Popular Caves Nearby
Brief descriptions of the most popular smaller caves of the area. These are all within easy driving distance of Whitewalls, situated either in the Clydach Gorge or Trefil Quarry area.
Llanelly Quarry Pot
NGR: SO 22468 12408 – what3words: ///bits.ogre.redeeming – Length: 1705m
From the village of Clydach, drive down Quarry Road to reach a parking place nearby an old railway arch leading into the disused quarry. The entrance of the cave is at the end of the quarry on the right-hand side.
Note: The entrance sometimes gets covered by falling debris from the nearby cliff. It’s wise to take some tools to dig it open if necessary.
Llanelly Quarry Pot is an excellent streamway cave. The entrance rift is tight and awkward (especially on the return), but the reward is an impressive pitch leading on to the middle of a fine streamway with sculpted rock ledges.
Upstream reaches the well decorated Midsummer Night’s Dream Streamway, where a notable formation called the ‘Totem Pole’ is found at the base of an aven leading to the Totem Aven Series. This is a real collector’s piece, ascending roughly 40m above the streamway in a series of 4 consecutive climbs with a number of blind passages heading off. This currently has fixed ropes in situ, but the climb is still quite committing. The streamway continues before ending at a 30m long duck beyond which it is not far to a sump.
Downstream is initially pleasantly easy-going with nice formations, before becoming a bit more arduous at Midsummer Night’s Nightmare Streamway. This eventually leads to a sump, very close to the end of Shakespeare’s Cave.
Tackle
Entrance Rift – 10m handline is useful.
Pitch – 30m rope (4 P hangers in place) or 20m ladder and double lifeline.
Ogof Capel
NGR: SO 21679 12612 – what3words: ///topics.relishes.clef – Length: 835m
Located in the Clydach Gorge very close to the A465 Heads of the Valleys road.
Access: The cave is locked, with a leader system in place to protect the vulnerable formations throughout the cave. See the Cambrian Caving Council website for further information.
Ogof Capel used to be the domain of divers only, until a dry connection from Ogof Gelynnen was dug in 2005, bypassing the two sumps. After the initial crawls and dug out sections Ogof Gelynnen leads to a shored up boulder choke that needs to be passed through with care. Beyond this the Capel streamway is met which is well decorated throughout most of its length with large quantities of straws and other formations. Slalom Passage is the only side passage heading off the streamway, and this is also well decorated with stal grottos. A little further along the streamway a 30m duck is met; this is quite spacious but can sump during wet weather. Beyond this the formations continue and those by Tuppenny Ha’penny Choke are particularly nice. The cave then closes down to a rift before becoming too tight to continue.
CSS has a number of Capel leaders, see keys and leaders for the full list.
Ogof Capel photos by John Stevens
Ogof Pont Gam/Ogof Nant Rhin Through Trip
Pont Gam Entrance – NGR: SO 20914 12614 – what3words: ///milk.distorts.height – Length: 483m (total length of Pont Gam and Nant Rhin)
This is one of the few SRT trips in the area, with three pitches descending to join the Ogof Nant Rhin streamway to emerge in the Clydach Gorge. There are some awkward sections in this cave and plenty of places to snag your kit, but overall it’s a fun and interesting trip with the option of adding on a visit to Ogof Clogwyn or other caves of the Clydach Gorge downstream.
Location: The Pont Gam entrance is on the way to Craig a Ffynnon from Whitewalls at a bend in the road just beyond where Blackrock Road becomes Main Road. Call at the house (The Unicorn) to ask permission to park by the cave entrance; alternatively, parking is available further down the road in the large layby by the new rusty footbridge crossing the A465. The cave entrance is by the stream in the patch of land directly opposite Unicorn House.
Description: A crawl from the entrance soon reaches the first pitch (10m), leading to a knobbly chamber with an interesting rock bridge. Follow the stream down beneath this bridge and along a decorated section of streamway until reaching a tight rift passage on the left. This is awkward going, but soon reaches a small chamber followed by a short bit of stooping to the head of the second pitch (3.5m). This is soon followed by the third pitch (12m) a short crawl further. This is the impressive Aven d’Oznog, descending to the lower series of Ogof Nant Rhin.
At the foot of this fine aven, a squeeze below the pillar of flowstone leads into a rift passage to be travelled at various levels along ledges where care is required not to damage formations. This leads to a higher level route over the Nitty Gritty Mississippi streamway, where it is possible to drop down at various points.
