Road widening works on the Heads of the Valleys Road seem to have opened a new cave. Will it stay open?
Adam Jones, previous Chelsea SS member and digger lives in Cefn Coed and so has been watching with interest the road widening work on the Heads of the Valleys Road where it passes through the town. The new hole is situated at around NGR SO 0289 0807. On Thursday 1st September he was standing on a bridge over the main road when he realised that the digger operator had exposed the top of a chamber or passage on the south side of the road. In Adam’s words “Its definitely a natural feature…the fella was doing a lovely job grading the rock face until the arse dropped out … exposing the void.”
The existing cutting is through Millstone Grit, but Adam has heard rumours that something similar was discovered during initial construction in the 1960s but was subsequently lost. The site is potentially significant as it is quite close to the Cefn Coed risings at around NGR SO 0304 0769.
Adam says that on Friday, the machine operator opened a trench to the entrance, possibly to assess the stability of the ground. This was later backfilled and some spoil added to the surrounding area. It is not known how the contractors will deal with the situation but Adam has informed the Cambrian Caving Council and it is to be hoped that they are on the case.
