Cape Breton Miners' Museum

Glace Bay coal ran in seams that extended kilometres out under the Atlantic, and men worked shifts walking down under the sea floor. The Ocean Deeps Colliery beneath the museum is a demonstration mine that visitors enter, stooping through low tunnels, guided by retired miners who worked the real pits; their accounts of roof falls, the company store and the strikes are the point of the visit rather than the geology. The industry collapsed and the last Cape Breton mine closed in 2001. The Men of the Deeps, a choir of working and retired miners founded in 1966, perform in the museum's theatre.

What you actually see

• The demonstration mine - a descent into low tunnels below the museum.
• The retired miner guides - first-hand accounts from men who worked the pits.
• The Men of the Deeps - a miners' choir performing on scheduled dates.
• The company town exhibits - the store, the housing and the strikes.

When to go

June to September for the mine tour and full programme; the museum reduces hours in winter and the tour may not run. Choir performances are on set dates and need checking.

Honest expectations

The mine tour involves stooping in low, cold, damp tunnels and is unsuited to some visitors. Guides are ageing and the first-hand accounts will not be available indefinitely. Tour times are limited.

Nearby

Louisbourg lies south; Sydney is west.