Dan yr Ogof

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title: "Dan yr Ogof" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["show-caves-in-the-united-kingdom", "swansea-valley", "fforest-fawr", "tourist-attractions-in-powys", "caves-of-powys", "caves-of-wales"] description: "Cave system in Wales, United Kingdom" topic_path: "technology/web" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_yr_Ogof" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Cave system in Wales, United Kingdom ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox cave"]

Field	Value
name	Dan Yr Ogof
photo	Dan yr Ogof caves (9084).jpg
photo_caption	A cave passage with speleothems at Dan yr Ogof.
location	Powys, Wales
length	15500 m
grid_ref_UK	SN 83825 16021
discovery	1912
hazards	Some parts avoided when on tour of caves
access	Dan yr Ogof Conservation Advisory Panel
translation	"Beneath the cave". The Morgan Brothers named the cave after their farm.
language	Welsh
coordinates
register	Cambrian Cave Registry
::

| name = Dan Yr Ogof | photo = Dan yr Ogof caves (9084).jpg | photo_caption = A cave passage with speleothems at Dan yr Ogof. | location = Powys, Wales | length = 15500 m | grid_ref_UK = SN 83825 16021 | discovery = 1912 | hazards = Some parts avoided when on tour of caves | access = Dan yr Ogof Conservation Advisory Panel | translation = "Beneath the cave". The Morgan Brothers named the cave after their farm. | language = Welsh | coordinates = | register = Cambrian Cave Registry Dan yr Ogof (), at the National Showcaves Centre for Wales, is a 17 km long cave system in south Wales, about 5 mi north of Ystradgynlais and 15 mi southwest of Brecon, in the Brecon Beacons National Park. It is the main feature of a show cave complex, which is claimed to be the largest in the United Kingdom and is a tourist attraction in Wales. The first section of the cave system is open to the public, but the extensive cave system beyond is scheduled as a national nature reserve and is open only to bona fide cavers.

The bones of some 42 humans, as well as numerous animal bones, have been found in one of the nearby chambers of this cave system. In a 2005 poll of Radio Times readers, Dan yr Ogof was named as Britain's greatest natural wonder.

Exploration

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Roundhouses_at_Dan_yr_Ogof_(9055).jpg" caption="Roundhouses at Dan yr Ogof"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Dan-Yr-Ogof_Show_Caves_-Dinosaur_exhibition-geograph.org.uk-_19398.jpg" caption="Dinosaur exhibition at Dan yr Ogof"] ::

The cave was first explored in 1912 by two local brothers, Edwin and Jeff Morgan, using candles and primitive equipment. Completely unsure of what they would discover, they armed themselves with a revolver. Edwin was the first to enter, as he was the smallest of the Morgan brothers. Initial expedition was halted at a large lake, which they later managed to cross by coracle. They eventually crossed three more lakes in the same manner, but were stopped by a tight crawl.

This squeeze, known as the Long Crawl, was first passed by Eileen Davies, a member of the South Wales Caving Club in 1963. The initials 'PO' were found by Eileen Davies at the pitch to Gerard Platten Hall. Peter Ogden had not descended the pitch due to lack of the required equipment and was prevented from returning by an extended period of bad weather. Exploration has been steadily continued by later cavers who have extended the cave to its present 17 km length. Some of this length was reached by cave diving. One of these explorers was Martyn Farr, who wrote a book about the system in which he claims that the system will eventually be extended to at least 150 km.

Filming location

The cave was used as a filming location for the Doctor Who serial The Pirate Planet.

References

References

1. "Dan yr Ogof Conservation Advisory Panel".
2. "Dan Yr Ogof". Cambrian Cave Registry.
3. (2008-04-19). "Dan yr Ogof". Dan yr Ogof Cave Advisory Committee.
4. "Bone Cave". The National Showcaves for Wales.
5. (2005-08-02). "Caves win 'natural wonder' vote". BBC Wales.
6. (February 2008). "Wardens' Newsletter 2008". Dan yr Ogof Cave Advisory Committee.
7. (May 1966). "Belfry Bulletin No 219, May 1966". Bristol Exploration Club.
8. Farr, Martyn. (1999). "Dan yr Ogof: The Jewel of Welsh Caves". Gomer Press.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::