Ogof Gwaliau Gwynion

Ogof Gwaliau Gwynion (OGG for short) isn’t exactly a sporting trip, but it’s interesting enough to do on a day of exploration of some of the smaller caves of the area and makes a good companion trip to Pen Eryr. There are also some very nice formations to see, even if they are a bit muddy.

Location

NGR: SO 20173 15651 - what3words: ///skies.tidying.garage - Length: 184m

From Whitewalls head towards the road and take the concreted track up the hill towards Daren Cilau. Continue up the grassy slope to the top, then up the vague track through bracken to reach the grassy tramway. The Daren Cilau quarry is to the left here, but Ogof Gwaliau Gwynion is at the far end of Pant y Rhiw quarry on the right. The entrance is low in the cliff face and has the grassed over remains of a tiered spoil heap outside.

Access

No access restrictions.

Description

The spoil heap outside makes the entrance more obvious to find and also shows how much has been excavated from the cave. The initial section of the cave is crawling height with shallow puddles. Soon an old gate is met, but this is no longer locked. Beyond this is easy crawling and stooping to reach a small ramp. To the left is a calcite flow but right leads to a choke. Part way up the choke is a descending crawl that once terminated in a clay dig but is now mostly backfilled. The way on is to climb up through the choke to a flat-out crawl which then drops down to reach the 1990 extensions.

This starts as a passage about a metre high leading through a blasted section to reach two well decorated chambers. These are the Tinkle Chambers and the first of these is quite low so care is needed. Follow the taped route to avoid damage to the formations. The second chamber descends to an undercut and a short drop down over boulders, then a short crawl to a low gour-filled passage to a squeeze. From here on the cave becomes more of interest to diggers than your average caver as the passage continuation becomes a flat-out crawl before getting too low to progress further, while an inlet on the left can be climbed to a draughting hole.

Survey (click for larger version)
Photos by Matt Voysey

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