All the larger caves in north Wales have been surveyed. The most up-to-date versions have been carried out by North Wales Caving Club and should be available on request. These include..........

Ogof Hesp Alyn

Ogof Nadolig

Ogof Dydd Byraf

Ogof Hen Ffynnonau

Ogof Llyn Du

Ogof Llyn Parc

Basic cave surveying (up to BRCA grade 3) is surprisingly easy and, to get started, all it requires is an accurate (to within one degree or better) compass such as a Suunto, a measuring tape, notebook and pencil. A simple clinometer is required when producing sections. Computers now take the hard work out of plotting surveys and give a professional look to even the most basic of surveys. Software such as Microsoft Publisher (used on this website for several plans such as Afon Meirchion Cave) makes the end result look professional and is easy to use, but there are many others, although most are more difficult to get to grips with.

Other computer programmes produce digital 3D cave surveys. These do require the raw data to be input, which of course, means that surveying still has to be done, but the finished survey can usually be viewed from any angle or as a 'fly-by' movie.
For beginners, find a nearby cave perhaps one or two hundred metres long to practice on. There are many cave survey programmes available on-line, but p opular ones include.....

Compass: http://fountainware.com/compass/

Survex: http://survex.com/

WinKarst: http://www.resurgentsoftware.com/winkarst.html

Paperless Cave Surveying
The most recent advance in cave surveying is of course, digital. A popular method uses one digital device to take measurements, and another that draws the survey. The two devices talk to each other via Bluetooth.

The method is best explained on this 'Paperless Cave Surveying' website: http://paperless.bheeb.ch/

Laser Surveying

This is possibly the most detailed and visually pleasing representations of undergound environments.

Explanation of a laser survey project in Nottingham: https://www.tparchaeology.co.uk/indexn

Cave survey examples......

Yorkshire caves have a survey website at: http://cavemaps.org/

Mendip Cave Registry Archive: http://www.mcra.org.uk/wiki/doku.php?id=surveys

South Wales has a good website showing surveys overlaid onto Google Earth: http://www.ogof.org.uk/surveys.html

For an example of a fly-through 3-D survey, click on the YouTube link at: http://nottinghamcavessurvey.org.uk/

For a virtual 360 degree view of an impressive Slovenian cave: http://www.burger.si/Jame/NovaKriznaJama/25.html

Digital surveys can even be produced without going underground. Mine workings frequently have passages of uniform dimensions, and distances and directions can be taken from old mine plans, when sufficiently detailed. Fine examples can be found on-line, but below are three very basic examples of this approach using the programme 'Compass'. They are 2-D images of the 3-D originals which can be 'flown around' or rotated to be viewed from any angle.

The following three rather basic line survey examples are views of small areas of workings under Halkyn Mountain.....

3-D line survey only showing the Milwr and Halkyn tunnels and their branches at Olwyn Goch shaft, viewed from above from the north-east

Passages at the height of the Milwr Tunnel coloured purple.

Passages at the height of the Halkyn Tunnel coloured blue.

Showing the connecting passage between Pen-y-Bryn Shaft and Lewis's Shaft, viewed looking north

An odd view looking north, showing the underground Powell's Shaft (centre)

and its connections with the Halkyn Tunnel branch (from Batters Shaft), the Rhosesmor Branch of

the Milwr Tunnel and the cross-cut north to Great Halkyn Lode.

Other cave surveying links:

BCRA Cave Surveying Group: http://cavesurveying.org.uk/

Explanation of BCRA survey grades: http://www.cavinguk.co.uk/info/Surveygrade.htm

If you are looking for raw survey data, try here: http://cave-registry.org.uk/

An article on Radiolocation for Cave Surveying: http://caves.org.uk/radio/radioloc_for_cave.html

A page on Paperless Cave Surveying: http://paperless.bheeb.ch/

A booklet by BCRA on Cave Surveying: http://ukcaving.com/wiki/index.php/Cave_Surveying

Underground GPS now possible: http://www.karstworlds.com/2011/01/underground-gps-finally-possible.html

Google Street View underground: In 2013 Google were seeking volunteers to film off-road places using equipment small enough to be carried in a back-pack: http://petapixel.com/2013/06/28/google-now-loaning-trekker-backbacks-to-worthy-organizations/ . Here is the Japanese Akiyoshi-do show cave - but Poole's Cavern have also done similar in England.