I am the current Wardens' Sec for the DYO Conservation Advisory Panel. It's time for a bit a calm and reason on this thread, please. There's so much misinformation and misrepresentation in all the above, so here is the situation:
The article in Darkness Below was initiated by the showcave management. One of the cavers who sits on the CAP was invited to review the original draft, and it seems as though his suggestions were largely ignored. He has since received something by way of apology.
Nothing in the article is news to anyone who has been into DYO in the last couple of years; the metal grille that has been installed at the end of showcave has beside it a notice making it clear that if a second entrance is opened then cavers will lose access through the showcave. End of story. It matters not whether any potential second entrance is beyond sumps or wherever - the simple fact is that the showcave's insurers see a second entrance as an open back door and will withdraw cover. Will the second entrance provide 'better' access? Well if you do have to dive the Mazeways sumps to get into the rest of the cave then I doubt it, but in any case a dig shored with - as is common - bread crates could hardly be said to provide 'better access' than that currently available.
The situation with Tunnel (Cathedral) Cave is different. There has always been a locked gate at the end of Cathedral Cave that prevents unauthorised access from the wild cave and in order to achieve a through-trip one needed a key to this and permission from the showcave. Although through-trips are still technically possible they rarely happen.
Let's be clear about the situation with the unauthorised dig that has caused all this. It was an illegal dig on an SSSI, that was a PDO (Potentially Damaging Operation) for which no permission was sought or given. The person held responsible was the landowner - that's the law. She narrowly avoided prosecution. Just stop and consider that for a minute: a rural landowner prosecuted for the actions of cavers. Imagine the harm that might have caused, nationwide, to landowner relations and cave access.
On the Facebook page on which the Darkness Below article was shared, some have questioned why this dig was a problem when digs on the Black Mountain, at the numerous DYO sinks, are not. Several reasons: first, as described above, this was an illegal operation on an SSSI. Second, the sinks are so far beyond the end of the known cave that it would need a breakthrough of unimaginable good fortune for any of the associated digs to get anywhere near the existing cave passage. It's not going to happen. And third, the SSSI dig was directly above the known cave, and was a declared intention to create a personal 'back door' to DYO by an aggrieved caver whose permit for the cave had been withdrawn.
Much of the land above DYO and beyond is owned by Welsh Water and administered on their behalf by the Brecon Beacons NPA. They are amenable to digging activity if permission is sought; a group of us are currently working on a dig on the Black Mountain which was granted permission; we submitted a reasonable proposal and agreed to perfectly fair terms and conditions. The actions of irresponsible diggers - 'freedom fighters' to some of you - jeopardise the long and harmonious relationship that has long existed between cavers/diggers and the BBNPA and NRW as well, of course, as the continued access to DYO granted by the showcave.
The management of the showcave have always been supportive of the efforts of diggers, both inside and outside DYO. Sensible projects within the cave have been given permission, even some very close to the showcave itself. Those of us that dig on the mountain above DYO are allowed to use the car park, free of charge, a privilege which is not extended to walkers. In the past the showcave funded the purchase of timber for a dig on the mountain, and the owner has always been genuinely interested in, and supportive of, digging work that might find the missing miles that must exist between the known cave and the various sinks. What he won't put up with is sustained attempts to create personal access to the cave by an irresponsible minority.
As the Darkness Below article makes clear, cavers have long enjoyed access to DYO, which is one of the finest and best-preserved cave systems in Europe. The Warden system exists for the peace of mind of the showcave owners and has long served to protect the cave. Access is readily available to anyone that wants it (with one or two notable exceptions) and by far the most restrictive aspect of entry to the cave is the Welsh weather.
Just be careful what you wish for.
