Somewhat at odds with our blog title we venture into a space with no skies to give the kids a day out with a difference. A days caving in South Wales.
I have tried caving a few times. As a Scout we were lucky to have a district caving expert who would take us on weekends away to South Wales. Suitably attired in heavy jumpsuits and with battery packs the size of a hardback book, we would udge our way through cave systems, muddy, sometimes wet but always nervously excited and laughing uproarously.
Whilst caving was a sport I never really got into as an adult I can see the appeal. It represents one of those adventure sports with a sense of real exploration. There are certainly many thousands of miles of unmapped and unexplored cave systems out there. Even within the UK a huge amount of mysteries remain on how “systems” (caving lexicon for different cave networks) connect. Even as a beginner, given that caving remains a fairly niche sport, you are unlikely to be queueing up amongst others even in popular beginners cave systems. Even the most well used caving systems can feel like a step into the unknown.
Whilst the recent “13 lives” movie, the tale of the heroic and unlikely rescue of 12 Thai children and their football coach from a flooded system, and a recent BBC documentary The Rescue: 54 hours under the ground, have brought caving adventures to the masses, it is possible to have a go at caving safely and fairly easily.
So on a rainy November morning we find ourselves meeting our Instructor for the day in a small car park above Llangattock near Abergavenny, South Wales. Our objective for the morning an exploration of Eglwys Faen Cave in Craig y Cilau. For this days caving experience there were four of us alongside our instructor, Richard, myself and my 8 year old son Elliot, my brother in law James and his son Harry (10).
What equipment do you need to cave
Basic caving for beginners requires meeting a few simple needs, a light source and a means of staying warm enough in the constant 9-11° that typifies the climate in most British caves. It is widely touted that the cave temperature will match the average yearly surface temperature for the location. Makes sense!
Caving clothes
We were provided with helmets, overalls (strong cordura one piece suits), a webbing belt and headtorches. Underneath overalls cavers will typically wear one piece fleece undersuits. A warm tracksuit will suffice although synthetic layers are better at keeping you warm when damp or wet which is frequently the case. As any outdoors person knows, cotton gets very heavy and cold when wet, although for a short introduction to caving trip this is not such a biggie.
I have a one piece fleece suit so wore that, and put Elliot in a fleece and synthetic baselayer and tracksuit bottoms. We both wore thick woollen socks and wellies as recommended.
Caving headlamps
These have come a long way since the heavy and bulky external battery pack units of old. We were provided with Petzl Pixa 3s which offer 3 brightness settings, an easy to use twist knob control and rugged waterproof, design. These seemed to work well.
The final piece of provided kit, the webbing belt, is primarily to provide a handhold for the instructor to grab to give aid as required up any steps or drops.
Cave #1: Eglwys Faen
This popular cave for beginners covers over 1.3km of tunnel with a bit of everything. From the broad open entrance cavern, to some winding crawls and squeezes (tight passages that require squeezing through). With a bit of historical interest and wildlife thrown in to boot. Eglwys faen means the stone church, or church of or in the rock. Reputedly it was used as such during the reformation when many secret Catholic churches sprung up where they could conduct services in secret. e.g. Beer Quarry Caves.
Historical documents refer to many clear stalactites, the ones that hang from the ceiling, but in honesty whilst the cave is fun, and main cavern impressive these are largely absent and not the main reason for the visit.
We entered the cave into the main cavern, the floor surface is strewn with blocks so careful steps are required, but a large and impressive space. Peering up at the walls with our lights Richard pointed out a few Lesser Horseshoe bats roosting on the walls. These tiny bats hang with their wings wrapped around them, channeling a nice vampire bat vibe. Of course they are totally harmless insectivores. We also saw Pipistrelles, a small hairy variety common to gardens across the UK. The kids were given a laminated map to orientate and we talked through the planned route for the morning.
We started in the western series (of passages and caves), pausing to read some ancient grafitti, obviously not to be encouraged but interesting when some dates back to the 1700s. This route gave us gentle introduction to the need to squeeze through some tight passages on our stomachs with no space to crawl. But nothing arduous or super tight.
Further exploration of Eglwys Faen introduced us to a variety of methods of cave locomotion, probably most entertaining being a U-bend style squeeze necessitating a twist onto the back to exit the hole gracefully. We finally exited, via a small clutch of cave spiders (entertaining for minecraft loving children) through the waterfall exit. The good news was the kids were keen to continue and try and other cave despite a couple of hours underground.
Following a relaxed lunch, admiring the view over Usk valley, we wandered back towards the car, for a brief drive to our next cave, Ogof Clogwn.
Ogof Clogwyn
Another cave ideal for beginners this cave has a different character to Eglwys Faen. Being much wetter, most of the cave had a knee deep stream of water running through it for our visit. The layering of the limestone and uneven wear has created a really interesting set of features throughout the cave referred to as phreatic shelving. The kids really loved this one, a chance to get wet and clamber about on rocky ledges. Likely why this one was said to be popular with outdoor centres and youth groups.
The fun starts with an assisted hop up/clamber onto a 1.5m high ledge over which the stream exits the cave. Entering the cave you are quickly forced into accepting wellies full of water and an array of route choices including little side horsehoe tunnels (Oxbows). The rocky shelves that line the cave are quite spectacular and also produce some fun options including the “mucky duck” which involves semi floating/pulling yourself under a fissue in a shelf across the stream face up, no need for breathe holding but a nice neckful of water to cool down!
The deepest point of the cave also boasted a few fossils to admire, some bivalve shells and corals, this excited the geologist James.
Overall a brilliant day out. We all left tired but throughly entertained and keen to continue our caving adventure at some point. The kids said they would do it again which is perhaps the acid test.
Thanks to our cave instructor Richard Hill, https://caving.training/about. A great instructor who made our day fun, safe, enjoyable and educational.
For more information on the caves of South Wales the best resource is https://www.ogof.org.uk/