Formations in Midsummer Night's Streamway

Llanelly Quarry Pot, Clydach Gorge, South Wales
Saturday 13th April 2008

The entrance consists of a drop down a 10 metre very tight awkward rift impassable to 'persons of larger than average build' which is much more difficult on the way out!
This is followed by a small stream which leads to a 20 metre pitch.  This leads to a boulder floored chamber where a 5 metre climb down an excavated 5 metre shaft leads to a small inlet stream which feeds the main Midsummer Night's Dream Streamway.
We explored the streamway between Ryan's Duck upstream to Hammer Passage downstream.
The expedition went very smoothly with everyone managing to climb up the entrance rift in a reasonable time, but ask Brendan if he enjoyed his trip.

The Team: KeEd, JeHa and BrMa + Richard & Rachael from WMCEG

Dan Yr Ogof, Swansea Valley, South Wales, The Lost Tackle Bag Trip
Saturday 26th April 2008

The aim of the trip was to take some photos between the pitch down into the Great North Road and North Aven.
However about an hour or so into the trip I was pushing a tackle bag in front of me in a 'hands and knees' crawl. Suddenly the bag disappeared from view and I heard, "Bang, crash, wallop, crash, crash, biff, bang, wallop, wallop, SPLASH."
The bag had fallen down a 10 metre rift and into a pool at the bottom. We tried to retrieve the bag, but the pool was brown and muddy and very quickly became too deep to feel the bottom, i.e. the bag was totally lost and beyond retrieval. This not only totally screwed up the trip as we needed the tackle in the bag (2 full SRT kits, spare batteries, food and drink) to get up and down pitches, but the bag also contained my ONE AND ONLY car key!
We had no alternative but to abandon the trip and exit the cave - back through the long crawl and the lakes.

The Team: KeEd, BrMa, DeRo & ChWe

Dan Yr Ogof, Swansea Valley, South Wales
Saturday 5th May 2008

As we had not planned to go in DYO we did not have wetsuits, so we did some photos in Wigmore Hall.  We then went to the start of the Green Canal, took Elliptic Passage down into the Lower Series before making our way out.

The Team:  JeHa, BrMa & Helen

The successful team

Two weeks before I had lost my car key and a couple of full SRT kits at the bottom of 18m deep Lake 8.  In order to attempt to retrieve the missing equipment I managed to acquire the services of a caver diver and a support team of four.
We had to carry all of the diving equipment (two 11kg cylinders, dry suit, fins, regulators, valves, dive computer, mask, lead weights, dive lights and flippers) into the cave - through the lakes, through the long crawl, down a ladder and to the dive sight.
The dive was successful and most of the tackle seems none the worse for its two weeks in cold storage.  However the flap jack was a little worse for wear.  It had been converted into porridge.

Team: KeEd, BrMa, ChWe & StWa + Colin (the diver) from WMCEG

We took advantage of the low water conditions and visited Mazeways.

Team: KeEd, BrMa & StWa

We went to Giants with two tackle bags full of rope and SRT kit.  As we approached Geology Pot some kind person had left the traverse and Geology Pot rigged, but not trusting their rigging we rigged our own.  Not long after Geology Pot is a small climb followed by what's called the Duck and when we came in it was raining so we decided not to carry on any further and decided to leave.
For a change we went out up the Crabwalk.  Carrying bags full of heavy wet rope is not much fun when every two minutes they get stuck, mine even managed to get wedged in the Vice. Even Mel started to moan she has had enough, and that's never happened before, so you can guess how relieved we where to be back at Garlands Pot and almost out.

The Team: AnGr & MeWa

The plan was to go almost to the end of the cave and visit the Geryon.
A mega stomp followed to the Dollimore Series with a couple of small detours where my memory had failed, and a brief stop to photograph the Snowball (now moved!). We followed the main passage to the left once in MSAD to photograph the snowy Christmas Tree thingy at the end and then retraced our steps to find Luck of the Draw. This was a fairly pleasant passage with lots of pretties.  We found Medusas Children and then we began to make our way out, it was now nearly 6:00pm. We had failed to get to the Geryon, but it could have only been 20 minutes away. A steady pace was made on the way out and we were in the entrance series for about 10.30. Water was oinking down the entrance, but we made it out fine and just got to the Indian in Abergavenny before it closed.

 The Team: JeHa, BrMa, ChWe + Rachael and Richard from WMCEG

Main Chamber Chartist's Cave

Loop Passage Chartist's Cave

Chartists Cave, Crescent Cave and Pant Gam Entrance to Nant Rhin
Saturday 7th June

The aim was to visit Crescent Cave, but because of it's close proximity to Chartist's Cave we visited this first.  This is an impressive system and judging by the large passages and chambers discovered to date there must be a lot more cave to be found.
Our next stop was Crescent Cave, but at the first scaffolded section we discovered that a rock had fallen out of the roof completely blocking the way on.
To finish off the day we drove to the Pont Gam entrance to Nant Rhin and descended the first pitch.

The Team: KeEd, BrMa & ChWe

First Pitch in Pont Gam

Entrance crawl in Pont Gam

Rock Bridge in Pont Gam

Ogof Ap Robert, South Wales
Sunday 29th June 2008

Another cave that none of us had done before in spite of it having just over a kilometre of passage.  The entrance consists of descending a number of vertical rift passages until a large chamber, Toad Hall, is reached.  From here the cave changes character and after crawling in the stream for a short distance the end of the cave consists of muddy phreatic passages.  We didn't descend the pitch near the end of the known cave.

The Team: KeEd, BrMa & DeRo
 

More photos of Ogof Ap Robert can be viewed here

Del re-surfacing

Keith and Del in Toad Hall

Cwm Dwr, Penwyllt, South Wales
Saturday 12th July 2008

A trip to explore Upper Piccadilly.  We still need to go back as we didn't explore all of the passages.  Brendan couldn't resist taking some photos at the Piccadilly waterfall on the way out.

The Team: KeEd, BrMa & DeRo

Del at the Piccadilly waterfall
 

More photos of Cwm Dwr can be viewed here

Miners' inscriptions

Ogof Llyn Parc, North Wales
Saturday 19th July 2008

First of all I have to congratulate Heather for arranging this trip and say a special thanks to the lads from NWCC for manning the winch as with out them this trip wouldn't of been possible.  The cave is entered via a 300 foot shaft for which we were all attached to a winch line (one at a time) to make it easier and quicker to descend.  The cave itself is actually accessed via a mined level which has broken into natural passage and this is where the best bits are.  There are plenty of formations for which Brendan got has camera out, and photographed anything that stayed still long enough.  There's a stream way, a small amount of crawling, a few short climbs, a bit of mud to crawl through and roll about in, but best of all lots of fun, and to be honest no matter what I say it wont do this cave justice. I think I can say without contradiction that all of us enjoyed Lynn Parc.

The Team:  KeEd, AnGr, JeHa, BrMa, DeRo, HeSi & MeWa + lads from NWCC

The Quarry