We visited the Forest of Dean to find out about our local area. We saw the River Severn on our journey to the Dean Heritage Centre where we learnt about how the area was important for coal and iron ore mining. We explored the museum and had a go at pushing a friend in a 'billie' which was used to transport the coal. We decided that we would prefer to go to school rather than do this job down a mine!

After lunch we went to Hopewell colliery to see what it was like in a real mine! It was very dark and cold but fortunately we were given a helmet with a torch. We learnt about how the miners used a 'nellie' - a candle on the end of a stick which they held in their mouth to keep their hands free.