Ogof Ffynnon Ddu 1

James, Scott, Tom

After an excellent weekend in Mendip, the three of us were lucky enough to book Monday off work and migrated to the South Wales on Sunday night. After luckily bumping into the warden he hooked us up with an OFD key, and the plans up in the air crystallised into an OFD 1 round trip with some side missions. 

With aching muscles on this third day of caving, we made our way down to the bottom entrance, James in his dazzling new orange suit was handed the survey, with it being his first time in the system, and pointed towards the streamway. After figuring out a route into the water we enjoyed the stomp up the cracking streamway, rapidly reaching the upstream sump and heading off into Flood Passage. 

We’d passed the traverse up to the Waterfall Series before but never been up for a look, and with the round trip being tame after the weekend we’d done, we diverted up for a good look around. After half an hour or so we were deep in this mini-labyrinth and surprised at how much stuff there was up here. Making a round trip through a more Dales-esque tight crawly streamway, we popped back out and were ready to hunt for something else that had caught our attention, Starlight Chamber – the largest chamber in the system.

After getting up Low’s Chain and Chamber, we spotted Don’s Crawl and headed along a ledge high above where we’d been looking up from minutes before. The slippery muddy boulders up here led us on a merry dance and we couldn’t find the route on – ah well, something to leave for the next generation. We headed on into the Rawl Series to continue the round trip, enjoying the fantastic formations and quiet eery atmosphere in these monster tunnels. 

Eventually reaching Pi Chamber, I recognised the route down into Helter Skelter that I’d dragged an unhappy Rubee down a few years ago, and we slithered our way down to emerge above the streamway and straight onto the bolt traverse. Next stop was Airy Fairy – last time we were here we’d sacked this off and gone round some mildly unpleasant bypasses, but this time we clipped in for a good straddle, and it lived up to its name with some grand airy leg stretching. We descended back down to stream level, wandered round some of the lower bits we’d missed with some frightening foam lines, before inching round Pluto’s Bath and on to the exit route.

Every time we come here the mystery and obsession only deepens! See you again soon sweet OFD