Some South Wales and Yorkshire Caving

A few more trips to report before my next few weekends are filled up with various wedding related shenanigans.

Ogof Ffynnon Ddu
27/10/12

Martin and I had driven down to South Wales to help show CUCC's latest band of victims recruits round. With Martin, Adrian and three novices (Mikhail, Rui, Josh) we decided to try the OFD I round trip. Overall I think we did a pretty good job of persuading them that we knew precisely where we were despite this very much not being the case!

After stomping up the streamway and climbing up Lowe's Passage into the higher level stuff, I took a photo of Rui at the 'Bee's Knees' formations in Roundabout Chamber. This chamber is a classic place to confuse new cavers as the 'obvious' route leads you round a little circle back to where you started at the formations (unless you spot the actual way on which is slightly hidden). On our second time round I was asked to take another photo of the formations. I suggested that we wait as there were some more nice formations 'just round the corner'. On our third time round the penny finally dropped!

We continued on smugly and found the slithery climbs down to the bolt traverse above the streamway. After negotiating this we managed to follow our noses through various passages back to the Toast Rack to complete the round trip in about 4 hours or so.