llethrid Swallet

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jamesmorris79

Guest
Does anyone have any detailed information on this cave in Gower?[/b]
 

NigR

New member
Hi James,

What sort of info are you looking for?

Tony Oldham's Caves of Gower has a basic description and survey so that may well fit your needs.

Take a look at the Cheddar Cave Club folder (log book?) for an account of a recent trip down there.

If it is current access info you are after let me know and I can pass it on to you.

Cheers,
Nig
 
J

jamesmorris79

Guest
does anyone have a survey for the cave? one that can be e-mailed?
 

rhychydwr1

Active member
It is persisting day today in Barry. Definitely not Llethrid weather. Entrances passages likely to be either flooded or choked with mud and drift wood. Cave is basically one stream passage with a high level chamber near the end with some pretties.


:LOL:
 

gus horsley

New member
jamesmorris79 said:
Does anyone have any detailed information on this cave in Gower?[/b]

I've done a few trips into it. Try and follow the stream as much as possible, but there are a couple of places where you'll need to leave it and negotiate what is effectively a monumental boulder ruckle. Where you finally leave the stream watch out for slippery muddy climbs where a few people have come to grief. Then you've got the big, pretty stuff. My advice is to go with soemone who's done the cave before because route-finding can be tricky in places.

And I'm afraid I'm not available - my caving days are over unfortunately.
 

mike barnes

New member
Hi James,

I made a few trips down there last year pushing the terminal sump. As I was unfamiliar with the place, it took a few trips to find the downstream passage. It was a confusing place with many tight side passages which soon closed down. Much driftwood was wedged in ceiling cracks suggesting not a nice place to be in thunderstorms/wet weather. There was a sump which became a duck maybe 30m in from the entance. This will involve a wetting though the rest of the cave is dry. From here, the way on was not obvious, but after 10m, in a small ch, was a hole near the roof and not 1 of several passages leading downwards. This leads into a rift passage which whilst going through the tight lower section, I grabbed a very large boulder to haul on which started to fall, but then dubiously wedged. It's ideally shaped, and placed, to chop of ones legs if it does continue its downward journey, so be careful. I built a wall of rock to prevent people going under it, but if subsequent flooding has removed this, I don't know.

The big chamber provides a welcome interlude with good stall and a rescue dump. 2 ways of reaching the lower stream passage, 1 at the far side of the chamber, where a steep mud bank which is only possible on the right as you approch. This leads to Mud ch. Another, more confusing and potentially dangerous passage leads of near the entrance to the big chamber to also arrive in Mud ch. There are a few holes in the floor here which looked like they needed at least a rope which, being by my lonesome, I didn't go down. The lower stream pass was down over the boulders in the corner, into the only nice bit of passage in the cave, excepting the main ch. Alas, I couldn't make any progress underwater because sump 2 starting collapsing on me. Let me know when you are thinking of going cause I did find something which needs further investigation. It may be nothing but it may be the way into the Gower Master Cave!

Cheers, Mike Barnes
 

gus horsley

New member
I think Mike has hit the nail on the head. Because the cave is basically one monstrous boulder ruckle, the stream often erodes different routes and undermines boulders, leading to the moving nasty he mentions. The whole floor of the Main Chamber is collapsing due to erosion of the boulders from below. If you want evidence of this have a look at the (former) column at the top of the chamber; it's known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa for reasons which will become obvious.

Also, as Mike states, the cave can flood, particularly near the entrance.

Consulting a survey isn't much use either, as it's probably out of date.

If you want some real grovelling in the same area I would recommend Tooth Cave as a particularly good example of tedious muddy crawls. You can sit up near the end though! And it floods.
 
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jamesmorris79

Guest
cheers quys some great info for me to take with me when i have a go!
 

Huge

Active member
UP WITH TOOTH CAVE - DOWN WITH LLETHRID!

Can't understand why people like Llethrid Swallet so much and dislike Tooth Cave.

Llethrid is grovely, muddy and smelly! The Main Chamber is impressively and unexpectedly large but everything in the cave is dull brown and mud covered. This includes the curtains and other formations. They are very large though.

Tooth Cave does have some crawls near the entrance but they're not very long or at all unpleasant. The main passage in the cave is a very impressive phreatic tube of large dimensions and the upstream sump looks lovely - makes you want to take up cave diving!

So my advice would be to forget Llethrid and give Tooth a go.
 

NigR

New member
I agree with Huge. Tooth is a much more enjoyable trip than Llethrid, particularly if you go there when Big Sump is dry - the passage beyond is most impressive. The hydrology is very interesting and good potential remains for further extensions.

A couple of points to note if planning a trip - the cave can flood rapidly and unexpectedly (from the bottom upwards!) and bad air can exist in the further reaches beyond Big Sump.
 

Huge

Active member
It was a blazing hot day in the middle of a dry spell when we did the two caves. The entrance crawls in Tooth were completely dry and Big Sump just wasn't there. We did encounter bad air at the downstream end of the cave (just as Nig mentions) but still made it to the rift pitches down to the terminal sump(s?).

We then did Llethrid as a quickie afterwards.

Didn't I read somewhere (Descent possibly?) that Mike Barnes had a crack at the downstream sumps in Tooth recently? Is that right Mike?
 

gus horsley

New member
All right, I admit Tooth is a good trip, but the last time I did it was just after it had flooded and it was still all manky. So Big Sump was just that - a big sump, and the rest of the cave was liberally coated in shite. But after glorious weather? A different kettle of fish, even if it smells like one.
 

mike barnes

New member
Hi Huge,

Only just noticed this. Sorry to say I never went down Tooth. It was the sumps in Llethrid I had a butchers at. I get the impression from the sump index that the downstream sumps in Tooth are a bit of a non-starter? 1 dries up to reveal no continuation and the other is too tight. I wouldn't mind a look at the resurgence at Parkmill. I see it's in Water Authority land but is no longer used. Any one know if there is access?

Cheers, Mike
 
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