Upon reaching the streamway, following the flow downstream leads to the exit in the Clydach Gorge. This becomes lower and wetter on the approach to the scaffolded entrance tube. A small tube on the left just before this is reached is the original, much tighter entrance to the cave. However, to visit the full extent of the Nitty Gritty Mississippi head upstream instead. Highlights of the journey through the streamway include the PF formations, Garden of Delights and Shaven Aven. See the Ogof Nant Rhin description (below) for further details.
Tackle
Pitch 1 – 15m rope, 2 maillons, Y-hang belayed to a natural. Or 25m rope, 3 maillons to include the short climb below.
Pitch 2 – 10m (or 12m if backing up to a natural), 3 maillons. Single bolt, followed by a Y-hang
Pitch 3 (Aven D’Oznog) – 20m rope, 3 maillons plus optional deviation to avoid water. Back up to a natural, single bolt, then Y-hang.
Ogof Nant Rhin
NGR: SO 21040 12420 – what3words: ///crawler.cabbies.chitchat – Length: 483m (137m of which inaccessible from below without pre-rigging from the Pont Gam entrance)
Location: The Ogof Nant Rhin entrance is located on the north side of the Clydach Gorge, below and just downstream of a large layby on the A465 Heads of the Valleys Road. The 346m of streamway and Aven d’Oznog can be visited without the need for SRT and could be combined with a visit to Ogof Clogwyn and other caves of the Clydach Gorge.
The original direct route to Ogof Nant Rhin is no longer possible since the reconstruction of the A465 Heads of the Valleys Road, leaving two alternative route options for those wanting the access the cave by its river entrance rather than via Ogof Pont Gam.
The Clydach Route: In low water conditions perhaps the easiest route to the cave is to follow the river Clydach upstream from Ogof Clogwyn. This involves some scrambling over rocks, ledges and fallen trees and is not recommended at times of high water levels where many sections would become impassable.
To reach the cave via this route, park on the south side of the gorge in the Gellifelen parking area (NGR: SO 23023 11414, what3words: ///croak.spit.tidal) and take the footpath down to the Ogof Clogwyn entrance. This is reached by following the road a short distance further then then through a gate on the right. The Ogof Nant Rhin entrance is approximately 270m upstream of Ogof Clogwyn and 130m beyond the obvious mine-like entrance of Brynmawr Old Dig. The entrance issues a small stream and can be recognised by the scaffolding stabilising the crawl.
The Blackrock Route: Descending to the gorge via this route is more direct and utilises the bat tunnel beneath the Heads of the Valleys Road, but may have overgrown sections (secateurs useful). Park as if visiting Ogof Pant Gam, either at Unicorn House (call at the house to ask permission) in Blackrock Road or in the large layby further down the road by the rusty footbridge crossing the A465.
About 200m below Unicorn House, a set of more than a dozen drain covers in the road marks the best point to enter the small area of woodlands where you should take the easiest route to down to the stream below Ogof Pont Gam. Following this soon meets a culvert, above which a large walking-sized bat tunnel can be entered which passes beneath the road to emerge at the top of the gorge. The easiest route of descent is to head upslope a few metres to reach a metal fence which meets a man-made gully after 34m. Continuing a further 10-15m reaches a safer place to descend directly above Ogof Nant Rhin. This is very steep, so a handline may be useful.
Description: The somewhat awkward entry through shored boulders soon meets comfortable hands and knees crawling in the Nitty Gritty Mississippi streamway. The tiny tube on the right here is the original route into the cave. The passage enlarges to stooping with occasional walking, with small formations on the ceiling, before dropping to a crawl beneath a wet inlet (Golden Showers). Phreatic shelving reminiscent of Ogof Clogwyn is present throughout much of this cave and a higher level can be accessed by climbing up at various points of the streamway. The route to the impressive Aven d’Oznog is found from this higher level and is not visible from below. This departs from the main streamway heading left at an enlargement with a small waterfall, but is accessed by a climb up shortly beforehand. Following the route along the shelving requires some care to avoid damage to the formations and emerges through a tight squeeze at the base of the aven. This is where the final pitch of the Pont Gam/Nant Rhin through-trip enters the cave and is well worth seeing for the flowstone formations.
Back at the main passage, following the Nitty Gritty Mississippi streamway beyond the small waterfall, a junction is soon met. The main way on is to the left here, while straight on is a short but pleasant detour to the Garden of Delights. Returning back to the junction and heading left, the PF formations are soon encountered at a particularly photogenic section of the streamway before progress once again diminishes to crawling proportions. The low passage from here on passes through two avens, the first of which is the blind Distant Voices Aven while the next is Shaven Aven. This marks the end of the cave for anyone not tempted by expending unnecessary effort in the short, tight crawl to the very end of the streamway at the wet boulder-choked digs of Kerplunk! and Jaws of Death.
