Summary
Trafalgar Passage and Corkscrew Chamber were discovered in 2005 in Iles Inlet, and both contain some notably fine formations. This is easily the most well decorated part of the system and The Courtesan alone is worth all the effort of getting there. Southern Stream Passage and the low crawls in Priory Road and Iles Inlet can be very tiring, and Iles Inlet has some constrictions that may prove to be a challenge for the larger caver, but don’t let that put you off a visit to this unique part of the Agen Allwedd cave system.
The route described is the most direct as travelling via Southern Stream both there and back is by far the quickest and easiest way to do this trip. Alternatively this could be done as a detour from the Grand Circle, but it will add a considerable amount of time and effort to the trip.
This route description now includes the Priory Round Trip, providing an optional loop extension from the end of Trafalgar Passage to the further reaches of Priory Road and back to Iles Inlet.
Trip times vary depending on group size and familiarity with the cave, but you should allow at least 6-8 hours for a trip to The Courtesan (going there and back via Southern Stream), and at least an extra hour if also undertaking the Priory Road loop.
Route Description
Entrance Series
The log book is situated just inside the entrance, please use this to indicate your intended destination and time out. The Entrance Series is a fun, sporting collection of wedged boulders to hop over, narrow rifts to squeeze through and short crawls and climbs, all of which is well trod so you can basically follow the caver-polished route. The key thing to remember when heading into Aggy is always take the left-hand route when you reach a junction. Following this golden rule you shouldn’t go too far wrong but be aware that some of these are low down so can be easily missed. There are a few higher level passages heading off along the way, but these are bat roosting sites and should be avoided.
Beyond the initial rifty sections, at a point when the passage takes on a larger scale (just after you emerge from a slot behind a boulder), look for a climb up over the rocks on the left. This provides the easiest route of continuation, while taking the more obvious straight ahead route ends at an awkward climb and squeeze to regain the way on. Continue on this high level until you reach then end and a taped off section and sign is visible ahead, then descend the smooth sided hole through boulders in the floor. Below, there are more holes in the floor, but continue to the end and descend into a passage heading off to the right. Then take the side passage almost immediately on your left, which is low down and easy to miss. A small streamway is met and from here on the route is straightforward, with a knobbly crawl over polished rocks ending at climb up to gain the impressively sized Baron’s Chamber, near a blue sign attached to a boulder. Take note of your location as you emerge from the climb as it’s partially obscured and easily missed on the return.
Main Passage and Southern Stream Passage
The easiest way along the first part of Main Passage is to keep to the left hand wall. Shortly after you are forced to climb down into the middle of the passage the junction with Main Stream Passage is met. The continuation of Main Passage and the route to Southern Stream is upslope on the left. This part of the cave is remarkably pleasant and the passage is undoubtedly one of the finest in Wales – make the most of this while you can as the following section is quite the opposite!
There are a few passages heading off in this section but the junction with Southern Stream Passage is easy to spot – the floor drops away on the right hand side of the passage and a clamber down a boulder slope leads into a dry passage. Continue over boulders, pass through a constriction, then a short distance beyond a hole down between boulders leads into Southern Stream Passage. This is our route and the start of a section of caving of far less sizeable proportions. The continuing higher level route leads to Sandstone Passage and Upper Southern Stream.
The first section of Southern Stream is mostly stooping passage and relatively free of obstacles and there is normally very little water. First Inlet enters from the left, and after another 250m further the smaller Second Inlet, equipped with a drinking cup, enters from the right. This is roughly the halfway point from the start of Southern Stream to the waterfall. From here onwards there are more obstacles to impede progress. Often there is a dry alternative to crawling in water, although in a couple of places this is unavoidable. At one of these the roof lowers until it is impassable, but on the left side a narrow ascending slot provides a bypass. Soon after this the going starts to get easier with some open walking passage, which suddenly arrives at the top of a small waterfall. A handline has been provided for the 2m climb.
The going is comparatively easy and much more pleasant after the waterfall, with occasional climbs up and over boulder obstacles. Look out for the short rope climb and rope traverse in a section where the upper part of the passage is significantly wider. Climb the rope to the wedged boulder and use the fixed line to traverse across to reach Gothic Passage and the Gothic extensions – if you were to continue along Southern Stream instead you would eventually reach Lower Main Streamway and the original Grand Circle route.
Gothic Passage to Iles Inlet and The Courtesan
Gothic Passage starts as an easy walking passage but quickly lowers to a crawl before arriving at a T-junction. Take the left-hand route here to Priory Road (heading right leads to Maytime and Grand Circle via High Traverse) and walking is soon regained before once again becoming a crawl to meet another junction. This time we head right (where BNS is written in carbide), while left soon reaches a dig. A flat-out crawl then leads to Ribbed Fault, which has a large aven overhead and fallen blocks on the floor. Skirting to the right of the blocks and heading left leads to Priory Road, while following the taped path heading right soon reaches a dead end.
