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Llethrid Swallet, Llethryd Swallet


NGR: SS 53113 91180
39 m.asl

Swansea , Gower
map using leaflet map:
Sink Cave
Access From Llethrid Bridge on the B4271 follow the river South until the sink is reached. The entrance is gated and the key is available from SWCC. The cave is liable to sudden and severe flooding.See caving.wales for current Access arrangements
Description A narrow entrance leads to a 230 metre stream passage which is narrow and there are a number of squeezes. At the point where the stream disappears between the boulders, it is possible to climb to an upper series. This consists chiefly of two large chambers. The Great Hall, 65 to 100 metres long is extremely well decorated. A side passage leads to the second chamber - the Annex. From the Great Hall, a steep clay slope leads back to a continuation of the stream passage which shortly ends in a sump. Between the 1st and 2nd sump are mud chambers and two 10 metre pots. Sump 2 is 38 metres long and 4.5 metres deep and leads to a further 18 metres of passage and Sump 3 which remains unexplored.
History Don Coase, BEC/SWCC, Aug. 1949; blocked by rockfall from 2003 until reopened by Andy Freem et al. 2021
Hydrology The stream resurges at Wellhead Tests
Conservation SSSI: 0781 Coedydd Parkmill a Cwm Llethrid (Mixed) GCR: 1128 Biological records
Gallery

Brendan Marris
2008

Glenn Jones
1965
Survey
UCSCC Speleotawe. 1967. Ogden. Grades 5 & 6 [incorrectly oriented, see Kokelaar p.159]
SWCC 75th Anniversary nl.v.1, p.131
Descent 283,p.34, showing misorientation of first published survey
References
SWCC Newsletter, Sep 1949
Belfry Bulletin 28, 5-6, Oct 1949, R.W.G.Cantle & G.T.Lucy, Llethrid Cave
British Caver 20, 31-32, 88-89, 1950
SWCC Newsletter. Feb. 1950
Cullingford,C.H.D. (1951), Exploring Caves, pp.55
Taylor, M. Clague, Gower Vol.6, p.38Cave Hunting in Gower
SWCC Newsletter. 13, 1955. Entrance blocked by flooding
SWCC Newsletter. 14, 2-4, 1956 Keith Ball, Extension of stream passage in Lethrid and Origin of mud stalagmites in Lethrid
SWCC Newsletter. 16, 3-4, 1956. Brief description
British Caver 28, 1957
HCC NL. 10, 7-9, Jan. 1957 - Apr. 1958. Report of being trapped
SWCC Newsletter. 25, 2-4, 1958. Reprint of HCC
CRG Biol. Spel. Supp. 7, Dec. 1961. Record of Biol. Finds
, Gower Vol.14, pp.2-5Llethrid Cwm [Llethrid Swallet declared SSSI]
British Caver 35, 52-54, 1962. Possible damage by quarrying.
Caves in Wales and the Marches (Dalesman), Jenkins, D.W. & Williams, A.M., 1963. Location description and brief details.
David Ede, Gower Vol.16, pp.64-55In Search of Caves
Wessex Cave Club Journal 8 (94), 42-44, 1964. Rescue
Belfry Bulletin 193, 10-12, 1964. Rescue
SVCC Newsletter 2 (1), p.3, 1964. Report on TV coverage of rescue, which resulted in closure of the cave (partly because coal miners called in to assist thought the cave suicidal due to lack of props).
British Caver 43, 1966
CDG nl.30, 1974
CDG nl.32, 1974
Three Below Gower, 1991, Ch.21 Llethrid Swallet, Ultima Thule
CDG nl.105, 1992
Caves of South Wales, Stratford, T., 1995
Selected Caves of Britain and Ireland, 1997
CDG nl.158, 2006
Brendan Marris Gower Cave Location Map
Descent 270,p.12, 2019, Digging at Llethrid [prospective new entrance]
Kokelaar, P. (2021) Green Cwm and the Last Glacial Maximum underground pp.124-133; Recovering Llethrid 157-160 in All Our Own Water
Descent 283,pp.32-38, The Llethrid saga
Cambrian Cave Registry entry 1116
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