| Date | Trip |
| 6th January 2008 | Ogof Ffynnon Ddu |
| 3rd February 2008 | Llygad Llwchwr |
| 2nd March 2008 | Craig a Ffynnon |
| 24th March 2008 | Ogof Draenen |
| 6th April 2008 | Pant Mawr Pot |
| 27th April 2008 | OFD1 |
| 4th May 2008 | Agen Allwedd |
| 1st June 2008 | Dan yr Ogof |
| 8th June 2008 | OFD2 |
| 5th July 2008 | Otter Hole |
| 6th July 2008 | Nedd Valley |
| 6th August 2008 | Pwll Swnd |
| 7th September 2008 | Tunnel Cave |
| 5th October 2008 | Ogof Draenen |
| 2nd November 2008 | Miss Graces Lane |
| 7th December | OFD2 |
The weather was beautiful at Penwyllt with no wind! Julia Linda and Allen went for a walk with only Ann and Kingsley going underground, we decided to look at some passages off Cross Rift so a quick descent was made via Salubrious and Selenite Tunnel to Shatter Chamber. Here we met a Cwmbran party and spent about half an hour talking about old times, from here we explored various passages finding some fine formations including some exceptional Helictites, we also found one passage that led us on a different route to Edwards shortcut. On the way out we met two other parties , one in Selenite Tunnel, and the other photographing in Salubrious Passage. Ann and myself were soon back at the entrance where a big drop in temperature could be felt, and so out into the sunshine after an enjoyable three and a half hour trip.
Miss Graces Lane - 2nd November
This was the first trip for some time in the Forest of Dean and with this area being so close to us we thought that we had better start re-exploring this area again. After a quick e-mail to Paul Taylor a few weeks ago, everything got sorted for Miss Graces Lane. We all met up at 10 o’clock at the cave entrance, and got kitted up. Then Paul (our guide for the day) set up a abseil rope so that we could all abseil the 100ft pitch straight down through concrete rings. This was a very impressive bit of engineering. At the bottom there is a large-ish chamber known as ‘Autumn Frenzy Chamber’ where we all gathered and took off our harnesses and abseil kit as they were not required for the rest of the trip. From here we headed towards the scaffolded incline, which took us to the top of another pitch with a fixed ladder in place. Here we descended down about 12m stepping sideways off the ladder into a passage. The ladder continued downwards. After a short while we emerged into much larger and drier chambers and seemed to move from one chamber to another until we ended up in Nurden Hall. After a look at the survey to show us where we all were, we moved off again across a few traverses to try and find the pitch bypass. However it was not down here so we returned back to Nurden Hall and we then found the route that we should had taken. After a bit more caving we got to a area which was totally different from the rest of the cave. This was called Phreatic Causeway. Here we did a nice loop through these phreatic passages. Once back to the start of our loop we continued on again but this time we were descending quite quickly down narrow rifts. Luckily enough we do not have to return back this way. Once at the bottom of this descent we emerged into Six Way Junction where we took the first passage on our left which eventually turned into a rather unnerving traverse known as The Satanic Traverses. Onward we continued passing under The Hanging Rock which is a narrow wedged shaped rock of approx 1 ton, held up by a couple of slithers of rock. We passed under this very carefully then the cave passage changed. We were now wading through water (only about 9 -12 inches deep but considering the rest of the cave is so dry it was not what we expected to see). At Fin Pillar Junction we turned left and with a bit more traversing we ended up at Plummet Junction. This was to be our turn around point, so we had something to eat here and a rest before making our way out. Once we had got back to Six Way Junction we went straight across following the passage until we came to a very loose climb with a traverse back over the top of what we had just climbed up. This section was done one person at a time. When all were up we emerged back into a passage with the mouldering roll of tape which we had been in on the way in. Continuing outwards, we then took another side passage which took us into Dog Tooth Chamber with these really large crystals which looked very much like teeth. After doing a bit of a round trip we popped out in the chamber at the bottom of the 12m ladder pitch, which is where we started. It was now just a matter of climbing this ladder and regrouping in the chamber at the bottom of the main entrance pitch. Once all here Paul exited the cave first self life-lining himself up the ladder pitch. Once he was outside, he then rigged the rope to life-line us all out. This was a very enjoyable trip and one that I’m sure we will do again, as there is still a lot more to explore down there.
