Clydach Gorge Caves - Wet Caves and Black Neoprene

The plan was to complete some video footage of Shakespeare's Cave which was started last year and then to have a look at a couple of other caves in the gorge. After breakfast in Luigi's we headed up to the gorge and parked in the layby. Here we clad ourselves in neoprene, turning the heads of many of the passing motorists.

Shakespeare's Cave
We made our way down through some very dense undergrowth to the River Clydach and then crossed to enter Cwm Pwca and find the entrance to Shakespeare's Cave. A short pause to set up the video gear and then we were heading through the cave. Backwards and forwards through the ducks to ensure that suitable video footage was recorded we made our way through the cave to approach the final sump. We then headed out the cave, a little quicker than on the way in, with only the mud in Stratford's Bypass causing a delay to our exit as we all slipped backwards trying yo make our way from the Fifth Duck.

Chloe beyond the Fifth Duck - Shakespeare's Cave

Jess beyond the Fifth Duck - Shakespeare's Cave

Ogof Nant Rhin
We headed back to the road and up to the large layby where we dropped down to find the recently refurbished entrance to Ogof Nant Rhin. A cautious entry to the cave was made as we threaded our way through the scaffolded rocks until we were in the solid passage of the cave. We headed first to Aven D'Oznog, splitting up and following the different levels along the phreatic shelves in the tight rift passage that leads to it. Once all there, Keith had to leave and head back to the Midlands. The rest of us then headed to the Garden of Delights and the far reaches of the cave with Mark crawling through the Jaws of Death and staring up into Kerplunk Aven.

Chloe just inside the entrance of Ogof Nant Rhin

Ogof Clogwyn
Our final cave of the day was Ogof Clogwyn we followed the stream down the gorge from Nant Rhin to the point where the stream from Ogof Clogwyn entered the gorge and climbed up from there. The route was quite slippy and very unpleasant. We spent and hour in there and only lost Jess once, before heading back to the cars.

Present: Keith Edwards, Chloe Burney, Brendan Marris, Mark Burkey and Jessica Harding

Ogof Clogwyn and Ogof Nant Rhin

An introductory trip for Dean, first in Ogof Clogwyn via a very long walk, and then up the stream to Nant Rhin where we went right to the end including the squeeze through to the final digs.

Dean in the streamway of Ogof Clogwyn

Jessica in the streamway of Ogof Clogwyn.

Dean by the PF formations in Ogof Nant Rhin.

See more Ogof Clogwyn Photos here 

See more Ogof Nant Rhin Photos here 

The Team: Brendan, Jessica and her friend Dean

Ogof Clogwyn and Ogof Nant Rhin, Clydach Gorge, South Wales

The Team: JiDu, KeEd, JaHa, JeHa & DeRo

Caves of the Clydach Gorge, South Wales

We headed to the lay-by above Nant Rhin and scrambled down to the stream.  I could see from the road that there'd been a bit of a mud/rock slide. The nice new entrance to Nant Rhin seemed to have partially collapsed and was half blocked with rubble, including a couple of small dislodged scaffold bars sticking out of a pile of rocks in front!  I shifted a bit of the rubble out of the way, and went in to have a quick look as far as the streamway. Just inside, the boards and scaffolding are still intact and solid, and beyond that, the cave 'proper' is fine, but I think a lot more rubble and mud will wash down in front of the entrance next time it rains heavily, needing shifting again.  We didn't go in any further.

Next we rapidly dispatched every inch of available passage in Ogof Clogwyn. [Nice shelving! :-)]

Finally we motored along the rifty passage in Shakespeare's Cave and got soaked to the skin in the (remarkably cold) ducks up as far as the sump.

Present: MRo & CWe

Ogof Clogwyn, Clydach Gorge, South Wales

Another short trip suitable for novices.  This one is notable for its fine phreatic shelving throughout the cave

Seb looking at the fine phreatic shelving.

See more photos of Ogof Clogwyn here.

Present:  SBa, KEd & BMa