Cave pearls in Masson Mine, Derbyshire. Photo by Linda Wilson
There's
no better escape from the unusually hot British summer than clambering
into a nice cool cave! We've got plenty of caving articles for you this
issue, and more to come when everyone gets back from their summer trips.
One group has been in France at the International Congress, helped by
grants from the Tratman Fund, the Oliver Lloyd Memorial Fund and the
British Caving Association. Rumours of mass 2am skinny dipping in a
nearby lake are naturally wholly unfounded (oh cavers, never change!).
And by the time the next newsletter appears, another group will be in Co
Clare, with Ash cracking the re-surveying whip as ever. The Tratman
Fund and the Lloyd Fund are also assisting with funding for that trip.
We'll await tales of everyone's summer caving exploits and don't forget that you can use Zac's natty little trip reporting form if you haven't got the energy for anything too long!
Tell us where you've been!
Have a great summer, folks, and see you again in a month's time!
You can find all the back issues of the monthly newsletter online.
We'll await tales of everyone's summer caving exploits and don't forget that you can use Zac's natty little trip reporting form if you haven't got the energy for anything too long!
Tell us where you've been!
Have a great summer, folks, and see you again in a month's time!
You can find all the back issues of the monthly newsletter online.
Linda and Zac (who hasn't actually seen this as he's still in France)
CARD READER IN STORES
There's now no excuse for not paying your tackle fees, hut fees or anything else you owe, as there is now a card reader in the Tackle Store in the Richmond Building. However, it's important to remember to turn it off after use, as Tackle Warden Henry Morgan explains...
The card reader needs to be turned off when you leave it (or just re-started when you want to use it, if it wasn't turned off). The reader seems to have trouble finding a signal if it's left on its own for a while. Note that is does NOT need WiFi, even though it will try to connect to a network. Simply ignore that and it will find signal when you turn it on.
There's now no excuse for not paying your tackle fees, hut fees or anything else you owe, as there is now a card reader in the Tackle Store in the Richmond Building. However, it's important to remember to turn it off after use, as Tackle Warden Henry Morgan explains...
The card reader needs to be turned off when you leave it (or just re-started when you want to use it, if it wasn't turned off). The reader seems to have trouble finding a signal if it's left on its own for a while. Note that is does NOT need WiFi, even though it will try to connect to a network. Simply ignore that and it will find signal when you turn it on.
Henry 'the Tackle' Morgan
WHEN I'M IN WIGMORE THERE'S NO PLACE I'D RATHER BE ...
Ben Wynn and Nicholas Stylianou at the entrance to Wigmore Swallet. Photo by Henry Morgan.
Have you ever wondered about the truth behind some of the more grandiose guidebook descriptions? Well, wonder no more, and welcome to our new ‘Tell it how it is’ feature, in which we attempt to shine a light into some of the darkest places underground, while you remain warm and dry in the pub/your armchair/the bath at the hut. First up is Wigmore Swallet, with Henry Morgan providing a candid view of this little-known delight.
I recently took a trip to Wigmore Swallet, on eastern Mendip, with Ben Wynn and Nicholas Stylianou. After having done most of the ‘big trips’ on Mendip, I had found myself scouring Mendip Underground for ideas for my next trip, and I wanted to start exploring some of the less well visited caves. Wigmore seemed like a good place to start. The promise of an ‘impressive’ streamway, and ‘the long term potential to become one of the longest and deepest caves in England’ were key lines that whetted my appetite to see what this little mentioned hole might have to offer.
Mendip Underground does not give the upper series much space; it seems that most of the description of this cave is reserved for the sumped passages passable only by divers. There is, after all, less than 50m of the streamway accessible before diving is required. However, after completing this trip, we felt that the description could do with some more detail, and perhaps a little more honesty when describing ‘roomy’ and ‘impressive’ features. Below, I shall offer our experience of each section, alongside the MU version given in red:
WARNING: The initial passages are liable to spoil run-ins and may require re-excavation.
The 10m entrance shaft (10m ladder and 25m lifeline) leads via a short crawl into Hesitation Chamber, at the far end of which are two consecutive 3m free climbs. From the base of the second, the 25m Christmas Crawl enters Santa’s Grotto, a spoil filled 6m diameter chamber with a small grotto on the right hand side.
We located the entrance without difficulty, and the farmer kindly let us park our cars on the farm track, so we had only a two-minute walk to the entrance. Thankfully there was no re-excavation required, though the entrance grill (see photo) was rather heavy and precariously balanced over the very exposed shaft. Some tentative faffing ensued to remove the grille and Ben set up our first ladder and lifeline while avoiding a premature descent by stepping carefully around the shaft.
Side note 1: I don’t know why, and I suspect that it is another symptom of ‘Mendip Syndrome’ (see below), but there does seem to be a belief among some cavers that using a ladder and lifeline is less faff than SRT.
