0:00:31 > 0:00:35I'm in County Fermanagh at the foothills of the Cuilcagh mountains
0:00:35 > 0:00:37and making my way to the Marble Arch Caves.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44- Michelle.- Hello, how are you? - How are you? God, that's some walk!
0:00:44 > 0:00:46SHE LAUGHS Great weather for it, though, isn't it?
0:00:46 > 0:00:49- Yes. Are you ready to go underground?- I am indeed. Let's go.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51- If you want to follow me, we'll head on in.- Perfect.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53'Michelle's going to be my guide through this fascinating
0:00:53 > 0:00:58'natural underworld of waterfalls, rivers, caves and winding passages.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01'It's beautiful and brilliant.'
0:01:01 > 0:01:05We're deep below Fermanagh and you may be forgiven for thinking
0:01:05 > 0:01:08that the weather above won't affect us, but it does.
0:01:08 > 0:01:12Yes, it does. The rainwater that falls on Cuilcagh Mountain,
0:01:12 > 0:01:14it's actually the catchment area for the three rivers that flow
0:01:14 > 0:01:16into the Marble Arch Caves.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19And we're actually making our way up one of the rivers,
0:01:19 > 0:01:21it's called the Cladagh Glen.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25So, you can imagine the weather that we experience in Fermanagh
0:01:25 > 0:01:27and in particular up on Cuilcagh Mountain
0:01:27 > 0:01:30has a large impact in relation to the show cave.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33We're able to come comfortably through this cave, but it all
0:01:33 > 0:01:37depends on the amount of rainfall that we get above, doesn't it?
0:01:37 > 0:01:40This cave tour is very much weather-dependent.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43There's days where we have to opt that we actually don't have a cave tour available.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45It really depends on the blanket bog,
0:01:45 > 0:01:48whether or not the blanket bog is dry or if it's saturated.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52It depends if it's local rain or if it has fallen at a distance
0:01:52 > 0:01:54and it also depends on what the rivers are like, if they've had
0:01:54 > 0:01:57a period of time where they've dried up or if there's water in it.
0:01:57 > 0:02:02That is why the staff that work here monitor the weather forecast on a daily basis.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05You're actually going outside and visually looking at Cuilcagh Mountain
0:02:05 > 0:02:08to see if it's under cloud, if it's raining,
0:02:08 > 0:02:12what you think is happening on the mountain, because it has its own little climate.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15In terms of weather, what's your perfect scenario?
0:02:15 > 0:02:21- SHE LAUGHS - Best-case scenario is probably the rarest situation that we ever have,
0:02:21 > 0:02:22is that when we have a heatwave.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24I knew you were going to say that!
0:02:24 > 0:02:27But even at the moment, you know, we've had a period of
0:02:27 > 0:02:30a whole week now where we've had just dry weather. It's not hot,
0:02:30 > 0:02:34it's not sunny, but there's been no rain up on Cuilcagh Mountain
0:02:34 > 0:02:35and that changes everything.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38It changes amount of water coming off the mountain,
0:02:38 > 0:02:40it changes the atmosphere in the cave.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44I really like it when we've had a little bit of rainwater
0:02:44 > 0:02:47and it's coming into the cave and the rivers are rising slightly
0:02:47 > 0:02:50and you can hear the rumbling of the river.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52And that is part of the experience and the excitement
0:02:52 > 0:02:56for members of the public. So, people who do arrive on a rainy day,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59I don't think they're losing out, I think they're seeing it
0:02:59 > 0:03:02in a different way, and to me, that's what it's all about.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05- Every cloud has a silver lining. - Yes, we could say that!