Coal Mining Museum

Marianna said:
Has anyone visited here? https://www.ncm.org.uk/ and gone on an underground tour?

I've never taken a tour down a coal mine, although I have been down a salt mine, the Salzbergwerk just outside Berchtesgaden. Bought a small container of salt and brought it home for my sister. The idea of an underground made her shudder.
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Yes I did a tour about 20 years ago, it was very interesting, my advice is leave anything electronic in the car as they have to take it off you before you go down
 
Sounds interesting. I've been on guided tours of a few large caves when younger but not an actual mine.

Remember while deep in one part of a cave the tour guide saying they were going to turn the lights off for a moment for us to experience the darkness. Was doing a lot of work in the film darkroom at school at the time and in my youthful foolishness thinking my eyes will adjust, I'll be able to see. About then the guide said if we were expecting our eyes to adjust they wouldn't. This was absolute, complete and total darkness. I felt humbled.
 
Talking of mining....I knew 2 lads from Yorkshire who used to watch Everton...1 was from Thorne and 1 was from Doncaster...[we were only teenagers]
Both their dads were lifelong miners...
I was invited to attend the big protest at Orgreave....[bad decison on my part to be honest]
The protest was against Mrs.Thatcher closing UK mines and bringing in cheaper coal from abroad.
Things I saw that day will stay with me forever...it was unbelievable.
There were Army and Met Police controlling the crowds.
I have been in the company of miners from all over the country....from Northumberland to South Wales [I am heavily involved with union matters] and I can say hand on heart they are the nicest most caring,most loyal people with true integrity...they would give you the shirt off their back and their last penny.....modern day society has a lot to learn from them.
X!
 
Marianna said:
Has anyone visited here? https://www.ncm.org.uk/ and gone on an underground tour?
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I visited and did the underground tour here in 2008. It was very educational and the guide was a local retired coal miner. Conditions must have been very tough for those men who worked there during my lifetime, but they must have been absolutely hellish during the 18th and 19th centuries.
 
RickAns said:
Greets and Weclome, @Madge Felton . Was it still a working mine in 2008? I did not see when or if it stopped production on the website.
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Thanks. The mine ceased operation in 1985 when coal reserves were exhausted and opened as the museum 3 years later.

en.m.wikipedia.org

Caphouse Colliery - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org en.m.wikipedia.org

There were still some items of heavy plant abandoned at the coalface, as it wasn't cost effective to remove them to the surface. The floors are quite rough and uneven under foot, so I'd advise anyone visiting to wear strong walking shoes or boots. One woman on my tour who wasn't wearing appropriate footwear tripped and hurt her leg.
 
RickAns said:
Sounds interesting. I've been on guided tours of a few large caves when younger but not an actual mine.

Remember while deep in one part of a cave the tour guide saying they were going to turn the lights off for a moment for us to experience the darkness. Was doing a lot of work in the film darkroom at school at the time and in my youthful foolishness thinking my eyes will adjust, I'll be able to see. About then the guide said if we were expecting our eyes to adjust they wouldn't. This was absolute, complete and total darkness. I felt humbled.
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We had similar when we went down either Speedwell or Treak Cliff Cavern( can’t remember which one) many years ago.
The total blackness was grim. It made me fall forwards.
 
Madge Felton said:
I visited and did the underground tour here in 2008. It was very educational and the guide was a local retired coal miner. Conditions must have been very tough for those men who worked there during my lifetime, but they must have been absolutely hellish during the 18th and 19th centuries.
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Went on the underground tour at the National Coal Mining museum last year. Had a local ex-miner as the guide and he asked everyone where they had come from. I was too ashamed to say I was from Nottinghamshire, even though I had nothing to do with mining. Feelings still run high in mining communities even after all those years.
 
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