The amount of tackle required is immense, a ladder for starters, a rope twice the length of the pitch, a hundred slings, and more crabs than for SRT.
This is before we begin with the faff of belaying down a ladder, and the tangle you always end up in with the ladder and your lifeline.
‘Bring back, bring back, oh bring back my ladders to me, to me’ – What utter bollocks.
Bring back my SRT kit to me!
We descended the pitch (more like 7m with a small climb at the bottom) and started crawling. On the way in we missed the grotto, but this section of cave provided no real surprises.
To the left a scramble down over spoil bags reaches Pinks and Posies, a crawl dropping into the low Blitz Passage which after 10m enlarges at a 2m climb down into a tiny chamber, Baghdad. Beyond is the awkward Sheep Dig, the start of more crawls and short drops which thankfully emerge after 15m at the head of the roomy Blackbird Pot.
Blackbird Pot is an easy 6m free climb (in dry weather!), and is followed by a roomy rift which quickly leads to the 12m deep Vindication Pot (15m ladder and 35m lifeline). This is usually bypassed by an awkward rift climb immediately before the shaft (20m handline required).
Ahh yes, Mendip syndrome. To those unfamiliar with this disorder, it seems to affect cavers from the south of England most severely, symptoms include (but are not limited to):
This, incidentally, is not a ‘pot’, but merely a slight verticalization of a small passage. It is not a pot, or a pitch, or anything remarkable at all in fact and should not be described as such.
Side note 2: A ‘pot’ or ‘pitch’ is a name that should be reserved for a piece of cave requiring some form of technical ability to pass. This can, in exceptional cases, be just a handline though really a ladder, or better a rope and SRT kit, should be required for a pot or pitch to really deserve this status.
Having established that Blackbird Pot was neither a pot, nor roomy, we continued down the ‘roomy’ rift (also not roomy) to ‘Vindication Pot’ (actually a pot).
I can see how a severe case Mendip Syndrome could lead to one feeling vindicated at finally breaking through into real cave after the long hard preceding slog. However, I feel this term needs a little scrutiny. Let us examine the dictionary definition of the word ‘Vindicated’.
“Vindicated: shown or proven to be right, reasonable, or justified.”
Therefore, to be ‘vindicated’ for the hours, days, weeks, months and years spent excavating a tiny scrotty hole in the corner of a farmer’s insignificant field south of Bristol, one really needs the ends to ‘justify’ the means. One should feel that they have been ‘proven right’ to have committed such time and effort to the cause.
What is found hereafter, I regret to conclude, does not fulfil that description.
From the floor of Vindication Pot a further climb down through shored up boulders, Hernia Pot, reaches a tight, vertical 2.5m rift and 30m of narrow passage. This passage is interrupted halfway by the blind, ‘tackle eating’ and 5m deep ‘Piss Pot’, before reaching Butch’s Arse, a small U-tube in the floor. Through this leads to 6m of blaster narrow passage, at the far end of which a traverse line (Cow’s tails recommended) is in place to assist on the awkward and exposed move out over the head of the 10m deep Black Pudding Pot (10m ladder and 25m lifeline). WARNING: Extreme care is needed here. A descending rift squeeze then leads to the 7m deep Yeo Pot (10m ladder and 25m lifeline) and a further 6m of passage intercepts the impressive main streamway, the Upper River Yeo.
We descended Vindication Pot by the bypass rift (awkward on the return, fixed handline in place). There were actually two ways on at the bottom of here (in addition to the M25, mentioned later). The right-hand hole leads quickly to a sump and the left to Hernia Pot (also definitely not a pot). The first 15m of tight passage to Piss Pot (just about a pot) presented us no real troubles but would be awkward for the larger caver. The passage turns 90 degrees to the left at Piss Pot we found Butch’s Arse. This U-tube had lots of silted up mud and general mank in it, making me think no one had been down here in quite some time! There is just about room to turn around in here if one is determined enough.
We passed an old can of WD-40 and wallowed in some thixotropic mud before entering the blasted passage. This was an exceedingly awkward passage when towing a tackle sack containing two ladders and associated lifelines, with an even more difficult manoeuvre to reach the bolt to rig the ladder from. I went headfirst, a big mistake! (Best to reverse to Butch’s Arse and turn around, to employ a feet first approach, facing the right-hand wall as you go into the cave). I had to reverse and awkwardly turn around, then going feet first towards the open blackness ahead. I was very thankful for my cow’s tails and the traverse line here, as I had to throw myself over the edge of the black open pit with no view of any footholds, hoping that my ability to wedge my shoulders into the preceding rift would stop me plummeting downwards! I eventually managed to get upright on a small foothold at the top of the pot to rig the ladder. Here there was an in-situ carabiner with a good 1 cm thick coating of calcite – very impressive!
