and hard a miners life was from our guide. They actually kept horses down there. There was a stable and everything. The horses pulled the carks that were filled with coal to the lift and back again, for 12 hour shifts. Everyone was one 12 hour shifts. Our guide said the horses could live for 10 years if nothing happened to them, which I thought was a really long time. But there were so many dangers in the mine that many horses didn’t last long anyway.

There were also children employed by the mines. They would be the ones to sit at the doors and open and close them throughout the mine. There was a very complicated system of doors throughout the mine that had to be closed and opened in certain ways or else the air in the mine would woosh out, the methane gas would build up, and everything would explode. Not a very happy place.

But it was cool to see the coal still in the walls of the mine. It was right there in front of me and it put some insight as to just where coal comes from. In general, it’s not very happy and it’s a lot of terribly hard work. And if you didn’t die in the mine, you lived the rest of your life on oxygen and with a cane because of all the diseases you get.

We finally got out, and seeing the sun again was very nice. I wasn’t able to take any pictures because there are still traces of methane gas in the mine, so they don’t let anyone bring cameras, watches, or cell phones in to the mine. We got back on the bus and made our way to where we would have lunch. This time we did a lot better at eating, and ate at the first place we came to, the Robin Hood Restaurant, and ordered right away. I got a chicken sandwich that was very good.



Back on the bus again. Erik talked A LOT about English history, and I phased in and out in my double seat. Our final stop was Tintern Abbey, an abbey where monks of the White Order lived. These monks were supposed to live a life of discomfort and obtaining from anything that makes you happy, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at this place. It was really huge. I wasn’t expecting it to be so large. I was imagining a big church, but this place was more like a cathedral. It was in ruins, but was still amazing to look at.



We walked around for about an hour and got back on the bus for the final time to come back to London. Being out the country was nice, but being in London is so much better. You can do anything here and there’s always something cool to do. I was glad to be back.

British word of the day: fancy dress = costume. So if anyone invites you to a fancy dress party, don't wear a ball gown, wear a costume.