Wales
Mary Mary reopened
With bad weather curtailing the January trip, last weekend was the first REU camp of 2013. Seven of the Fat Belly Boys made it in, including a first-time visit for Henry D. The lack of good air at the main Starbar dig left us splitting digging efforts across several projects: MadPhil and Tom set of [...]
Read moreThe Welsh Ice Cap Interaction
The following Google Earth animation is an ‘optimal’ numerical reconstruction of the Late Devensian Welsh Ice Cap, derived in the publication ‘The last Welsh Ice Cap: Part 1′. Timeslices of the ice-surface velocity begin at 27.8 ka BP and refresh every 200 years. To view properly: Make sure the time slider is zoomed out to [...]
Read moreRhobell Fawr & Dduallt
Rhobell Fawr is one of the many hills people drive past on their way to Snowdonia without realising that there are in fact some pretty stunning hikes to be done in Mid Wales as well. The advantage of course is that because people flock to Snowdon or Tryfan, walks on the periphery of the National [...]
Read moreBirds on the Dyfi
Acute toothache meant plans for spending the weekend underground in Daren Cilau had to be shelved. It did however leave Hollie and I free to visit the wildlife reserves next to the Dyfi estuary on Sunday. We first dropped in to the Dyfi Osprey Project to see how the new chick was doing after the [...]
Read moreMoel Fferna and the Bridge of Death
On a weekend away in North Wales with the ACC last weekend, we decided to visit the Moel Fferna Slate Quarry. Much of the working here was done entirely underground, operating on seven levels. When the mine closed all adits were sealed, leaving only a ventilation shaft for access. This we laddered, bringing us out [...]
Read moreThe Blue Greenies
All the large caves in Wales are renowned for a particular formation, usually hidden away in the far reaches of the system. In Draenen there’s The Geryon, Aggy’s is the Courtesan, and in Daren Cilau there are the Blue Greenies. The journey to see these uniquely colourful speleothems however is somewhat tortuous, navigating through passages [...]
Read morePumlumon Fawr
Although it was pretty cold and dry for the last week, Ingo and I suffered the elements quite heavily on our hike up Pumlumon Fawr yesterday. Not that it dampened spirits at all – the walk is a pretty good one, with plenty of variation and also away from the usual crowds on Cadair or [...]
Read moreWhy go caving?
As I was driving down to south Wales to spend another weekend ‘digging’ in Daren Cilau, I suddenly had an objective realisation: I’m going to spend a large chunk of my free time moving some sand from one place to another in a hole that perhaps very few people will ever want to see – [...]
Read moreGaleria Garimpeiros
Inspired by the promise of ‘pretties’ on the survey, Colin and I planned to reach Passion Fruit Chamber in Ogof Draenen and take some photos. Unfortunately for us the ‘muddy and intimidating duck‘ in Y Gwter Fawr Streamway became too tight for us to pass so had to turn back. The mud could be easily [...]
Read moreThe Welsh Ice Cap
During the last glacial maximum ~20 thousand years ago, Britain and Ireland became engulfed by a large and dynamic ice sheet. Wales played an important part, hosting its own semi-independent ice cap with accumulation centres located on Snowdonia, the Cambrian Mountains and the Brecon Beacons. Ice is thought to have covered all summits in Wales, [...]
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