Afon Meirchion Cave (Lower)

Location
SJ 022 694

Directions
From Henllan head to St. Asaph but take the left turn to Cefn (and Bont Newydd) about 1 mile out of the village. Follow this single track road past a woodland and steeply down hill passing a property called “Cyffredin” (it’s on the left and it’s the only one). Park as soon as possible and walk back to that property where there is a public footpath passing around it and behind – take that. The footpath comes to a stream very quickly – walk up that as close to the stream as you can.

The cave is in the left bank a little way up.

Access
None Known

Suggested Equipment
None

Length
Up to 1100 feet

Flood risk
There is a very significant risk of flooding (including flash flooding in rainfall) and there are known sumps in the cave.

Cave Attributes
A (mostly) tight phreatic passage

Description
A water resurgence cave (believed to come from Dell cave) at the side of the river Meirchion which mostly doesn’t have water running during the summer.

An obvious entrance at the side of the river (easy to miss if you are not walking in the stream or you are on the wrong side to see it).

After only 30 feet from the bank, the cave reduces to a crawl (hands & knees in places and belly crawl in places) for around 100 feet then there is a tight corner which collects silt/mud and requires emptying before it can be passed.

When the weather is wet it is not possible to get beyond that point and, so far, “the beyond” remains lost to this postee.

An apparent new lifeform was discovered here around 2005 by two local cavers (photo below) and this was preserved (it was already dead) and sent to Liverpool science museum who could not identify it and whom sent it on to Oxford. It has since vanished from the proverbial radar.

Unexplored Passges
The passage beyond the first sump remains unexplored

Digs
None known.

Links
http://ukcaving.com/wiki/index.php/Afon_Meirchion_Cave

Just inside the entrance where the crawl begins




Looking into the passageway from the entrance (the water is very shallow, it is reflecting in the picture to make it look deep)




Looking back at the entrance having crawled in




Looking backwards from around 50 feet in

The silted sump around 100 feet in




A further examination of the silted sump proves fruitless

The strange lifeform discovered in the cave (100 feet in)




The little silver lifeform can be seen here (to scale) under the elbow

Below: Initial 'clean' passage


Below: Coming up to the tight corner with a rift where first sand bank builds up


Below: Photographer sitting in the rift which is on the tight corner. Previous photo was from about 10 foot to the right, Next photo is taken looking under immediately to the left.


Below: Scraping away the sand from the tight corner to clear the way for the sand crawl.


Below: Awkward rock 1/4 way through the sand crawl - twists the the left - hard to reverse out.


Below: about 1/2way through the crawl.


Below: photographer looking backwards at himself about 1/2way through the crawl.


Below: 3/4 of way through crawl - starting to open slightly.


Below: At end of crawl - opens up to stooping height


Below: passage continues at about same height - photographer is stood approx 20feet from end of crawl.


Below: Photo taken every 4-5 meters from end of sand crawl......


Below: Photo taken every 4-5 meters from end of sand crawl......


Below: Photo taken every 4-5 meters from end of sand crawl......


Below: Photo taken every 4-5 meters from end of sand crawl......


Below: Photo taken every 4-5 meters from end of sand crawl......


Below: Photo taken every 4-5 meters from end of sand crawl......


Below: Photo taken every 4-5 meters from end of sand crawl......


Below: Photo taken every 4-5 meters from end of sand crawl......


Below: Photo taken every 4-5 meters from end of sand crawl......


Below: Photo taken every 4-5 meters from end of sand crawl......


Below: Photo taken every 4-5 meters from end of sand crawl......


Below: At the end of 'stooping' height passage the roof comes down again for a short time - on the other side it raises up again into lets call it the 'dig chamber'.


Below: At the furthest point of the "dig chamber" there is a sandy down hill slope and the passage reduces to approx 3" - although a route can be seen and may be able to be dug out.


Below: looking down the sandy slope to the potential dig.


Below: closer to the very end - scale is approx 1foot from top to bottom of picture


Below: Camera held close in - gap is about 3"


Below: Photographers boot for scale!


Below: Marc sat at top of potential dig sand bank - photographer is in 'dig chamber'


Below: "Dig chamber" Roof near top of potential dig sand bank


Below: Graffiti in the "dig chamber" - year '63??


Below: Now we're on the way back out - heading through the dig chamber towards a short crawl


Below: The short crawl between the "dig chamber" and the "stooping passage"


Below: Features in the "Stooping Passage"


Below: Features in the "Stooping Passage"


Below: Back into the Sand crawl on the way out. - not too tight yet


Below: Sand crawl on way out. still not too tight yet


Below: Sand crawl on way out. gets tighter from here on...!



Photos by Tim Watts - sorry about the quality - built in flash on full auto :-(

well done mr watts


is this now officially a photographic club

Quality pictures, impressive

doug wrote:

Quality pictures, impressive

and you'll notice that in all of them the air looks completely ok.....

doug - did u get my message about you coat??

Oh yes, thanks Tim, sorry, I forgot all about it, I had meant to pick it up, but the poachers trip got called off I will get off you some time, thanks again.

The insect really interests me. This could be the very thing that you catch on film sometimes underground. They call them 'Rods'. some say they are just moths.
Not a bad local cave after all. When you going back?

Sledgehamma wrote:

The insect really interests me. This could be the very thing that you catch on film sometimes underground. They call them 'Rods'. some say they are just moths.
Not a bad local cave after all. When you going back?

Depends how dry it is, but we can nip for a look sometime if you fancy it. However, we need to have a gas monitor with us - we had one last time and it went off. Possibly just because we'd disturbed so much sand while digging out the crawl or something - possibly radon.

If we go back it'd be worth taking a small rake and a small shovel to see if we can clear through beyond the "Dig chamber".

It does need to be dry though.

you saw this? http://forum.ucet.org.uk/video-links-f12/caving-going-wrong-t658.htm

yeh i did, re my last bit about it being not a bad local cave.
Yeh, I want to go creature hunting in there with the gas monitor and some insect hunting caving partners and who arnt scared of creepy crawlies, entities from the inner world or if the big spider Shelob might be just around the corner. We shall pack nets and plenty of other entomological apparatus and supplies.
Love to see one though. Talking of which, I was keeping my eye out for the unknown creature in Swinsto.

Sledgehamma wrote:

. Talking of which, I was keeping my eye out for the unknown creature in Swinsto.

here they are micklmus murphur and scottorus getmeoutofhererus

No Mike, you get those species in most caves. I was talking about the black water beasty in Ians Swinsto video.

Me n Lot think it could be a form of Cave Shrimp

The one in Swinstos looks like a form of Beetle