As we had spent a relatively long time in the previous two places of interest, we were now very hungry so stopped at the Cripple Creek Inn. Wonderful food and great hosts and it was a shame we had to rush off to get to the The Big Pit in the hope of catching the last underground tour of the day. As it was, the tour was full and we were too late anyway as winter opening hours are short. But, we did get to experience the self-guided tour which told us of the experience of working in a coal mine. It was all quite fascinating and I would not mind revisiting this museum and some of the other components of the Blaenavon World Heritage Site.
Surprisingly interesting was the exhibition of the shower rooms and lockers which meant that the miners did not take their soot-covered selves and their clothes home. This simple measure, instigated by a deputation of miners' wives, improved the welfare of everyone. The local GP said that he saw more injuries from scolding of children, due to the presence of hot water in tin baths at home, than from injuries in the mine.
