Now Peter, I have to take you to task over that, the Welsh are not all drunk sheep molesting unemployed miners.
No seiously though mines are too dangerous for me. Full of gas, and unstable geology. Now caves ARE different. They are inherently stable being that they are formed by nature, not man. Caves follow the natural geology, man when minning, tries to impose his geometric will upon it. Naturally nature fights back with colapses, and crushes. Mines are uninteresting, featureless, dirty poluted, and ready to kill you in any number of ways.
Caves on the other hand, are full of the most beautiful, fscinating, and awe inspiring natural formations. The rooves are stable, and safe. A recent rock fall in caving terms is within the last 1000 years. Some time ago we took a miner caving and scared the living C**P out of him. We took him into "Mud Chamber" in Little Neath River Cave. "Mud Chamber" is about the size of a large sports hall,, in terms of both height and area. What freaked him out was the lack of visible support for the roof. He refused to go beyond the chamber, being too scared to cross it incase it colappsed on him. Shame really as he missed out on seeing the subteranean deights further on.
If any one wants to give caving a go then give me a ring (01792 429235).
Cheers
Gary