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.

  1. 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.
  2. What we initially thought was a rope turned out to be tree roots in Root Chamber. Lighting by Tarquin and Huw
  3. 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.
  4. A melanistic cave spider. These normally have brighter abdomens and striped legs.
  5. The Big Passage (yes, that's its name) of Ogof Cadno, a phreatic tube that ends all too soon. Lighting by Tarquin and Huw
  6. Afon Nedd Fechan at the Dyffryn Nêdd farm. Modelling by Pete, lighting by Tarquin and Pete
  7. 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
  8. 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
  9. The middle waterfall has a nice big ledge, allowing it to be walked behind while remaining dry. Camera by Dan, modelling by Tarquin
  10. 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
  11. A little further up the valley, beneath the Berthlwyd Farm.
  12. The Dry Way Dig entrance to Ogof Igam Ogam, concealed by a barrier that protects the cave from the river's fill.
  13. Decorated chamber above Snorer's Annex. Lighting by Tarquin and Huw
  14. 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