South Wales- Back

South Wales possesses some of the longest caves in the British Isles. The two main caving areas are located in the Llangattock escarpment above Abergavennyand in the upper Swansea valley.The caves are characteristically large with big underground rivers and tend to be horizontal in nature. Major discoveries are being made virtually annually and, such is the length of the caves, excavation of choked passage is conducted during weekend long underground camps.

Access to most of these systems is controlled - the caves are locked and you need a leader or a permit to enter them.

The Llangattock systems are closely linked to the Clydach Gorge below the Heads of the Valleys road between Abergavenny and Brynmawr. Much of the water from these caves resurges in the gorge and it is possible to make a cave diving trip from the gorge into the heart of Llangattock.

One of the cave systems Ogof Ffynnon Ddu in the Swansea Valley has it's own website from which you can take a virtual tour of the cave at http://ogof.net. This is highly recommended for the armchair caver or for the caver who likes to know what he might encounter on a future trip.

This page features images from a variety of caves in the area.

Llangattock/Blorenge region

Ogof Craig a Ffynnon

This spectacular cave is relatively little known compared to the neighbouring systems of Agen Allwedd and Daren Cilau. The cave was entered after a series of digs in an old quarry face behind the now ruined Rock and Fountain Inn in the side of the Clydach Gorge above the Heads of the Valleys Road. A considerable stream resurges near the excavated entrance. The discoverers, Jeff Hill and John Parker took an energetic conservation approach since the first breakthrough in 1977, locking the cave and setting up a tight leadership system. Thirty years later the caves magnificent formations remain intact despite the muddy nature of some of the main passages. The digging team were also undaunted by boulder chokes and managed to work their way through four of them and construct a light railway in an assault on yet another! The cave is by nomeans 'worked out' and offers a myriad of options for future diggers including the chance of a link to nearby Daren Cilau.

Chamber just after First Choke	Tony boycott in Gasoline Alley
Sally Glanvill in Gasoline Alley		Peter Glanvill in the blasted tunnel towards the Promised Land
	Hall of the Mountain King	Hall of the Mountain King
Hall of the Mountain King

Ogof Draenen

This system was discovered only 10 years ago after diggers from the Morganwwg Caving Club persevered in a tiny hole on a hillside. It emitted a strong draught and they were rewarded by the discovery of a system rivalling the biggest found so far in the UK. It has a magnificet stream passage 4 km or more long and some of the largest chambers in Britain. Exploration continues apace.

Swansea Valley

Dan yr Ogof

This cave system, awarded the accolade of Britain's greatest natural wonder in 2005, is partly open to the public. It consists of a river cave above which is a complex system of dry and semi dry passages stretching under the Black Mountain for several kilometres. Beyond the show cave, across a flood prone section of lakes and cascades and guarded by a narrow winding crawl are magnificent chambers and stalactite formations. Exploration continues to this day and many kilometres of cave await discovery.

Ogof Ffynnon Ddu

Down valley from Dan yr Ogof cave and on the opposite, eastern, side is the collection of cottages known as Penwyllt. A large stream resurges in the valley floor and enters the Tawe. This is the rising for one of the longest and deepest cave systems in Britain Ogof Fynnon Ddu (The Cave of the Black Spring). The water feeding the underground stream sinks at Pwll Byfre over 2 miles away on the moors above. At Penwyllt is a quarry, coincidentally owned by the same company who own Fairy Cave Quarry on East Mendip, and at the end of a very rutted track, the headquarters of the South Wales Caving Club at 1-10 Powell Street, as the row of converted cottages is known. The SWCC controls access to Ogof Ffynnon Ddu and has a rigorous check in and check out system for visiting cavers - essential with a cave system of such size and complexity. The cave was originally entered near the resurgence in 1946 extended by diving in 1966 and made accessible to the caving masses in the same year when the nearby Cwm Dwr Quarry Cave was linked to OFD 2 (the section of cave separated from the original cave by a network of small passages and long sumps). A further entrance, Top Entrance, was dug open on the moor in 1967 after snail shells were noticed in a choke.

The cave consists of a magnificent streamway nearly 3 miles in total length with a network of old dry passages in a dendritic network to its north with a total passage length of over 25 miles. The system conceals many magnificent stalactite formations in its recesses and lies on many levels making the use of the plan survey something of a challenge.

Climb at the Toast Rack	Just beyond the Toast Rack	Main route
Column Passage	Column Passage	The Column
Sally Glanvill on Airy Fairy	Sally Glanvill on Airy Fairy	Tracey Elliott on Airy Fairy
Lionel Ford entering Rawl Series	Pi Chamber	On the way to Roundabout Chamber
Formations in Rawl Series	Jon Whiteley and flood foam near Pluto's Bath	Streamway just upstream from Pluto's Bath
Patrick Hanlan near The Step	Clive Holman traversing in the streamway	Lionel crosses a pot
Divers Pitch	Piccadilly Shower	Piccadilly Shower
Peter Rose in OFD 2 streamway	Pete Rose (1972) crossing a pot	Traversing up into Great Oxbow
Streamway leading to Top Waterfall		Mini Columns
Mini Columns	Traverse near Big Chamber near the Entrance	Columns by candlelight
Selenite Tunnel	Selenite Tunnel
Clive Gardener in Midnight Passage	Bob Hall in Marble Showers Traverses

Scottish Caving    (Animation)	Mendip Caves	Caves of the Forest of Dean	Southern Irish Caves	Devonshire Caves