As Tony and I were in the area with a few hours to spare after exploring "Rhyd Y Foel" adit. We decided to try and locate Ogaf Dulas. I had an approximate grid ref but my GPS was struggling with the amount of tree cover we were under.
Tony suggested heading down a load of dodgy looking scree, but I wasn't optimistic. As the land started to level, a "man-made" looking cutting started to become apparent. There was a hole at the end of it which resembled a badger set. I turned around and Tony had already disappeared down the hole. After revisiting my pile of maps last night, I'm confident we still haven't found Ogaf Dulas, but we have found a new mine to play in (that's the 3rd lot of new ground this week).
The Mine goes a fair way in, but no where near as far as the RYF adit we visited earlier in the day. There are shafts in the floor, but they don't seem to go anywhere, there is a dodgy looking wooden beam to balance on over a hole, but we opted just to bridge / straddle the hole instead. There are no off shoots left or right but there is a climb up, which Tony explored.
Tony soon descended back down to the main level, and reported finding a slate like material, but it was really crumbly and powdery. I didn't take any photos, but the video is uploading as I type.
I'm sure Tony will post his photos :whistle:
[quote="Sweetie" post=18554] I didn't take any photos[/quote]
I lied, I took these of the entrance
Good little report Rob. I've got photo's of the slate like material. It was very much like slate but as Rob has said it was easily broken and crumbled when rubbed with fingers. What is it???
Will upload pics once Amy has finished on laptop.
Great photos Tony ;)
Caves of North East Wales (Dulas Cave) (https://sites.google.com/site/cavesofnortheastwales/14-caves-d-e)
Dulas Cave is on here Rob, and the directions to it mention possibly the mine we entered yesterday.
"Because the entrance is difficult to find, it is easiest to approach from the green at Rhyd-y-Foel half a mile to the south.
A footpath from the green next to the road (at SH9128477037) enters the woods. Take this path north, keeping a fence to your left for much of the way. After about 650 paces an open mine level lies a few metres above the path. Dulas Cave lies perhaps a further 60 or 80 metres further north, about 12 metres above the path. A short miners cutting leads into the entrance."
Cool, Might go for a mooch one night in the week. :)
This is what my book says:
OGOF DULAS Also known as LLANDDULAS CAVE(S) and LLANDULAS MINE CEFN-YR OGOF HILL
NGR SH 9140 7750 A 300 feet L 900 feet VR 50 feet see survey p 31
About ¼ mile south of Tan-yr-Ogof qv in a wooded depression. The entrance was originally a circular tube about 10 feet in diameter. This become blocked with clay and boulders to within 4 feet of the roof. The miners cut an adit through this deposit, going to a depth of 5 feet in places and neatly stacking the debris against the sides of the cave. About 250 feet from the entrance is an 8 foot high pothole in the floor of the passage. From the bottom of this, a 70 foot mined passage leads off to a 50 feet high mined aven which leads to a system of mined galleries. The main passages continues from the pothole (with two man-made passages) for 250 feet ending in a chamber 30 feet high and 20 feet wide blocked by a roof fall.
Don't think that 1st pothole is 8ft and there definitely weren't 2 passages off it...
the slate type rock might well be shale, the roof of one of your photo's looked a bit like shale
I'll second Shale. It's slate that's not had enough pressure to become proper slate. Crumbles in your hand.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm9eH4YwBGQ&feature=youtu.be[/video]
Nice one Sweetie
I have visited Ogof Dulas several times and it is exactly where Chris Ebbs says it is on his website. I did find it easier to park at the road junction by the quarry to the north and follow a path from there, dropping down to the entrance which is very low down on the hillside and only a little above a garden.
Where is Rhyd y Foel adit - I did once go in a level at the northern end of Craig y Forwen across the valley, close to a public footpath. Is it this one?
Hi Nigel, yes Rhyd Y Foel adit is in that general direction but quite a way from any public footpath. Could there be another? It was quite high up above the road.
My memory might be playing tricks when it comes to the footpath but it was quite high above the road. I do remember that you could hear running water from a very narrow fissure on the left as you went down the level