VISITORS at the at the Big Pit in Blaenavon are taking a behind-the-scenes look at the equipment miners used to extract coal in its heyday.
While the mine is shut for maintenance, tourists can go on “surface tours” and quiz former miner Paul Meredith.
The conservation engineer also demonstrates how to operate some of the machinery used to cut coal underground until the mine’s closure in the Eighties.
The Big Pit or National Coal Museum delves into the history of the mine which had some of oldest large scale industrial coal mining developments in South Wales and once employed 1,400 staff.
A Big Pit spokeswoman said: “It is something out of the ordinary visitors would not normally be able to see.
“It is a chance to speak to the conversation engineer and ask questions they wouldn’t normally be able to do when we’re busy and and see equipment they would not normally see.”
The tours and demonstrations are going ahead throughout January.
For more information, log on to museumwales.ac.uk/bigpit/
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