South Wales Caves

Llygad Llwchwr Description

Llygad Llwchwr is the major resurgence for water at the western end of the Black Mountain, the water that disgorges from the cave traveling from as far away as Herbert's Quarry some four miles distant. The cave is located near the Village of Trapp (map), the cave should be approached by parking in the layby of the nearby road, further up the road is a stile leading to the field on the left, cross this field and pass the large shakeholes on your left. Beyond these are a stile and gate with a path on the other side that can be followed to the fenced off resurgence. Llygad Llwchwr meaning the Eye of the Lougher is the source of the river Lougher, a notched weir constructed outside the resurgence facilitates the extraction of water via six 25cm pipes by the water company. Above the resurgence high up on the left a small opening exists at the top of a walled up entrance. Climbing up this leads into a complex series of dry high level passages that intersect four magnificent river chambers that can be entered from above. The entrance crawl soon becomes a narrow rift and continues for about 50m before holes in the floor of the passage on the left lead to the First River Chamber. Here a traverse around the side of the chamber leads to some decorated high level passage, while following the water upstream reaches Sump 1. Back in the high level passages following the route leads to a boulder floored chamber and the Parting Of The Ways. To the right here leads to the Maze, a series of tubes and tight rifts that lead to high level windows above the Third River Chamber. To the left a larger passage leads to a balcony where an exposed climb on the left of 4m drops you down into the impressive Second River Chamber. In this chamber going upstream leads to a fine roofed passage that ends at Sump 2 while going downstream leads to Sump 1 and a climb up into the Roof Series where a connection can be made with the First River Chamber. From the Parting Of The Ways a second passage leads to the Third River Chamber where a ladder can be rigged for the 5m pitch to give access to the chamber. Continuing straight ahead leads to a slope down to the Fourth River Chamber with Sump Three found downstream and Sump Four upstream which marks the end of the cave for the non diver.
The cave carries a considerable flow of water and the river chambers have large sections of out of depth water. Care should be taken in these sections.