Side note 3: The reverse of this manoeuvre – entering the very tight vertical rift 1m above you with a heavy tackle sack – on the way out is perhaps the most awkward move I have ever done underground. It requires a lot of strength and flexibility, and it is probably best to have someone go all the way back to Butch’s Arse, turn around, come back headfirst though the rift and pull the tackle sack into the rift before you then follow it in. We did not do this, as Ben was too long to turn around in Butch’s Arse, but this did result in an exceedingly awkward time at the pitch head! (Really do take your cowstails for this bit!!).
At the base of Black Pudding Pot, Ben went first through the ‘descending rift squeeze’ which has a fixed handline (useful on the return) and was very awkward for all. Thankfully Yeo Pot has an easier take off (rigging off a somewhat dubious sling placement around a large natural), and at this point the sound of the streamway below was ushering us on to the bottom!
Detour along the M25
Back at the head of Hernia Pot, a muddy tube, the M25, reaches a slippery 10m free climb (care needed) up into Don’t Feed the Ambulance. This is a roomy chamber in a washed out mineral vein with a blind 10m aven above and a desperate traverse across to the head of Vindication Pot. WARNING: This is very loose and should be avoided. At the top of the chamber a filthy 3m climb (fixed handline) followed by a short crawl and 5m climb down gains access to the sizeable Drake’s Hall where a dangerously unstable excavated aven terminates in a suicidal boulder choke 16m above (avoid!).
Well, we decided to take the M25 on the way into the cave, thinking we probably wouldn’t be bothered on the way out (correct!). A short muddy tube led to the excellently named Don’t Feed the Ambulance, though it feels more like just walking through a moderate chamber than a slippery 10m free climb. We didn’t fancy the look of the desperate traverse back to Vindication but me and Ben did do the filthy climb up and then I went down into Drakes Hall (very muddy!).
This is a reasonably sized chamber but with nothing of particular note in it (I didn’t go looking for the boulder choked aven!). At this point I turned around and headed back to join the others who waited in Don’t Feed the Ambulance. We then continued down Hernia ‘Pot’.
The accessible active streamway, the Upper River Yeo, is a roomy passage over 90m long. It is sumped at both ends and evidence of foam above downstream sump 1 indicated that this passage is often flooded. Moving upstream for 47m Sump 1 is reached, where a shallow 2.5m free-dive leads to a 3m diameter airbell. Beyond is the 5m Sump 2 which reaches a depth of 2m and has been free-dived, although visitors may encounter nil-visibility and should be aware of the presence of roof pendants. WARNING: There is no free-diving line through these sumps.
Expecting great things, we eagerly entered the streamway. After all that crawling and awkwardness, with the promise of an ‘impressive’ and ‘roomy’ streamway, we were mildly disappointed to say the least. OFD it is not.
A clear case of Mendip Syndrome at its finest, we were actually able to stand up for about 5m before the normal service of stooping and then hands and knees crawling resumed as Nick led us up the ‘roomy’ streamway. Nick found upstream sump 1 and cheerfully reported that it only resembled a duck today. Needless to say, neither Ben nor myself were in the slightest bit interested at this point! Feeling miss sold, we trudged to a bank where we could actually sit up and had a gourmet feast of fruit pastils, soggy Henry Hippos and a Mars bar.
From the bottom of the cave, we made an exit, it was not swift or enjoyable, but it was an exit. Ben cheered us up with a variation on Jess Glynne’s ‘When I am with you there’s no place I’d rather be’ though that was surprisingly pretty much as far as we got with singing on this trip. We eventually got to the entrance pitch where between Ben and me, we couldn’t manage to get the entrance grill back off (tired arms trying to push a very heavy grill, whilst suspended at the top of an electron ladder!). We got to within 30 minutes of call out, seriously wondering how to explain to the rescue that we had managed the difficult cave but couldn’t even open the entrance when we got back to it! Thankfully I eventually managed to open a small crack that I could squeeze through, before employing an end of rope to haul open the rest of the lid.
I went back to the car in glorious sunshine to cancel call out, before returning to help the others who were just finishing packing up the tackle. We walked back to the car, at which point we realised that we hadn’t taken the second tackle sack up the entrance pitch with us…
Summary: No offence intended to the original digging team, and thanks to Ben and Nick for making the trip a good day out! However, this cave is neither impressive, roomy, or worthwhile. Perhaps if you enjoy cave diving that is not the case, and with the dig in Home Close Hole now connected to the far end of the sumps, perhaps there is a classic divers’ through trip to be had. Not for me, though.
Ben Wynn and Nicholas Stylianou at the entrance to Wigmore Swallet. Photo by Henry Morgan.
Have you ever wondered about the truth behind some of the more grandiose guidebook descriptions? Well, wonder no more, and welcome to our new ‘Tell it how it is’ feature, in which we attempt to shine a light into some of the darkest places underground, while you remain warm and dry in the pub/your armchair/the bath at the hut. First up is Wigmore Swallet, with Henry Morgan providing a candid view of this little-known delight.