Today’s trip should have been Ogof Fechan or Ogof y Ci but as no one showed much interest in these caves, the few who were interested in going caving fancied something else and decided to go for Dan yr Ogof. However as the weekend approached so did the rain. Plan C came into operation which was Ogof Draenen. Anyway we met up at the normal parking area and the rain held off while we got kitted up. Then we walked down to the Lamb and Fox to fill the book in before heading down to the entrance. Once inside and the door shut we made our way through the entrance series where the water was flowing well at the waterfall that you have to climb down, plus it was continuing down the scaffold supported hole. We were soon at the first pitch where we set up ladder and lifeline and then made it to Cairn Junction. From here we crawled through Beer Challenge and headed off down White Arch Passage. The water levels here were only very slightly higher than normal. At Lamb and Fox Chamber the waterfall was really flowing well but we continued upwards and got into Indiana Highway, went along Megadrive and continued until we got to the Balcony pitch and looked down into The Arms Park. Stuart and myself visited the Watering hole near The Fault Chambers whilst the others had a bit of a rest and chat. After rejoining the group we then started our way back out at a nice steady pace visiting a few side passages on route. As we continued up White Arch Passage we did not return via Beer Challenge but continued up and around, going past the entrance to Gilwern Passage. When we got to the area with the large broken slab held in the roof by not a lot, we turn right into Wonderbra and then made our way back to Cairn Junction. With everyone up the pitch, Phil continued outwards whilst I took a few photos of the others climbing the waterfalls before we continued and caught him up. This was a nice steady trip which we all enjoyed, including Stuart as it was his first time in this cave.
This trip should have been Dan yr Ogof, but due to the rather damp weather that we have had over the past couple of days (or should I say months), water levels would have been just too high to get past the lakes, so plan B came into operation which was Tunnel Cave. So after collecting the entrance gate keys from SWCC this morning we all met up at the DYO car park where I sorted out the airlock key. After getting kitted up we started our walk up to the entrance and soon had the gate open. We then set up the rope to abseil in. Once we had all got down the first pitch we pulled the rope down so that we could then get down the second pitch. At the bottom of this with the rope we were now committed to continue. The next obstacle to overcome was the traverse line and calcited slope where our make do cows-tails came in handy. The fact that the hand line ran out half way down this slope just added to the excitement! We fed our rope through the loop in the end of the hand line so that we continue down safely and then pull our rope through again. From here we worked our way through with plenty of new obstacles to overcome, mainly descents within these rifts and chambers. Route finding was not that difficult, although at one point we did miss a climb up which Kingsley pointed out as he came to it. As he was at the rear of the group it meant that some of us at the front had to reverse. A few times we could hear water falling and we thought we were getting close to the show cave but it turned out we just had a few streams to pass. Some of the traversing in these rifts was a bit exciting at times, with deep holes below. We then came to a point where the air temperature suddenly dropped a few degrees. Then in the distance we could hear a rumble which was getting louder all the time. This was the fan that was forcing all of the radon out of the show cave and into this cave to us. As we turned the final corner we were confronted with a upvc sealed door. This was the new airlock. With the keys we opened this door and we all got inside closing this door behind before opening the next door which allowed us access to the show cave. With all doors locked behind we started our final traverse with an awkward drop down to the floor which was made all the more difficult by a show cave light, blinding us from below. However this did light us up well for the few onlookers in the show cave. From here we made our way back out to daylight along a nice level concrete path which was such a relief from those rifts. As we were already here at DYO we just a quick look at the lakes to see how much water was still in them…. the pathway with the hand rails was still under water and the water was halfway between the middle and top rail. At the barrier there was a small area of sand and then all that you could see was frothy water which did not look very inviting. Although we did not pass this first section I should imagine that the lakes must have been filled to the roof or only a slight air gap. After that we then made our way back to the vehicles in nice sunshine, for a change! Then we went up to the café and had a nice cup of tea and cake just to finish the day off perfectly. This was a really enjoyable trip which we will be doing again. All what was left now was to return the entrance key back to SWCC.
