#golden lion

⚜️Godfall ⚜️

We arrived to the slate mine later in the afternoon just in time to catch one of the last tours since we were such a large group. The first part of the tour was a walking tour of 10 chambers 500 feet below ground. Each of us were given hardhats, and a yellow “train” with cars that snugly fit 4 people took us down into the mine. The docent unloaded us and disappeared so we were on our own guided only by audio prompts and lights.

It was absolutely fascinating to learn about mining and its strong vocational connection to Wales. Each chamber had 4 guys, usually family, that worked a single chamber (which took about 40 years to completely mine). The lights were turned off during the tour, only leaving the faint glow of a candle to illustrate just how dark it was. It was astounding that any work was done in the dark like that especially because one of the guys was required to climb up the rock face, ignite the dynamite, and scramble out of the chamber before the explosion- all in pitch black.

Boys around 10 years old were allowed to start work in the mine and would often run messages between the foremen. At 17 they could begin their apprenticeship though few made it past 30 years of age due to lung infections. Once the self guided tour ended, we hustled back to a tram (with 25 miles of track) that took us into another part of the mine for the 2nd half of the tour which was guided by an actual person. It was just like being on an amusement park ride though it was much slower with all the stops! 

Things: 

A few months before my Wales trip, I read a great Ken Follett book whose story line centered on a small mining community in Wales during WWI. I recommend reading it before making the trip across the pond.

When we got back to Gresford, our homestay had beers, cheese, and crackers out for us so the roomies and I chilled in the garden. This is also when I found out just how much my one guy roommate loved the show ‘So You Think You Can Dance.' 

We had dinner at the Golden Lion (ham steak and mash accompanied with a Strongbow cider for the win) and sang some of our rep at the table much to the delight of the other diners who flocked to our room to hear us.

Also, one of my fellow choristers had his second beer ever that night. Ever. He was in the Navy, has grandkids, etc. and that night was the second time he had beer. Awesome!