Finding history beneath my geet: A Walk Through Wales’ Industrial Past

Sometimes, life gets so busy with work, responsibilities, and the general hustle of the modern world that it’s easy to forget the stories that lie quietly beneath our feet. Recently, I made the decision to press pause on the busyness, lace up my walking boots, and reconnect with a part of life that rarely demands our attention — history.

I’m incredibly lucky to live here in Wales, a land woven with a rich, industrious past. Wherever you turn in my local area, you find echoes of a time when coal mining, steel manufacturing, and all the supporting trades — from breweries to abattoirs — were the beating heart of the community. Our valleys and hills once echoed with the sounds of hard work, of livelihoods built through grit, resilience, and a sense of togetherness that still lingers today.

On my latest walk, I decided to keep my head down — quite literally — and search for small pieces of the past. It didn’t take long before I started spotting little treasures peeking through the earth, stubbornly refusing to be forgotten. Broken pottery shards, once parts of honey pots or sturdy old beer barrels, told silent tales of everyday life from generations ago. Bottle tops from old beer bottles, weathered but still proudly stamped with names long since vanished from modern shelves, offered another glimpse into the social lives of those who came before us.

Each find was a reminder that history isn't just preserved in grand museums or thick textbooks — it’s scattered across the fields and footpaths we walk every day. Hidden just beneath the soil, these fragments of industry, of craft, of daily life, are waiting patiently to be found by those willing to look.

Taking time out like this, even if only for an hour or two, reconnects me not just to the land, but to the people who made it what it is. It reminds me that our modern lives, busy and fast-paced as they are, are built upon the efforts, struggles, and small moments of countless lives lived before ours.

And in a world where we often race to the next thing, sometimes the greatest treasures are found when we slow down — and look down.