I recently took a trip to Wigmore Swallet, on eastern Mendip, with Ben Wynn and Nicholas Stylianou. After having done most of the ‘big trips’ on Mendip, I had found myself scouring Mendip Underground for ideas for my next trip, and I wanted to start exploring some of the less well visited caves. Wigmore seemed like a good place to start. The promise of an ‘impressive’ streamway, and ‘the long term potential to become one of the longest and deepest caves in England’ were key lines that whetted my appetite to see what this little mentioned hole might have to offer.
Mendip Underground does not give the upper series much space; it seems that most of the description of this cave is reserved for the sumped passages passable only by divers. There is, after all, less than 50m of the streamway accessible before diving is required. However, after completing this trip, we felt that the description could do with some more detail, and perhaps a little more honesty when describing ‘roomy’ and ‘impressive’ features. Below, I shall offer our experience of each section, alongside the MU version given in red:
WARNING: The initial passages are liable to spoil run-ins and may require re-excavation.
The 10m entrance shaft (10m ladder and 25m lifeline) leads via a short crawl into Hesitation Chamber, at the far end of which are two consecutive 3m free climbs. From the base of the second, the 25m Christmas Crawl enters Santa’s Grotto, a spoil filled 6m diameter chamber with a small grotto on the right hand side.
We located the entrance without difficulty, and the farmer kindly let us park our cars on the farm track, so we had only a two-minute walk to the entrance. Thankfully there was no re-excavation required, though the entrance grill (see photo) was rather heavy and precariously balanced over the very exposed shaft. Some tentative faffing ensued to remove the grille and Ben set up our first ladder and lifeline while avoiding a premature descent by stepping carefully around the shaft.
Side note 1: I don’t know why, and I suspect that it is another symptom of ‘Mendip Syndrome’ (see below), but there does seem to be a belief among some cavers that using a ladder and lifeline is less faff than SRT.
The amount of tackle required is immense, a ladder for starters, a rope twice the length of the pitch, a hundred slings, and more crabs than for SRT.
This is before we begin with the faff of belaying down a ladder, and the tangle you always end up in with the ladder and your lifeline.
‘Bring back, bring back, oh bring back my ladders to me, to me’ – What utter bollocks.
Bring back my SRT kit to me!
We descended the pitch (more like 7m with a small climb at the bottom) and started crawling. On the way in we missed the grotto, but this section of cave provided no real surprises.
To the left a scramble down over spoil bags reaches Pinks and Posies, a crawl dropping into the low Blitz Passage which after 10m enlarges at a 2m climb down into a tiny chamber, Baghdad. Beyond is the awkward Sheep Dig, the start of more crawls and short drops which thankfully emerge after 15m at the head of the roomy Blackbird Pot.
Blackbird Pot is an easy 6m free climb (in dry weather!), and is followed by a roomy rift which quickly leads to the 12m deep Vindication Pot (15m ladder and 35m lifeline). This is usually bypassed by an awkward rift climb immediately before the shaft (20m handline required).
Ahh yes, Mendip syndrome. To those unfamiliar with this disorder, it seems to affect cavers from the south of England most severely, symptoms include (but are not limited to):
- A need to dig further in tiny, tiny holes, simply because one ‘could’, without stopping to think for even a second as to whether one really ‘should’ continue to push a lead.
- The need to describe and name every single metre of dug out passage in excruciating detail, even if it is not worthy of such note.
- The belief that by excavating body size tubes in the ground they are somehow contributing to the greater good of the caving community by opening up new trips, when in reality they are simply increasing Warmbac’s revenue by virtue of extra kneepad and tackle sack sales.
- A need to grossly exaggerate the size of any small passage as a ‘chamber’ when one can fully extend even a single limb, let alone actually stand up.
This, incidentally, is not a ‘pot’, but merely a slight verticalization of a small passage. It is not a pot, or a pitch, or anything remarkable at all in fact and should not be described as such.
Side note 2: A ‘pot’ or ‘pitch’ is a name that should be reserved for a piece of cave requiring some form of technical ability to pass. This can, in exceptional cases, be just a handline though really a ladder, or better a rope and SRT kit, should be required for a pot or pitch to really deserve this status.
Having established that Blackbird Pot was neither a pot, nor roomy, we continued down the ‘roomy’ rift (also not roomy) to ‘Vindication Pot’ (actually a pot).
I can see how a severe case Mendip Syndrome could lead to one feeling vindicated at finally breaking through into real cave after the long hard preceding slog. However, I feel this term needs a little scrutiny. Let us examine the dictionary definition of the word ‘Vindicated’.
“Vindicated: shown or proven to be right, reasonable, or justified.”
