| Product: |
Dan yr Ogof Showcaves |
| Date: |
12/08/05 (780 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Remarkable sights. Something for all the family
Disadvantages: Not good for claustorophobics.
Situated in the Brecon Beacon’s National Park in South Wales are the Dan-yr-Ogof Showcaves. If Wales was to have it’s own seven wonders, Dan-yr-Ogof caves would definitely be one of them. Being about an hour’s drive from Cardiff where we live, I thought we would give them a visit as I hadn’t been then since being about 12 years old.
When we arrived and made our way down into the caves, there was a noticeable drop in temperature to that of a cool autumn day – my wife thought it was colder, but she tends to feel the cold more than me anyway. Our guide explained that the temperature stays more or less the same all the year round. A great place to visit in a heat-wave, but you would be advised to take some warm clothing with you.
Some history:
The caves are formed of carboniferous limestone and are about 300 million years old and were first entered by two local lads, Tommy and Jeff Morgan in 1912. But apparently these two lads entered the caves with nothing more than candles and oil lamps making marks in the sand to find their way back out again. Given the depth and extent of these caves, which are a huge mass of passages and caverns, it made me wonder how they got back to the surface. But get back they did, to later return with coracles - these were traditional one man fishing boats found on the rivers of Wales in those days.
The coracles were to enable them to paddle their way across four underground lakes they discovered. But this was as far as they got before they came across passageways that were too narrow for them to get through.
In the 1960s, Eileen Davies, a member of the South Wales Caving Club, crawled through the tight passageways and discovered and estimated 10 miles more of the caves, which she believed was only a fragment of what is still yet to be discovered.
Viewing the Caves today:
The caves are made up of the Showcave, the Cathedral Showcave and the Bone Cave.
In the Showcave, you will see stalactites (growing downwards) and stalagmites (growing upward) which are common in most caves, but there is also a rarer feature called the helectites. These actually grow sideways. The Showcave also has some incredible, colourful rock formations in the shape of curtains that are truly astounding.
A unique experience in the Cathedral Cave, is that you can walk behind two forty-foot high waterfalls – my words here are inadequate at the vastness and atmosphere of this cave; it is an experience not easily forgotten.
In the Bone Cave, the human skeletons of around 32 men and women were found that date back to the bronze age together with bones from a red deer dating back around 7,000 years, and even a sabre tooth tiger. So, amazingly, somebody with even more primitive tools had been in the caves before the Morgan brothers along with some vicious predators. In this cave are also to be seen some unusual large rock formations covered in white deposits called Moonmilk. This stuff reminded me a little of thick cream that had curdled itself into yoghurt. I wouldn’t be surprised if the ancients thought it to have some healing or magical powers – but nothing was mentioned of this on our visit.
After the caves, something for the kids – well… Adults too!
In the grounds they have a dinosaur park that displays models of T-rex and other monsters that roamed our planet in prehistoric times.
And not to forget my favourite animal, the Shire Horse. In this part of the grounds, visitors can view these magnificent, but gentle giants, that weren’t merely cart-horses, but were originally used to carry Knights in heavy armour into battle. A little different to the mounts that are depicted in films.
After seeing the attractions you might want to visit the Museum shop, coffee shop & restaurant and also there is a caravan and tenting park for those who like to camp under the stars.
Getting there:
The caves are half way between Swansea and Brecon in the Brecon Beacons National Park. They are about 20 minutes from the M4. If you leave at junction 45 and follow the brown signs on the A4067
The caves are open daily from April 1st (or Easter) through to October 31st from 10.00 am, but last admittance into the caves is at 3 pm. They are also open for Christmas and the school half-term week in February ( please phone the Winter Helpline for details – 01639 730805)
Admission charges: The last time I was there a couple of years ago it cost Adults £7.80 and children £4.80 but prices may have changed now.
Thanks for reading.
Summary: If Wales was to have it's own seven wonders, Dan-yr-Ogof caves would definitely be one of them..
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