Cefn Caves

Location
SJ 023 705

Directions
Get onto the B5381 St. Asaph to Denbigh (lower road) and take the right turn to Cefn immediately before the bad “S” bends. There is a road/bridleway a couple hundred yards along this road on the left – turn down there to some houses and park.

Follow the track parallel to the river past a ruined Abbey. A fork takes you upwards into the woods – take this fork (right). At the top of the woods you will find a large depression in the ground – continue past that and try to keep right where the path seems to fork. You will walk downhill just a touch and then back up to the right and you will see a grassy plateau on your left. This plateau looks out over the whole of the area and is a fantastic view.

Standing on the front edge of this plateau you are stood directly on top of the cave entrance which is around 60 feet below. There is a stepped path to the left and front of the plateau which takes you to the cave entrances (all 3 are long this path).

Access
Ungated. Cefn Estates (Sir Watkin Williams-Wyn)

Suggested Equipment
None

Length
700 feet (approx)

Flood risk
None

Cave Attributes
Dry with few decorations. Classic “walk in, walk out”. Some carved steps

Description
An interesting formation of interconnecting cave passages widely used in the 60’s and 70’s by local folk who would regularly visit the caves during the summer and swim in the converging rivers below.

The passages themselves are dry and present an easy catacomb adventure

Below the system are some more caves although these are much more akin to large archways cutting through the rock although there is a 60 degree belly crawl (around 50 feet in length) which cuts through the hillside below.

These caves, although on the wrong side of the river, are on a lateral line with the other caves in Cefn as well as Plas Heaton cave in Henllan and both Coppy farm cave and Denbigh Castle cave in Denbigh and most likely were part of the same system before the river altered the topography.

Unexplored Passages
None known to remain unexplored

Digs
None known.

Links
http://www.francisfrith.com/search/wales/clwyd/st+asaph/photos/st+asaph_23303.htm

http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=5969