The exact start date of Big Pit coal mine is still debated. The fact is that between 1880 and 1895, the mine grew into one of the largest mines in the region, employing 1.399 people  at its peak.

All that came to an end when Big Pit threw in the towel on 2 February 1980, just before Margaret Thatcher short-circuited the English and Welsh coal industry from 1984.

Fresh air

The ventilation building still blows fresh air into the mine and removes dangerous gases.

Batteries

Since Big Pit is still classified as a working mine, strict rules apply from the HM Inspectorate of Mines: you are given a self-rescuer and everything that contains batteries remains above ground, ranging from car keys to watches.

That is why you will not find any photos of the underground galleries here.

Stables

You can see the horse stables in the pitch-dark tunnels, among other things. Before the arrival of locomotives, horses did the grueling work in the narrow tunnels.

At the end of the 19th century, around 200,000 horses worked in the British mines, spending months or even years in the dark.

Industrial landscape

The hills that embrace Blaenavon are home to other remnants of the early coal industry.

This industrial landscape plays a role in Blaenavon's recognition as a World Heritage Site and is gratefully used for filming, for example, for the Aberfan mine disaster episode in "The Crown."