If there's one thing about the automobile that us petrolheads have always understood that polite society just doesn't seem to fathom. It's that the cars that people choose to buy are often reflections of the personalities and quirks behind that person. In essence, our choice of ride is an extension of the soul.
That said, an abandoned Welsh mineshaft that resides underneath a mountain that serves as a graveyard to the rotting shells of over a thousand different cars is aptly named "The Cavern of Lost Souls,".
The route to this automotive equivalent to Parisian underground cemeteries is fraught with danger and attempting to reach it could very well kill you. What may be perceived as an eyesore of a scrapyard to most people, us petrolheads see it more like a gateway to a dimension where the walls can talk.
These walls would no doubt tell stories of the lives these cars once lived, as well as the lives of the countless thousands of people who drove them, raised families in them, and finally scrapped them to wind up in a place that's eerily serene yet delightfully morbid. The crystalline waters at the start of the cave almost trancing you into forgetting that just a few meters in the other direction are several tons of rotting iron, oils, antifreeze, and plastic several meters up to the ceiling turning the water a menacing emerald green.
How'd all these cars manage to find their way into the bottom of a Welsh mineshaft? Let's try and piece the clues together.
The Grizzly Remains Of An Industrious Past
The Welsh Isle was well known for its wealth of mineral resources since before the industrial revolution. As England and the rest of the world industrialized, mines like these were the beating heart of a booming global economy and without the hard work of thousands of miners, these cogs of industry would all fall apart.
Sadly, just like in the US, jobs were slowly shipped off to countries elsewhere and by the late '50s, this mine underneath the Welsh seaside's days were numbered. Today, completely unbeknownst to the entire world, the mine sits having collected a harvest of at least a thousand derelict vehicles all leaking and rusting into the surrounding water.
A Deathtrap With Rusty Cars At The Bottom
Entering and descending into the mass of rusty auto parts requires rappelling down a 90-degree cliff into the mine below. Being that we squashy, fragile humans are usually allergic to multiple story falls onto cold hard bedrock, equipment normally meant for mountain climbing is usually sported by anyone brave or daft enough to make their way into the cave.
If your team is lucky enough to all survive the descent to the pits of this rusting shrine to English automobiles. A treacherous raft ride through a shallow river of water, oil, and transmission fluid leads to one of the most amazing views any petrolhead's likely to see.
That's all assuming a wayward rusty steering rack from an old Jaguar XK12 or the wing mirror from an old Jenson Interceptor doesn't come along and pierce a gaping hole in the raft. Which has happened on occasion to adventure Youtubers making treks down into the depths of the place.
The Cars That Are There
Being that this is a graveyard for cars is in the Welsh countryside, fair to assume there's no Boss 429 Mustangs or anything of that sort lying down there. What does lie at the bottom of this abandoned mine shaft is a shrine to the lives of the average British family in the 1960s and 70s.
A single beam of the sun's light shines through the narrow opening of the cave upon a derelict and forgotten Ford Cortina Wagon. A car that at one time was as synonymous with English roads as a Toyota Prius Hybrid is today.
Beneath the surface of the water, which shines a magnificent shade of greenish-blue as the narrow beam of sunlight hits the water lies what appears to be the decaying shell of a VW Beetle or perhaps a Morris Minor. The distortion of the water coupled with the sheer decay of the vehicle makes it difficult to tell. Whether or not it's safe to be surrounded by what is ostensibly a lake full of transmission fluid, antifreeze, and rusty car parts is damaging to one's long term health is a topic of some debate for sure. Only a handful of people have been daring enough to give it a try.
The Boneyard Of The British Auto Industry
There was a time long, long ago when the British auto industry was stronger than any other nation. Today, those remains lie at the bottom of a derelict mining cave. By the middle of the 20th-century several dozen companies were designing and manufacturing motor vehicles in the United Kingdom. Today, those factories are all abandoned as well or owned by Toyota, Honda, or Ford.
This miserable-looking pile of scrap iron at the bottom of a Welsh cave almost gives a vibe that each car has a soul and is still desperately hanging on to a simpler and happier past. As their chrome headlight covers oxidize and the passage of time and rust distorts their front facias into grotesque piles of scrap, there's a human aspect to the pain and suffering these vehicles endure and have enduring, likely, for decades.
Do NOT Attempt Yourself
How this amalgamation of thousands of derelict cars wound up here is frankly anyone's guess. Still, there are more than enough reasons for you to not make the trip to this abandoned cave in the middle of the Welsh countryside. The hike to the cave entrance enough could be a pain enough for most people to not even bother.
But heaven forbid your climbing equipment fails, or you get a nice mixture of oil and antifreeze in your mouth. You might have to have a doctor explain why they had to scrape your body off the cavern floor or airlift you to have your stomach pumped. Don't say we didn't warn you.
Sources: Youtube.com/ExploringwwithFighters, The Drive.com