The weather we had experienced at the top of Pen-y-Fan now seemed to have reached us in the valley. This morning was not a time to be outside. We headed off to Big Pit.

Big Pit is a real coal mine, and above ground felt strangely eerie – like an enormous ghost of the industrial age was still present from a time when the site was in full production.

It has stopped producing coal and now allows visitors to be guided around some of the underground tunnels. All of the guides are miners who have at least 5 years experience of working underground, their enthusiasm and passion for mining was almost overwhelming while being most engaging.

You need to be at least 1 metre tall to be able to go on the underground tour, for those above 1.5 metres tall you will be stooping and bumping your head at regular intervals!

The mine almost seemed magical – when we entered it was raining, cold, and low cloud hung over the valley. When we made it out the sun was shining and it was a very pleasant autumn day.