Monmouthshire
, Northern Outcrop - East (Morlais to Abergavenny)
map using leaflet map:
Rising
Cave
Access
The cave lies on the right bank of the Clydach River, 6m above the stream, 30m downstream from the Pylon on the left bank. A path leads down from the building by the tramroad W of the Gellifaelen tunnels; lower, narrow, part skirts a slope to sheer drop into river and has 3 sets of bolts installed by NRW for use with a traverse line
Description
A stream flows out from the entrance. A small but interesting cave which has fine phreatic rock shelves and is suitable for groups and beginners. It consists in the main of a single stream passage with a few small side passages to the main sump (dived for 40m to 5m depth) and a smaller sump down a side passage. There is a climb into an upper rift series.
History
Being beside an old cross-valley path and having had inscriptions noted from 1850, locally explored well before first reporting by Brian Price in 1950
Hydrology
Smaller, western, sump reacts rapidly to rainfall, discharging 'milky' water but main sump discharge is constant and clear (unless the jelly-like mud is disturbed by diving)... The water resurging from this passage measures 230,000 litres per day [.0027 cumecs]
Smaller, western, sump reacts rapidly to rainfall, discharging 'milky' water but main sump discharge is constant and clear (unless the jelly-like mud is disturbed by diving)... The water resurging from this passage measures 230,000 litres per day [.0027 cumecs]
Main sump
Side sump
stream junction
SWCC Newsletter, Dec 1950, 21 Sep: local boys say "it goes a long way"; 1 Oct noted 'fang' formation on walls from phreatic solution
British Caver 22, 85-86,95-96, 1951
HCC Newsletter 4, 10-12, 1952
Britain Underground, 1953 [also, misplaced entry for Shakespeare's Cave: "River sinks 1/4 mile down Clydach Valley and issues from a cave about 150 ft. lower down", may be relevant]
SWCC Newsletter Nov. 1951
British Caver 25, 9-16
HCC Newsletter 5, 2
British Caver 29, 70-74
HCC Newsletter 12, 19, 1960
SWCC Our Caves No.5, Survey, Maps, Location and Description
AxCG nl. Apr 1964 p.30, Colin Graham, A few notes on the Easter Camp at Llangatock [sump too tight and long to freedive]
Mel Davies, Cave Sump Index, 1966
CDG Newsletter 21 (1971)
The Caves of Clydach, Tony Oldham, 1981
CDG Newsletter 63 (1982)
Gascoine,W. (1982) Trans.BCRA 9(3), pp.165-175, The formation of black deposits in some caves in South East Wales
Theo Schuurmans, Keith Jones, Steve Ainley, CwmbranCC Journal 11, p.17 (1982)
Caves of South Wales, Stratford, T., 1995
A Caver's View of the Clydach River (Cwmbran Caving Club, 1986), Schuurmans, T.
records
