In a thread about another place on March 16, 2010, Alkapton wrote:

"There are actually at least two places of interest in Jackdaw Quarry - Jackdaw Quarry Cave and Jackdaw Quarry Pot.
One, I think it is the Pot, draughts like hell and if dug is thought to connect in some way with the Draenen system.  I have looked for the entrances in the past, and been bitten by a baby adder for my trouble, but I completely fail to find them.    If someone wants to show me the way, carefully avoiding the local reptiles, I'd be grateful."

I got round to looking for this place last Tuesday. As I walked up the old railway line (now a cycle track) from Snail Creep I met an old ex-miner who said, "You won't see anything in Jackdaws Quarry, its completely overgrown now. It was not like that when I played in there as a boy...."  He was dead right, it is difficult to even see that there is a quarry face behind the mature trees. It has turned into a rich and varied nature reserve. The metal gate from the railway line has not been opened for many years judging from the size of the saplings growing against it. Access is possible either over the fence at the south end or through the bridge under the line at the north end.

I had not intended to look at either the Cave or the Pot, just wanting to examine the exposure of the main limestone (Gilwern Oolite/Coed Ffyddlwn formation) as there are not many good exposures in this part of the west side of the valley. I did not go very far into the quarry owing to the dense vegetation, including loads of stinging nettles as I just had a T shirt on. Winter would be a better time to visit.

This is an interesting site which might potentially give access to many kilometres of new cave, although any main drainage conduit from Draenen will be a long way west of the quarry face, down dip.

Has anyone else made a more extensive investigation of this site in recent years?


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As you face the quarry aim for the very left hand end of the quarry face.  You should see a steel hawser (ex mine lift type steel rope) going accross the quarry face.  This gives you something to hang on to while you traverse the quarry face and takes you to the entrance of the cave.  There is a sort of narrow ledge but the end requires a bit of a stretch so the hawser is much appreciated especially if one is carrying ammo boxes!

Short cave with a blind 10M ish pitch. The way on is by the side of the pitch and can have a 'owllin' draught.

Jackdaw pot is further over, requires rigging to get to and is accessible only to size zero models!

Thanks for the info Alkapton.

Well I certainly would not get into the Pot!

I'll have another look at the quarry later in the year, wearing nettle protection (I'll take my chance with the adders).

That was so weird.  Felt like I snaged a thorn but no thorn when I squeeze it just puss then weakness and crapyness for three hours

Alkapton said:

That was so weird.  Felt like I snaged a thorn but no thorn when I squeeze it just puss then weakness and crapyness for three hours

Click to expand...

I guess it did not have to be a baby if you did not see it. I believe they can vary the amount of venom they inject.

I almost trod on one sunning itself on a stone one cold spring morning at Cwmsymlog. I realised the odd pattern on the rock was a snake after my foot landed an inch from it, but the snake did not react, too cold I suppose.

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baby because was two punctures very close together.  Unusual to see any snake unless it is a sunny summers day.  Unless they are hungry they are very unreactive.  I met an active one:-}