Ogof Dydd Byraf | |
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![]() Cavers climbing the side of Minera quarry to reach the entrance | |
Location | Wrexham County Borough, Wales |
OS grid | SJ 2546 5201 |
Coordinates | 53°03′37″N3°06′49″W / 53.060163°N 3.113618°W Coordinates: 53°03′37″N3°06′49″W / 53.060163°N 3.113618°W |
Length | 750 metres (2,460 ft) |
Elevation | 340 metres (1,120 ft) |
Discovery | 1964 |
Geology | Limestone |
Access | contact North Wales Caving Club |
Translation | cave of the shortest day |
Registry | Cambrian Cave Registry [1] |
Ogof Dydd Byraf is a cave which extends under Esclusham Mountain in north-east Wales from its entrance in the south face of the Minera Limeworks quarry. It was originally discovered and explored in 1964 by the Wrexham Caving Club, before they were merged into the North Wales Caving Club. [2]
After a short series of mined passages there is a narrow 10 metre pitch into the main levels consisting of a series of well-decorated galleries. Some of the passages come very close to the cave Ogof Llyn Du whose access is blocked by a deep and difficult sump.
Over the years this cave had been under threat by the quarry operations, [3] but it is now protected as an SSSI. [4] and owned by North Wales Wildlife Trust [5]
Clwyd is a preserved county of Wales, situated in the north-east corner of the country; it is named after the River Clwyd, which runs through the area. To the north lies the Irish Sea, with the English ceremonial counties of Cheshire to the east and Shropshire to the south-east. Powys and Gwynedd lie to the south and west respectively. Clwyd also shares a maritime boundary with Merseyside along the River Dee. Between 1974 and 1996, a slightly different area had a county council, with local government functions shared with six district councils. In 1996, Clwyd was abolished, and the new principal areas of Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham County Borough were created; under this reorganisation, "Clwyd" became a preserved county, with the name being retained for certain ceremonial functions.
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Esclusham Mountain is an area in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, United Kingdom, and is part of the Ruabon Moors. It rises to a height of 460 m, with the nearby spur of Cyrn-y-Brain, to the west, reaching 473 m. It lies mostly within the community of Esclusham. A smaller spur to the north, known as Minera Mountain, is within the neighbouring community of Minera.
Gwynfryn is a small mountain village in the community of Minera in Wrexham county borough, Wales. Its name, originally that of the village chapel, is formed from the Welsh words bryn, "hill", and gwyn, "white": "white hill". At the time of the 2001 census, its population combined with that of the neighbouring, larger village of Bwlchgwyn was 1,148.
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