From BRECON town centre,
go through the town, past the ARMY BARRACKS to the Roundabout.
Go straight over onto the A40 and follow for about 7 miles to the village of
BWLCH
Follow through
village as far as the bend at the bottom of the hill where the A40 road goes to
the left.
On this bend turn
right and follow down a narrow road, cross a very narrow bridge to:
Turn Left, go about
half mile, and turn Right onto the B4560 towards
Follow this road up
over mountain pass, around the double hairpin bends.
Go past the car park
area on your right.
Follow on around the
hard bends at an old quarry entrance. (Boulders on side of the road)
Continue on uphill
another couple of hundred yards to a GRAVEL TRACK on your right, just before
the brow of the hill.
Park
on the entrance to the track and off the road. (GRID REF. SO 157162)
Walk up gravel track
and into the old disused
BLAEN ONNAU
QUARRY (GRID REF. SO 155161)
On the right
of the Quarry floor is a “POT HOLE”, ! DO
NOT ATEMPT TO ENTER THIS !
In front you will
see the entrance to
You can explore this
with care.
When you reach the
back of the cave, which is about 150 feet inside, you will see some small
STALACTITES and STALAGMITES.
From the Blaen Onnau Quarry Cave,
climb up the sheep track on the left of the cave entrance up onto open Mooreland.
You must now
take a compass bearing of “250 Deg. Magnetic”.
Follow this
bearing RIGIDLY, making for a cairn in the distance.
The path gets very indistinct after about the first mile or so, you then
have to follow the sheep tracks.
From the cairn follow to a triangulation pillar at (GRID REF. SO 145154) Beware of any hollows in the ground; these
are “SINK HOLES” where the ground has started to collapse into underground cave
systems.
After you have
covered about 2˝ miles, you will see a small hill in front of you, make to
the LEFT of this hill, and then follow the sheep track around to the
right, you should now find the
CHARTIST
CAVES on your right. (GRID REF. SO
128152)
There is a main
entrance, with 2 tunnels leading off.
The right
hand tunnel goes in about 250 feet and is reasonably safe with care.
The left hand tunnel
goes into a downwards-sloping chamber for about 50 to 60
feet, with a choke at the far end.
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO
GO ANY FURTHER THAN THIS.
|
!Caving experience and equipment is needed to go any
further! |
|
This cave goes in some further 1,000 feet or
more, with a vast number of passages and chambers leading off |
For the
return walk from the cave entrance, take a bearing of “70 Deg. Magnetic” from
the cave entrance, and follow route back to the “BLAEN ONNAU QUARRY” and your
car.