A 'hole' new experience

The members of the Brynmawr Caving Club are more than willing to introduce newcomers to the sport and to the delights of getting wet and muddy.

Joining a caving club is the best and safest way to experience this new world and at the Brynmawr club they are real experts.

The club sprung up because of its location right in the middle of one of the best caving regions in Britain.

The town is surrounded by the caving areas of Clydach Gorge, the Llangattock Escarpment and the Central Northern Outcrop.

All of these contain some amazing caves, some of which are among the finest and longest cave systems in the British Isles.

Most of the best caves are just a 15-minute drive from the town centre.

The club has always been most active within these areas, but also travels further afield to the other South Wales caving areas, as well as regular trips to other regions like Yorkshire.

The club was originally founded in the 1950s when it was formed by Brian Price and associated with Brynmawr Grammar School.

It became defunct in the mid-1960s and was "resurrected" in 1969 by Bill Gascoine, Colin Edmunds and Pete Wetton.

It is still going strong in the new millennium and now has the second largest membership in South Wales.

Apart from regular trips just to experience the underground world, members will be found actively involved in original exploration.

There are many extensions and discoveries in the area that can be attributed to club members.

The recent major discoveries of Ogof Carno and Crescent Cave were made by members of the club as well as extensions in Ogof Draenen, Ogof y Darren Cilau and elsewhere.

New members are always welcome, experienced and inexperienced alike, just go to one of the monthly meetings at the Hobby Horse Inn, Greenland Road, Brynmawr and make yourself known.

The club meet there at 8.30pm on the first Monday of the month.

Meetings are very informal with more emphasis on the social side of things.