Neath Valley trip 17/03/2018
Unless otherwise stated, camera, setups, lighting, edits and gallery effects by Tarquin. Modelling by Huw Jones.
This was a rescue practice rather than a regular caving trip, so all pictures are rushed and taken in less than ideal conditions.
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The entrance to Pwll y Coeden Gnau. A little difficult to find, despite actually being very large - the green cliff is 3 m tall. If you reach a boggy patch where a small stream sinks in the forest, you have gone too far.
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What we initially thought was a rope turned out to be tree roots in Root Chamber.
Lighting by Tarquin and Huw
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An animal's tooth in Ogof Cadno. The name means Fox Cave, but this is not a fox's tooth. Perhaps a fox brought a sheep skull in here at some point.
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A melanistic cave spider. These normally have brighter abdomens and striped legs.
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The Big Passage (yes, that's its name) of Ogof Cadno, a phreatic tube that ends all too soon.
Lighting by Tarquin and Huw
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Afon Nedd Fechan at the Dyffryn Nêdd farm.
Modelling by Pete, lighting by Tarquin and Pete
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Nearby is a huge crater of a shakehole, called The Great Chasm. This is adorned with three separate waterfalls, and a fourth one tucked into the boulders on the right.
Modelling by Dan Thorne and Helen Stewart
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The left strand has an alcove behind it, as well as a very narrow, choked slot. Fun to stand behind, but quite wet.
Camera by Dan, modelling by Tarquin
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The middle waterfall has a nice big ledge, allowing it to be walked behind while remaining dry.
Camera by Dan, modelling by Tarquin
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The little rocky waterfall conceals the entrance to Cwm Hew Bwb. A very rare example of a cave behind a waterfall. The cave itself is not particularly long, with its main route being a deep dig through the shakehole's choke.
Camera and lighting by Dan, modelling by Tarquin
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A little further up the valley, beneath the Berthlwyd Farm.
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The Dry Way Dig entrance to Ogof Igam Ogam, concealed by a barrier that protects the cave from the river's fill.
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Decorated chamber above Snorer's Annex.
Lighting by Tarquin and Huw
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Suzuki Chamber, with its large false floors. The original entrance (with its three sumps) enters from an aven among the rocks on the left.
Lighting by Tarquin and Huw