Nant Rhin photos by Matt Voysey
Ogof Clogwyn
NGR: SO 21299 12388 – what3words: ///tomato.fulfilled.opposite – Length: 352m
Location: Ogof Clogwyn is located in the south side of the Clydach Gorge 400m upstream from the Devil's Bridge. The easiest route to the cave is from the Gellifelen parking area above the gorge on the south side (NGR: SO 23023 11414, what3words: ///croak.spit.tidal). From here continue along the road a short distance further and look for a gate on the right. This takes you on an easy footpath descent of the gorge, leading right to the cave entrance.
Ogof Clogwyn is a popular novice-friendly cave, and deservedly so. This is an easy and pleasant stream cave with attractive rock shelving. A trip here doesn’t take very long and can easily be combined with trips to neighbouring caves of Ogof Nant Rhin and Shakespeare’s Cave. The entrance to Clogwyn is easily recognised by the waterfall issuing from it. This leads directly to a walking-sized meandering streamway, passing several small side passages that either oxbow or lead back to alternative smaller entrances to the cave. A pile of boulders at a right-hand bend has a climb up to Upper Series where it’s possible to do a round trip. The cave ends with a sump with a second smaller sump down a low passage on the right.
Ogof Clogwyn photos by Andy Watson, Emyr Walters and Matt Voysey
Chartist Cave
NGR: SO 12774 15224 – what3words: ///ratio.marathons.universe – Length: 440m
Located high on the Langynidr moors above Trefil, this cave is almost impossible to find without GPS. However for anyone willing to embark on an hour long trek across this shakehole infested moorland the reward is an easy cave with some surprisingly large fossil passages.
If parking on the Trefil Quarry road, be aware that the gates may be closed before you return.
The cave entrance is an obvious rock arch with a slope of gritstone boulders heading in, but being low to the ground is not easy to spot until close by. You’ll definitely know when you’ve found it as there’s a plaque mounted at the entrance with details of the cave’s history. There are two ways on from the bottom of the entrance chamber, but the right-hand one ends in a boulder run in after only 30m. Heading left, the passage leads to a high-level rift which closes down soon after. Beneath this is a hole which leads down to the major fossil passages in the cave system below. Following the passage at the bottom leads to a large breakdown chamber. A number of different passages radiate out from this central area and there’s quite a lot to explore without the need for a description or survey. The two large passages heading off in the right-hand direction both end quite abruptly with boulder blockage indicating the presence of a fault-line here and the large passage heading off to the left does likewise. This cave has long been considered to have good potential for further discoveries as this is surely just a fragment of a much large system, but as yet only small extensions have been made. There are a collection of side passages heading off the main route, but none of these extend beyond the faults.
Photos by Matt Voysey
Ogof Tarddiad Rhymney
NGR: SO 08511 14117 – what3words: ///wacky.moguls.gurgling – Length: 1608m
Photos by Matt Voysey
Located in the disused Cwar Yr Ystrad Quarry, about 3 miles from the village of Trefil. The road beyond Trefil Quarry is gated and only open during quarry working hours, so a long walk is now required to reach the cave. Follow the tarmac track which eventually becomes gravel surfaced. Stay on this past a fork with a triangle of grass, then take the track on the left and to head into the quarry on the right here. As you enter, head right and look for the cave above boulder pile next to the quarry cliff. The entrance has a wall of stones across which should be re-built after your visit.
A short drop soon lands directly into large fossil passage. This is mostly of wide dimensions and walking height with just the occasional stooping section or short crawl, and continues as a single passage until a junction is met after about 200m. Heading left here is the continuation of the main passage, while straight on and upslope leads to the Nant Criban branch of the cave. Here initially sizeable dimensions soon end, with a crawl becoming the only way forward. Cramped awkward progress then leads to a small chamber and a further 80m of crawling before reaching a 50m section of the Nant Criban streamway. The Nant Llwyd streamway can also be accessed for a short distance by dropping down the hole a short distance into the initial crawl.
To continue along the main passage, take the left-hand route back at the junction heading downslope. This reaches a boulder choke after 300m. This obstacle is easily passed by taking the obvious worn route through the boulders to re-emerge in open passage after 10m. Large dimensions continue for a while before diminishing to a small stream passage. Follow the meandering stream with some sections of crawling until another choke is reached. It’s possible to continue following the stream here, but it soon becomes too tight. A route through boulders leads to further small passages but all end in chokes.