We Went Down… The Big Pit

One of the most thrilling things we did on our vacation was to go down the Big Pit in Wales. It’s a coal mine that is now a National Museum of Wales. It was amazing. I’ve never been in such total blackness. It’s kind of eerie, but in the same sense, it wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be.

Getting into the pit was hard for Sean. He had quite the hissy fit before we went down. I’m thinking he needed some park time. It was misting out that day, and we hadn’t planned to be inside, under ground. We had also talked about going to the Lego Beach in England. So there was an expectation of Legos. But John and I loved the idea of seeing such a big part of Welch history.

Going down 300 feet in the elevator, with a large group of people, you really got the sensation of being a miner, going down with the other employees to start your day. There were lots of rules and regulations, including no electronics. No pictures when you are down in the mines. No fitbit. No watches.  This is all to ensure there is not an explosion while you are down there.  Believe me you, I was scared when I noticed the little boy’s shoes light up while we were down there. I thought for sure we would blow up.

The saddest part was hearing about the children and animals that work in the mine. The 6 year old boys that stood in utter darkness waiting to hear the horses come so that he could open the door. And the horses. Brought down in the mines at age 4, never to return to daylight. If they actually made it working for 5 years, they would be brought back up and sold for horse meat. If a horse died while in the mine, he was buried in the mine. So tragic. Sean was absolutely engaged once we were down with all the stories our guide told us.

Our tour guide was from the town my Welsh ancestors were from, Merthyr Tydfil. How do you ask a man if he knew your family when they immigrated to the United States 100 years ago? Needless to say, I didn’t. He also let me know my family might have worked in the iron mills. I so wish I knew.

Again, very little product for me. Sassafrass and Jillybean Soup letters and one brad. And I used the ticket from the trip, a bit of the brochure, and a lamp check that I bought at the mine. I really wanted for the layout to feel like you are going down. There was such a small elevator (the orange from the brochure), that took you down to a HUGE mine beneath the ground. The unembellished black signifies the darkness of the pit. I used gold instead of white for my text so that it wouldn’t stand out too much…

LO: We Went Down

Have you ever tried to convey an idea with your layouts? I’d love to hear about it.

Speak Your Mind

*