Limestones and Caves of Wales

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Culture \ Publications \ Limestones and Caves of Wales

Edited by: Trevor D. Ford

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

ISBN 0-521-32438-6

This book is something of a bible for cave explorers in Wales, it acts a definitive, and useful first point of call for anyone researching a cave system or potential cave system. Sadly, having been published in 1989, it is now somewhat out of date. However, much of the information and references remain relevant. (There is an interesting section hypothesising the Slaughter Stream Cave system which was subsequently entered in 1990 - but isn't in Wales!).

The book is made up of twenty chapters written by various authors and does have a bias towards South Wales. Due to the numerous authors, the chapters vary greatly in depth and academic level; some chapters contain quite complicated geological stuies and others are pitched at more of an average caver level. The author list, in fact, reads like a "who's who" of UK caving from the late 1980s.

The chapters are:

1. Introduction - Trevor D. Ford
2. The geology of the Carboniferous Limestone of South Wales - David J. Lowe
3. Karst Geomorphology of South Wales - John Crowther
4. The hydrology of the limestone outcrop north of the Coalfield - W. Gascoine
5. Cave biology in South Wales - G. T. Jefferson
6. The Stone Age cave archaeology of South Wales - H. Stephen Green
7. Recent advances in cave archaeology in southwest Wales - Mel Davies
8. Cave Archaeology in North Wales - Mel Davies
9. Cave diving in South Wales - Martyn Farr
10. Limestones and caves of the Forest of Dean - David J. Lowe
11. Otter Hole, Chepstow - Clive D. Westlake, John V. Elliot & Mark E. Tringham
12. The Mynydd Llangattwg Cave Systems - Peter L. Smart & Clive G. Gardener
13. The caves of Nant y Glais, Vaynor - Trevor D. Ford
14. The caves of the Mellte and Hepste Valleys area - Tony Waltham & D. G. Everett
15. The Afon Nedd Fechan caves - Sam Moore
16. Ogof Ffynnon Ddu - Peter L. Smart & Noel S. J. Christopher
17. Dan yr Ogof - Alan C. Coase
18. Llygad Llwchwr - Martyn Farr
19. Swallets and caves of the Gower Peninsula - Dai P. Ede & Peter A Bull
20. Limestones and caves of North Wales - Peter Appleton