We met up at Herbert's quarry for 10.30 and soon got kitted up for our walk over the moorland. We were joined by Paul and Jo for the walk as they did a caving trip yesterday into OFD2. On route we managed to find a few holes, one of which I explored (so many of these surface holes seem to have digging potential). Eventually we made it to the entrance of Pwll Swnd where we soaked up a few of those sun rays before venturing underground. This is where Paul and Jo left us and went to explore the Torque area. Once underground we were soon at the top of the first pitch where I set up our new ladder and lifeline. Rupert was the first one to test the strength of the ladder and as it did not break. We all followed him down, remembering to crawl through the tube before we get to the bottom of the pitch. At the end of this tube we regrouped and left our kit there. Then we started to explore the old series which has some nice formations and plenty of straws. We got to Lofty Chamber where there were signs of large amounts of water which must rush down and sink into the floor here as it was all washed very clean. Rupert disappeared here by working his way down through the boulders deep into the floor which had a good solid wall to follow. It could be a promising dig here as that water must go somewhere. Anyway we continued exploring this area and eventually came to a very narrow rift which we followed to the end where there was a deep aven. From here we explored in the other direction crossing the two pots. Then we started our return trip exploring another large passage on our right which seemed to have a cold fresh draft towards the end which Pauline and Kingsley explored while Rupert and I took a few photos. After this we headed back to the bottom of the pitch and started our ascent back up. Once back outside, our signal system told us that Paul and Jo had been and gone but they left us some sweets for our walk back to the vehicles.
A small group arrived at the Nedd valley for this months club trip, with no chance of even finding the Little Neath entrance. So a exciting trip was had by all in Bridge cave where the water was really flowing down the waterfall making for a exhilarating few moments getting to it. Afterwards a visit further down the valley was had to view Pwll Y Rhyd and White Lady’s cave. They then went and explored Cwm Huw Bwb which is a old abandoned dig. A more detailed trip report will be in the next Newsletter.
We arrived early at Chepstow, so we popped down to Tintern for a coffee and watched the river which seemed to be very high. Then we headed up to the meeting point, started to get changed when Kingsley and our warden arrived. Then we started our walk down to the cave entrance. Once there we had a bit of a rest and chat as we were still a bit early. It was then time to work our way in through the entrance series which was very muddy but still had some fine formations. Route finding was fairy straightforward as it was a matter of following the electric cables. Then we got as far as the sump. The eye above the sump was open so we could have swum across and gone through the eye but instead we waited for the sump to clear. Whilst waiting, you could see the water level dropping and the sounds that were being transmitted from various siphons and air locks made a very musical tune. This took about 1/2 hour to drain down enough for us to walk through without getting too wet. Once through we had a few climbs and steps over awkward gaps but it was then into a nice streamway. This was about 12in deep now but had been about 10ft high about 1 hour ago before the sump opened. You could see where the water level had been. From here we continued to follow the stream, climbing boulders and all sorts on route until we came to a area where we could wash ourselves down before starting the climb up to a higher level. Then after about another 1/2 hour of climbing and crawling we arrived at Hall of Thirty where we stopped to have something to eat and drink before we started to explore and take photos. This whole area is pretty from the start with nice clean straws, curtains and formations all over the floor, and the further we continued the better it got with the grand finale at the end with massive stalagmites filling the final chamber. We spent about a hour here just walking around taking it all in before regrouping at the start of this Hall. It was then time to work our way back out and get to the sump before it closes. As it happened we made it in plenty of time as the water levels were very low. Once through we took a more leisurely pace before emerging back out into almost daylight where it was chucking it down with rain. So with the steady walk back up to our vehicles some of the mud did manage to get washed off by the rain. Well this was a very enjoyable trip, and one that we will return to again next year and probably go for an over-tide trip where the sump will fill up behind us.
Due to not many people being able to make last weeks club trip, a few of us got together to and organised a little trip into OFD2. As we were in no great rush and Allen and Linda wanted to get to know this cave better, it was left to them to guide the rest of us down to the Trident and Judge which can be very daunting leading a group especially if you have always been following others. Anyway they made steady progress and only made one wrong decision, where upon Kingsley put them right. And it was not too long before we were all at the Trident, here I managed to take a few photographs whilst Kingsley and others went exploring around the Swamp Creek area, Kingsley also managed to find a passage that he had never explored before with some nice formations and it kept going, but as this was not on our planned trip we would have a lot at this another time. So once we had regrouped at the Trident and Linda had finished eating, we started our return trip back out, Allen and Linda had to think about a few of the passages as they do look so much different going in the opposite direction, but they did managed to get us all back out to the surface where the sun was still shining and the heat just hit us as we emerged through the gate. It was then just a pleasant walk back down to our vehicles where we were able to eat our sandwiches in the sun.