Therefore, to be ‘vindicated’ for the hours, days, weeks, months and years spent excavating a tiny scrotty hole in the corner of a farmer’s insignificant field south of Bristol, one really needs the ends to ‘justify’ the means. One should feel that they have been ‘proven right’ to have committed such time and effort to the cause.
What is found hereafter, I regret to conclude, does not fulfil that description.
From the floor of Vindication Pot a further climb down through shored up boulders, Hernia Pot, reaches a tight, vertical 2.5m rift and 30m of narrow passage. This passage is interrupted halfway by the blind, ‘tackle eating’ and 5m deep ‘Piss Pot’, before reaching Butch’s Arse, a small U-tube in the floor. Through this leads to 6m of blaster narrow passage, at the far end of which a traverse line (Cow’s tails recommended) is in place to assist on the awkward and exposed move out over the head of the 10m deep Black Pudding Pot (10m ladder and 25m lifeline). WARNING: Extreme care is needed here. A descending rift squeeze then leads to the 7m deep Yeo Pot (10m ladder and 25m lifeline) and a further 6m of passage intercepts the impressive main streamway, the Upper River Yeo.
We descended Vindication Pot by the bypass rift (awkward on the return, fixed handline in place). There were actually two ways on at the bottom of here (in addition to the M25, mentioned later). The right-hand hole leads quickly to a sump and the left to Hernia Pot (also definitely not a pot). The first 15m of tight passage to Piss Pot (just about a pot) presented us no real troubles but would be awkward for the larger caver. The passage turns 90 degrees to the left at Piss Pot we found Butch’s Arse. This U-tube had lots of silted up mud and general mank in it, making me think no one had been down here in quite some time! There is just about room to turn around in here if one is determined enough.
We passed an old can of WD-40 and wallowed in some thixotropic mud before entering the blasted passage. This was an exceedingly awkward passage when towing a tackle sack containing two ladders and associated lifelines, with an even more difficult manoeuvre to reach the bolt to rig the ladder from. I went headfirst, a big mistake! (Best to reverse to Butch’s Arse and turn around, to employ a feet first approach, facing the right-hand wall as you go into the cave). I had to reverse and awkwardly turn around, then going feet first towards the open blackness ahead. I was very thankful for my cow’s tails and the traverse line here, as I had to throw myself over the edge of the black open pit with no view of any footholds, hoping that my ability to wedge my shoulders into the preceding rift would stop me plummeting downwards! I eventually managed to get upright on a small foothold at the top of the pot to rig the ladder. Here there was an in-situ carabiner with a good 1 cm thick coating of calcite – very impressive!
Side note 3: The reverse of this manoeuvre – entering the very tight vertical rift 1m above you with a heavy tackle sack – on the way out is perhaps the most awkward move I have ever done underground. It requires a lot of strength and flexibility, and it is probably best to have someone go all the way back to Butch’s Arse, turn around, come back headfirst though the rift and pull the tackle sack into the rift before you then follow it in. We did not do this, as Ben was too long to turn around in Butch’s Arse, but this did result in an exceedingly awkward time at the pitch head! (Really do take your cowstails for this bit!!).
At the base of Black Pudding Pot, Ben went first through the ‘descending rift squeeze’ which has a fixed handline (useful on the return) and was very awkward for all. Thankfully Yeo Pot has an easier take off (rigging off a somewhat dubious sling placement around a large natural), and at this point the sound of the streamway below was ushering us on to the bottom!
Detour along the M25
Back at the head of Hernia Pot, a muddy tube, the M25, reaches a slippery 10m free climb (care needed) up into Don’t Feed the Ambulance. This is a roomy chamber in a washed out mineral vein with a blind 10m aven above and a desperate traverse across to the head of Vindication Pot. WARNING: This is very loose and should be avoided. At the top of the chamber a filthy 3m climb (fixed handline) followed by a short crawl and 5m climb down gains access to the sizeable Drake’s Hall where a dangerously unstable excavated aven terminates in a suicidal boulder choke 16m above (avoid!).
Well, we decided to take the M25 on the way into the cave, thinking we probably wouldn’t be bothered on the way out (correct!). A short muddy tube led to the excellently named Don’t Feed the Ambulance, though it feels more like just walking through a moderate chamber than a slippery 10m free climb. We didn’t fancy the look of the desperate traverse back to Vindication but me and Ben did do the filthy climb up and then I went down into Drakes Hall (very muddy!).
This is a reasonably sized chamber but with nothing of particular note in it (I didn’t go looking for the boulder choked aven!). At this point I turned around and headed back to join the others who waited in Don’t Feed the Ambulance. We then continued down Hernia ‘Pot’.
The accessible active streamway, the Upper River Yeo, is a roomy passage over 90m long. It is sumped at both ends and evidence of foam above downstream sump 1 indicated that this passage is often flooded. Moving upstream for 47m Sump 1 is reached, where a shallow 2.5m free-dive leads to a 3m diameter airbell. Beyond is the 5m Sump 2 which reaches a depth of 2m and has been free-dived, although visitors may encounter nil-visibility and should be aware of the presence of roof pendants. WARNING: There is no free-diving line through these sumps.
