Three days of caving fun in assorted caves, plus the annual bat count, a photography trip, cave digging, an excellent dinner and lots of mud!
A number of members arrived early to enjoy an extra day of caving on the Friday. This was to be a venture down the fine streamway cave of Llanelly Quarry Pot, however on arrival the entrance was nowhere to be found! A collapse had occurred, completely burying the entrance, so a Plan B was needed…
Luckily there are other caves nearby. After a quick exploration of Railway Cave and another small cave, the team took an atmospheric journey through the Gelli Felin tunnels to the Clydach Gorge for a circuit around Ogof Clogwyn which included the round trip and an alternative exit.
With more cavers heading underground on Saturday, a number of different trips took place in both Agen Allwedd and Ogof Craig a Ffynnon. The traditional Aggy bat count took place in the Agen Allwedd entrance series, while a photography team headed by Martyn Farr set to work in Main Passage. Somewhat further into the cave system a hardy bunch of cave diggers continued work in Avalanche Aven in the bid to forge a connection with Daren Cilau, and the iconic Thunderbirds mug in Southern Stream passsage that had been swept away in the recent floods was also replaced by an identical model which is now more robustly attached. On the opposite side of the mountain two trips took place in Ogof Craig a Ffynnon, which seemed muddier than usual. One group took a relaxed journey to view the wonders of the Hall of the Mountain King, while another endured the crawls to progress further into the cave, with some descending to the Lower Series while others visited Helictite Passage and the Pagoda.
After caving it was time to head off to The Bear in Crickhowell for the club’s Annual Dinner, where a very social evening was enjoyed by all. The after dinner entertainment was a short presentation on the progress of the Priory Road ‘Merry Monks’ digging team, with surveys and photos of the new round trips and discoveries found. The well-attended Annual General Meeting took place on Sunday in Crickhowell Parish Hall, after which there was just time for some to squeeze in an additional caving trip to Eglwys Faen.