Big Pit - Blaenavon

I'm at Big Pit in Blaenavon, Wales. Big Pit is an old coal mine that is now a museum. You can even go down into the mine itself (bit like being home) where an ex-miner talks about mining, you can't take cameras or phones down there as there is still the risk of gas. Down in the mine there are still the stalls for the pit ponys.

Big Pit is an amalgamation of a number of mines, the oldest dating back to 1812. The main shaft at Big Pit was opened in 1860. It closed in 1980, though there is still plenty of coal down there. Above ground you can wander around and see the winch room for the lift, which is behind me in the photograph, and the miners baths. The baths were built in 1939, before that the miners had to go home to wash.

Blaenavon itself is a World Heritage Site due to it's role in the industrial revolution. Not far from Big Pit is the iron works.

Epping Forest

This is Epping Forest. I like coming here as its nice and peaceful. I often see rabbits and deer (yum yum) running around.This is a hilly part of the forest. Here I'm on a railing at the bottom of a hill, the path crosses a small stream then goes up another hill. Sometimes it's easier to fly, especially when it's muddy. There's a lot of mud in the forest at times and it gets stuck on my claws which I don't like. The other good thing about flying there is it startles the birds of prey, they aren't used to dragons.

Epping Forest stretches from east London to Epping in Essex. It's about 13 miles long with a mixture of open grassland and forest. So there's plenty of space for me to explore.