Expecting great things, we eagerly entered the streamway. After all that crawling and awkwardness, with the promise of an ‘impressive’ and ‘roomy’ streamway, we were mildly disappointed to say the least. OFD it is not.
A clear case of Mendip Syndrome at its finest, we were actually able to stand up for about 5m before the normal service of stooping and then hands and knees crawling resumed as Nick led us up the ‘roomy’ streamway. Nick found upstream sump 1 and cheerfully reported that it only resembled a duck today. Needless to say, neither Ben nor myself were in the slightest bit interested at this point! Feeling miss sold, we trudged to a bank where we could actually sit up and had a gourmet feast of fruit pastils, soggy Henry Hippos and a Mars bar.
From the bottom of the cave, we made an exit, it was not swift or enjoyable, but it was an exit. Ben cheered us up with a variation on Jess Glynne’s ‘When I am with you there’s no place I’d rather be’ though that was surprisingly pretty much as far as we got with singing on this trip. We eventually got to the entrance pitch where between Ben and me, we couldn’t manage to get the entrance grill back off (tired arms trying to push a very heavy grill, whilst suspended at the top of an electron ladder!). We got to within 30 minutes of call out, seriously wondering how to explain to the rescue that we had managed the difficult cave but couldn’t even open the entrance when we got back to it! Thankfully I eventually managed to open a small crack that I could squeeze through, before employing an end of rope to haul open the rest of the lid.
I went back to the car in glorious sunshine to cancel call out, before returning to help the others who were just finishing packing up the tackle. We walked back to the car, at which point we realised that we hadn’t taken the second tackle sack up the entrance pitch with us…
Summary: No offence intended to the original digging team, and thanks to Ben and Nick for making the trip a good day out! However, this cave is neither impressive, roomy, or worthwhile. Perhaps if you enjoy cave diving that is not the case, and with the dig in Home Close Hole now connected to the far end of the sumps, perhaps there is a classic divers’ through trip to be had. Not for me, though.
Henry Morgan
WHITE RIVERS AND PEARLY GATES
Definitely pretty!
Titan has become a popular UBSS destination since lockdowns eased. As Merryn takes up the tale of the latest UBSS exploits in Derbyshire, please forgive any wrongly captioned photos as this was put together while Merryn was in France.
Henry and I visited the Peak District intending to complete a much-hyped White River trip (see Elliott’s previous report). Having failed to find anyone to do the Titan - JH exchange we planned to complete the trip using just the Titan entrance – a lot of big SRT! (144m shaft!).
Inspired by the previous evening’s alpine caving talk, our first stop was for snacks in Castleton. Multiple pastries, coffee and a Pelicase cake were purchased, to have ‘more food than we could possibly need’. This proved to be a good call, as we still managed to get through it all and crave more! [Editors’ note: always remember that one of the UBSS mottos is ‘never knowingly under-catered.’]
A wise investment of club funds! The case, not the cake.
After parking at the bumpy farmer’s track and trekking across the field we arrived at the entrance, which Henry rigged, with an intense concentration face, on fresh, slippy 8mm rope. There is something a little unsettling about abseiling the 50m entrance shaft on simple, whilst still in a soft lock to get enough friction!
Merryn rigging.
I then rigged the top of the main shaft pitch (70m?!), which opens out into a sound-swallowing vastness. Looking down from the top, I could only just make out the rim of the Event Horizon, a ledge with a free hanging re-belay before, encircling the Blackhole 60m pitch below.
Henry boldly rigged the Event Horizon re-belay, which meant that I had to get off and on the rope again for him to pass. This involved entertainingly trying to weight my descender again at the bottom of 70m rope, resulting in a ~1.5m bounce despite my best efforts to get it tight.
At the bottom, we enjoyed a delicious half a goat’s cheese baguette each, before beginning the boulders, crawls and ladder to the base of JH.
A very muddy Henry passing through Cow Arse Worms, although no worms were spotted it defo still smells.
From JH we started stonking down the stunning streamway towards Bung Hole, getting so excited that we walked straight past the obvious Block Hall before realising and turning back. This series of pitches was longer than we both expected because of the number of deviations and re-belays. The pre-rigged rope seemed fresh, unlike a solid calcified coil hanging at the top.
Editors' note: we're guessing this is Henry staring at the Pearly Gates.
A crawl (annoying with SRT kits on) leads into the impressively decorated White River Passage. Conservation tape blocks some of the oxbows/extensions, such as a section to the left named Heaven, leaving Henry to only stare at the Pearly Gates in wonder. Heading right leads to the White River itself, which looks impressively like a solid white river (duh, name makes sense). We tried our best to get photos but assure you it’s more stunning in person.
