Last Friday, our conservation group was supposed to be over at Pateley Bridge, clearing away pesky bracken but the weather had other plans. As the group were waiting in the foyer of Harrogate Volunteer Centre, the rain began to hammer down from a dark grey sky, bouncing off cars and pavement like thousands of glass marbles.

Sam took one look at the foul weather and made the sensible call to change plans and head elsewhere for a more productive day out in the countryside. A few minutes later he returned with the good news that our backup plan was to be a trip to the National Coal Mining Museum in Wakefield, there were sighs of relief all round except from Open Country member Charlotte who had already gone through the tricky task of putting on her waterproof over-trousers.

Billy and Deb with Maurice the miner

By midday we’d arrived at the museum to be greeted by ‘Maurice the miner’ – mascot of the National Coal Mining Museum and a very friendly chap who came over to meet us. The photograph here was taken just after Deb and Billy leapt off the bus for a piece of the action.

But it wasn’t time just yet to get our faces dirty with coal dust, we were booked in for a tour of the mines later in the afternoon so there was a bit of time to kill. We drove up to Emley Moor where there is a large TV and radio transmitter mast and a great view over South Yorkshire. A spot of lunch in the van kept spirits high before a quick chat outside in the wind to watch Billy practice his running.

After driving back down to the museum, it was time for a look around the museum – there were lots of interesting exhibits on the lives of mining families, industrial unrest and mining disasters in the 1980s. That last one might have put a couple of people off the underground mine tour we then went on, as a few members decided to stay above ground – that’s OK by us though everyone who comes out with Open Country can chose how to enjoy our days trips.

The underground tour was fantastic, we saw mining equipment still in use and how coal was extracted through the ages. Scary noisy stuff in parts and when we all turned off our torches we realised just how dark it was – you can’t see your hand in front of your face!

It’s great that even though the rain was pretty horrible we still managed to get out, and it might not have been conservation work this week but we had a great day out and everyone enjoyed themselves. Weather permitting, we’ll be out next week to continue our conservation work to help people with disabilities to access the countryside.