This was suppose to be Tunnel Cave, but as Kingsley was not able to make this trip, I was not entirely sure of route finding through this cave as it is now a through trip, so once we have entered and pulled the rope down behind us there is no turning back, so instead Pauline and I went into Dan yr Ogof and did the round trip. We got to the DYO car park for about 10.00am, got changed into our wetsuits and entered the showcave as soon as it opened, water levels in the lakes were quite low but still cold. Once through we were soon on dry land, this is where Pauline took over leading as she wanted to get to know this cave, anyway we soon got to Boulder Chamber and after a bit of crawling we emerged out into Straw Chamber and in no time at all we were at the Cattle trough and the start of the long crawl which lasted for about 15 minutes as we popped out into Gerard Platten Hall. We had a brief stop at the Crystal Pool for photos before continuing down Grand Canyon to Monk Hall and Clound Chamber which is very nice big area with lovely clusters of straws. Next came the awkward climb to the start of the Green Canal, with Pauline being a bit short she struggled here, but we then found a solution where she could use a sling and lasso the top of a pointed rock and clip the steppy sling onto this sling giving her easy access up this climb. Next came the Green Canal where luckily enough there were loads of buoyancy aids at this end, it was now just a matter of climbing down the Abyss and heading towards Bakerloo straight past the Washing Machine and popping back out by the Crystal Pool. We had now returned back to where we started and headed back towards the Long crawl, before exiting the cave we visited Wigmore Hall which again is very pretty. We both very much enjoyed this trip and look forward to spending more time in this cave.
After our last attempt to get to Maytime failed due to navigation problems, this time we were determined to get there. So we met up at the Cattle grid for 10.00am, got kitted up and started our walk up to the entrance. It was 11.00 am as we entered the cave and wrote an estimated time out of 20.00hr. We made good time to Main Chamber (1/2 hour). We then headed down Main Passage until we came to the entrance of Southern Stream Passage. This passage just seemed to go on for ages. We then climbed up into Gothic Passage which then after a while turned into a crawl followed by a T-junction where upon we turned right, and carried on crawling until we came to a large sand filled chamber. We had now entered Maytime, this sand would be with us all the time now as we crawled from chamber to chamber with the occasional walking size passage. As we progressed further, we came across more and more pretty formations and pristine mud formations with crystals growing in all directions. At one point we came across a crystallised river which had been really well protected. Some of the crawling became quite tight in places and we started to
feel like turtles on the beach as we pushed the sand to one side as we crawled, only to push it back with our feet as we tried to push ourselves forward. Just before we got to the streamway the cave seemed to change from being totally dry to damp. Anyway we were soon peering over a ledge with the stream flowing below.
It certainly felt very remote here, with a range of air tanks and diving equipment at the top of the slope. Pete was the only one to explore the stream a bit whilst the rest of us had a rest and something to eat. It was now 3.00pm so we started our return trip. The crawls were now taking quite a bit of effort to get through as we were a lot more tired now, although it was nice to be crawling through soft sand rather than hard rocks and pebbles like Priory Road. After a few hours of this we eventually got back to Southern Stream Passage which was just as bad going back up as it was coming down. This took us another couple of hours to complete. Eventually we popped back out into Main Passage where we stopped for a small rest and to eat the remainder of our supplies knowing that we were almost out at this point. So with our rest completed we set of again. It felt so nice to be able to walk in a upright position along Main Passage. We just had to negotiate the entrance series before emerging back out into a very warm summers evening. We exited the cave at 8.00pm, making this a very fine 9 hour trip, and we all felt like we had been caving for 9
hours.
Since the trip to the Nave fell through, Julia, Linda, Allen and Kingsley did a trip to OFD1 streamway to give Linda a taste of a big active streamway. A quick walk down to the entrance on a fine misty morning where we were soon underground passing loads of frogs in the damp entrance.We soon reached the stream which was quite low but sporting enough for Linda who managed very well. We made a leisurely trip to Lowes Chain (rope) and returned down the steamway. Near the entrance I had a look up some of the side passages, including Skeleton Chamber where I had never been before.On reaching daylight the mist had cleared to give sunshine and we were able to sit out at Penwyllt and eat our food.