Upon reaching the descending pitches we stopped for our first crumbly carrot cake break. There is an unrigged traverse possible over the top of the first pitch, to more White River Passage, however we didn’t take any rope to do it. It might also be nice to have your own rope for the second pitch, which starts as a janky pre-rigged traverse leading to a selection of very rusty maillons.
From here we landed in the Ventilator, aptly named because it feels like some installed a fuckton of industrial air-conditioners in a crawl, leading to the lovely muddy Colostomy Passage. We slipped our way along before arriving at The Bung again, then retraced our steps back to the Titan entrance.
Just think of the poor sods who dug down through this lot!
Upon reaching the base of Titan, having already done a bunch of SRT and crawls I was pretty tired. I stocked up on the final smushings of cake and began ascending. Previously I had gone up Titan a couple of months before with Ash but managed to avoid any bags. I was now much more tired, unfit, and weighted. After what seems like endless prussik squats to various tunes sung by Henry echoing in the darkness, I reached the top of the natural pitches and entered hysterics. This was taken out by a series of selfies and attempts to photograph Henry though the darkness. Picture of his floating head encapsulates how the cavern eats your light.
At the top, I faced again my nemesis - the Titan lid. It’s annoying ‘meeah’ face judged my weak arms trying to push it open, my heavy breathing echoing all the way down to Henry. A final huge shove and FREE! I collapsed at the surface exhausted and ecstatic leading to the creation of a piece of art I call ‘Surviving Titan – a Collage of Emotion’.
Appearing very soon in the Tate Britain next to Tracy Emin's bed and a pile of bricks.
And a picture of Henry hauling up rope.
He still looks happy, despite the sad lack of cake.
Great trippp.
Definitely pretty!
Titan has become a popular UBSS destination since lockdowns eased. As Merryn takes up the tale of the latest UBSS exploits in Derbyshire, please forgive any wrongly captioned photos as this was put together while Merryn was in France.
Henry and I visited the Peak District intending to complete a much-hyped White River trip (see Elliott’s previous report). Having failed to find anyone to do the Titan - JH exchange we planned to complete the trip using just the Titan entrance – a lot of big SRT! (144m shaft!).
Inspired by the previous evening’s alpine caving talk, our first stop was for snacks in Castleton. Multiple pastries, coffee and a Pelicase cake were purchased, to have ‘more food than we could possibly need’. This proved to be a good call, as we still managed to get through it all and crave more! [Editors’ note: always remember that one of the UBSS mottos is ‘never knowingly under-catered.’]
A wise investment of club funds! The case, not the cake.
After parking at the bumpy farmer’s track and trekking across the field we arrived at the entrance, which Henry rigged, with an intense concentration face, on fresh, slippy 8mm rope. There is something a little unsettling about abseiling the 50m entrance shaft on simple, whilst still in a soft lock to get enough friction!
Merryn rigging.
I then rigged the top of the main shaft pitch (70m?!), which opens out into a sound-swallowing vastness. Looking down from the top, I could only just make out the rim of the Event Horizon, a ledge with a free hanging re-belay before, encircling the Blackhole 60m pitch below.
Henry boldly rigged the Event Horizon re-belay, which meant that I had to get off and on the rope again for him to pass. This involved entertainingly trying to weight my descender again at the bottom of 70m rope, resulting in a ~1.5m bounce despite my best efforts to get it tight.
At the bottom, we enjoyed a delicious half a goat’s cheese baguette each, before beginning the boulders, crawls and ladder to the base of JH.
A very muddy Henry passing through Cow Arse Worms, although no worms were spotted it defo still smells.
From JH we started stonking down the stunning streamway towards Bung Hole, getting so excited that we walked straight past the obvious Block Hall before realising and turning back. This series of pitches was longer than we both expected because of the number of deviations and re-belays. The pre-rigged rope seemed fresh, unlike a solid calcified coil hanging at the top.
Editors' note: we're guessing this is Henry staring at the Pearly Gates.
A crawl (annoying with SRT kits on) leads into the impressively decorated White River Passage. Conservation tape blocks some of the oxbows/extensions, such as a section to the left named Heaven, leaving Henry to only stare at the Pearly Gates in wonder. Heading right leads to the White River itself, which looks impressively like a solid white river (duh, name makes sense). We tried our best to get photos but assure you it’s more stunning in person.
Upon reaching the descending pitches we stopped for our first crumbly carrot cake break. There is an unrigged traverse possible over the top of the first pitch, to more White River Passage, however we didn’t take any rope to do it. It might also be nice to have your own rope for the second pitch, which starts as a janky pre-rigged traverse leading to a selection of very rusty maillons.
From here we landed in the Ventilator, aptly named because it feels like some installed a fuckton of industrial air-conditioners in a crawl, leading to the lovely muddy Colostomy Passage. We slipped our way along before arriving at The Bung again, then retraced our steps back to the Titan entrance.