Priory Road begins rather uncomfortably with a prolonged crawl in wide but low passage. Some crystal formations are passed along the way, and there are occasional places to stand up beneath avens until progress eventually becomes easier. The passage then regains walking dimensions once more with only the odd section of stooping and an inlet is passed on the left. At a large junction, take a sharp left to continue along Priory Road (straight on reaches a choke), but a short diversion can also be undertaken to visit The Cathedral if time and energy is at your disposal. This is accessed by a small aven tube with hanging baler twine to aid entry to the right of the taped route at the junction. A snug chimney climb and second short climb above gain the impressively sized chamber of The Cathedral.
Continuing along Priory Road, the next passage heading off on the left is Iles Inlet. This is the route to The Courtesan and Trafalgar Passage, and also the start of the round trip if extending your journey to include the further reaches of Priory Road. A very deep pit in the floor marked with a ‘Deep Excavations’ sign is soon met. This impressive digging effort drops down to a low crawl with a sand squeeze up to reach open passage on the other side; you will encounter a few more of these as various dug-through sections are met along the way, along with a couple of awkward S bends. However, all the effort of getting there is well rewarded when you emerge at the 2005 breakthrough point. This part of the cave has more in common with Urchin Oxbow and Antler Passage in Daren Cilau than anything you’d usually find in Aggy and care should be taken to stay within the taped route to protect the floor sediments as well as the formations.
Trafalgar Passage continues straight ahead, while a small side-rift on the left just before the first formations start appearing in the roof leads to Corkscrew Chamber and The Courtesan. If doing the round trip, this should be visited first. A short but awkward thrutch up this rift soon emerges into Corkscrew Chamber with The Courtesan formation straight ahead. This is easily the best formation in Agen Allwedd; perhaps even the best under Llangattock, and there are some very splendid urchin formations too.
Unless keen to see the digging potential of the cave beyond, there’s no need to continue onwards through the next section of constrictions into Broadside (a wide but low passage ending with digs in all directions, the northerly end heading towards Bad Bat in Daren Cilau while southern digs head in the direction of DADES Choke in Daren Cilau).
Returning to the main route, the lofty Trafalgar Passage is followed passing some impressively fine formations along the way. Towards the end, the passage lowers to a crawl as it approaches what was once the end of the passage before its connection to The Bunker.
A return by the entry route through Iles Inlet is the quickest and easiest way back, but the Priory Road round trip is an interesting diversion for those wishing to explore the furthest reaches of this part of the cave. What was once just a vocal connection was finally made passable on 8th June 2024.
The Priory Road Round Trip
The dug-out crawl at the end of Trafalgar Passage leads to an upwards vertical squeezed named Crowbar Surprise to emerge at The Bunker, in the furthest reaches of this part of the cave beyond Priory Road. Head left from here (the right-hand route leads to a dig after 30m) to reach a flat-out crawl which soon emerges into the bottom of an aven containing a notable historical artefact, the remains of a huge set of bellows purpose made during the 90s to circulate air in the dig passed on the right. Ignore the rope hanging from behind (leading to a series of small high-level tubes with no way on) and instead climb the knotted rope ahead, being careful not to damage the bellows while you do so. The route through the aven ends with a dig to a tight vertical squeeze up, which is best tackled head-first on your back with care needed to avoid dislodging the loose rocks and spoil precariously balanced overhead. This emerges next to bang wire with the two MOAB “Mother Of All Battles” digs on the left – one heading vertically up and the other heading down and south for some way. This dig is currently the nearest point to Daren Cilau, approximately 20m away.
Continuing on to the right leads to the old diggers’ day camp, where an assortment of interesting paraphernalia remains from previous excavation efforts in this part of the cave. The way on from here is via a left-hand passage where a flat out crawl and a short climb leads to a small chamber named Birthday Surprise. Head straight on from here, ignoring minor digs to the left and right, and take the most obvious right-hand route heading in a south-westerly direction, crawling past bang wire coming in from above. Follow this wire downhill through another flat-out crawl (ignoring another small dig on the left-hand side) to emerge in another small chamber, Severn Beach.
You are now back in Priory Road at its furthest extremity and the way on from here is to follow the right-hand wall and bang wire. Ignore the two side passages passed on the left (the first of these is Grolsch Passage and the second leads to a dig) to meet a low arch. Beyond, the next section of passage is mainly low crawling and climbing over holes in the floor – all of which end in chokes and sediment infill. Take care at a slope with a notable drop off, and progress through a low wide arch to emerge into the impressive chamber of Glevum Hall. Head down a boulder pile, passing by a rope heading up Glevum Hall Aven (this is fixed with very questionable anchor bolts and not advisable to climb!) A sand swim leads on to Hot Can Aven then more stooping and crawling before returning once more to easy walking passage and the junction to Iles Inlet, completing the round trip in this part of the cave. Return back the way you came.
Written by Mandy Voysey, John Stevens and Dave Kinzett. Photos by Matt Voysey, Steve Sharp and John Stevens.
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