This was the first time we have been into this cave for a while, so this trip was well overdue. Anyway Kingsley, Ann, Pauline and myself met up at the now reduced is size parking area and got kitted up, we then filled in the book with St Davids Hall as our destination. We had a pleasant walk down to the gate, then made our way into the entrance series, the stream had a reasonable flow to it so we got a bit damp climbing down and under the waterfall and we were soon at the first pitch where we set up the ladder, we also noticed that a new rope had been installed here.Once all down it was onwards to Cairn Junction where we turned right and continued through the crawls until we popped out in White Arch Passage. From here we bolder hopped our way down to Lamb and Fox Chamber and then along Indiana Highway, over the roped traverses and onto the start of Megadrive, whilst going down Megadrive Kingsley noticed a few areas of crystals very similar to the ones located in Aggy Main Passage, these only seemed to be in one area on top of large boulders. Eventually we got to Perseverance 2, once through this we headed towards our normal drinking and resting stop near the Rift Chambers, After our rest we returned back and headed to the Balcony Pitch, where we descended the fixed ladder with life-line and then went exploring the St Davids Hall area, after a while of exploring and taking photos we started our return trip back out, where we met up with another caver in the Megadrive area. We were back out into daylight within a few hours feeling rather tired. A good trip that we all enjoyed.
With the weather forecasts informing us of heavy snow and genially rough weather for today, this must of put a few people off, but as it happened we had very little snow, no wind and the sun was out. So once we had all kitted up, we started our walk over to the entrance on the moor. Once there we rigged the entrance pitch with ladder and lifeline, some of the group just abseiled down on the rope whilst others used the ladder itself. At the bottom we all de-kitted, then went upstream to visit the waterfall which was flowing well, then we started our trip downstream where we stopped quite often as Paul was making a film on this trip, lighting was provided by Jan and Pauline who kept swapping between them, anyway we made it through the boulder chokes and then headed up into Straw chamber where more filming was done. From here we had the descent back down into the stream and onwards to Sabre Junction then on again to the third boulder choke (more filming here with the stream and formations) we then emerged out into the Great Hall. From here we turned left down towards the Fire Hydrant which could be heard for some distance before we got to it, more filming was done around here. It was at this point that we turned around and started our way back out, but we did make a slight detour to visit the Vestry for filming, we had just finished filming here as the main lighting unit battery failed, so no more filming until we got back to the entrance pitch where there was some natural light, getting everybody out and de-rigging the pitch took about half a hour. The wind had picked up a bit, but it was still pleasant in the sun for our return walk back to the vehicles.
Ogof Ffynnon Ddu — 6th January
As we had not been able to get a key for Craig y Ffynnon by Saturday 5th, we had to make a change of venue for our January club trip. As only a couple of people had contacted Jan by Saturday afternoon about attending we catered a trip for those, so we headed down to OFD2. We met up for 10.30am and awaiting the arrival of Julia who was delayed due to poor road conditions. We then made our way up to the entrance. Once inside it certainly felt a lot warmer getting away from that cold wind. We then headed up into the White Arch Series and Mini Columns area where Barry spent quite a bit of time setting up and taking photos while the others spent their time exploring just about every crack and hole in this area. They found some very nice little grottos and various other bits that are just missed whenever we do a normal trip up and around this area. So although we did not go deep into this cave (in fact, we were never no more than about 15 minutes from the entrance at any point during the day). We all enjoyed what we did and it was certainly an easy relaxed trip.
The weather was not very promising for this trip with strong winds and snow forecasted, but as it happened we just had the cold strong wind. Anyway we all met up at the normal Llygad parking area and got changed, as we made our way across the field, on route we met a group of walkers heading towards us who said that the water looked high. At the entrance we could see that the water was emerging quite well so we knew that the water levels inside would be higher than normal. I was the first one up into the entrance hole, where I was then able to tie off a rope and set up the steppy slings which would make life easier for the rest of the group. Once all inside we then made our way towards the first water chamber, here I set up a line across the fast flowing river so that it could be crossed safely, only some of us crossed as others did not want to get too wet (river up to waist height). I spent quite a bit of time here playing with camera and flashguns while the rest of the team went exploring the other river chambers, I then continued onwards and caught up with them again at the final chamber, quite a bit of time was spent exploring different routes and finding all of the various chambers, eventually we all met up again, before working our way back towards the entrance where again we set up the rope as a hand line to help us back out and down to ground level. Once outside Rupert went body surfing down the river (one way of washing off your caving kit). On the walk back to the vehicles we really noticed the cold wind.
This trip had to be abandoned at the entrance of this cave due to the fact that we were issued with the incorrect key. Some of the group then went exploring the Clydach Gorge.