Just think of the poor sods who dug down through this lot!
Upon reaching the base of Titan, having already done a bunch of SRT and crawls I was pretty tired. I stocked up on the final smushings of cake and began ascending. Previously I had gone up Titan a couple of months before with Ash but managed to avoid any bags. I was now much more tired, unfit, and weighted. After what seems like endless prussik squats to various tunes sung by Henry echoing in the darkness, I reached the top of the natural pitches and entered hysterics. This was taken out by a series of selfies and attempts to photograph Henry though the darkness. Picture of his floating head encapsulates how the cavern eats your light.
At the top, I faced again my nemesis - the Titan lid. It’s annoying ‘meeah’ face judged my weak arms trying to push it open, my heavy breathing echoing all the way down to Henry. A final huge shove and FREE! I collapsed at the surface exhausted and ecstatic leading to the creation of a piece of art I call ‘Surviving Titan – a Collage of Emotion’.
Appearing very soon in the Tate Britain next to Tracy Emin's bed and a pile of bricks.
And a picture of Henry hauling up rope.
He still looks happy, despite the sad lack of cake.
Great trippp.
Merryn Matthews
MASSON MINE, PEAK DISTRICT
Fluorspar, Masson Mine. Photo by Linda Wilson..
When Linda Wilson ventured north for a meeting, she made a virtue out of necessity and managed a trip underground as well ...
Having recently been co-opted as a trustee of the British Cave Research Association (BCRA), I thought I'd better turn up for the first in-person meeting since the Plague, at the British Caving Library in Glasson Bridge. The idea of a trustees' caving trip on the Saturday was mooted and Jenny Potts kindly offered accommodation at the Orpheus Cottage, so as early as I could get away on Friday 1st July, I headed north on the M5, grossly hindered by my sat nav's burning desire to subject me to highway robbery on the sodding M6 toll, despite my instructions to the contrary, so faff ensued while I tried to navigate by dead reckoning and imperfectly remembered geography while the sat nav sulked and eventually rerouted, which took an interminable length of time and a lot of guesswork on my part.
Motorways are notoriously un-photogenic, so have a piccie of miners' tally marks, instead. Masson Mine. Photo by Linda Wilson.
Luckily, despite it being a summer Friday, the traffic wasn't too bad, and eventually I reached Ashbourne, where I promptly stopped for a much needed pee and some even more needed tea and cake. I also had to buy a towel, as I'd forgotten to pack one. Mountain Warehouse, next to M&S obliged, and armed a nice new travel towel, I set out on the last leg of my journey, aided by What Three Words, which took me unerringly to the Orpheus cottage. If you ever need them, the magic words are: hopes.robots.configure.
Russell Myers in one of the large chambers in Masson Mine. Photo by Linda Wilson.
Thanks to a very comprehensive set of instructions from Jenny, I got the key from the key safe, opened the cottage, turned on all the services, carried out a quick recce of the premises and made more tea. I then relaxed outside with my sketch book, enjoying the view.
Next to arrive was BCA chair, Russell Myers and we were later joined by Jenny Potts in her very smart new campervan. Russell had forgotten to pack any booze, but I was well supplied with Gordon's Mediterranean Orange gin and tonic and kind enough to share, so disaster was averted. We spent a pleasant evening gossiping before bedding down in the relatively luxurious bunkroom upstairs. The only drawback to the cottage is the fact that the loo block is separate from the main hut, so if you need a pee in the night, you have to go outside and trek around the corner to the loos. Other than that, it's a really nice cottage with stacks of room.
Dog tooth spar, similar to Pen Park Hole, Bristol. Photo by Linda Wilson.
On Saturday, we met up with caver Karen Slatcher, who does admin work for BCRA and had kindly offered to guide us around the mine. We were joined by Jo White, another of the BCRA trustees. The parking for Masson Mine is in a layby on Salters Lane, but as it's a popular spot for both cavers and climbers, it's advisable to get there early. A ten minute walk leads to Masson Quarry, which had climbers everywhere, enjoying the sunshine. Karen rigged a handline on the entrance slither, which is extremely easy on the way down, but on the way back, the first manoeuvre is slightly awkward and I was grateful for both the line and Russell's very steady shoulder.
We never did discover who was too scared to do what, or where the dog was rescued from, but we were glad it was OK.
The mine itself is mostly large walking passage and very quickly I developed a huge, silly grin on my face as I remembered exactly how much I love that sort of mine. Masson is clearly a popular beginners' trip but it's big enough to absorb multiple groups and complex enough to provide a lot of entertainment - and there's loads to admire.
Copper and lead. Photo by Linda Wilson.
I was soon cooing over the pretties, ranging from stal and cave pearls to large dog toothed crystals, purple fluorspar, some patches of bright green copper and some yellow/orange crystals. Masson was mined for lead, with activity from the 15th to the 20th century. The mine connects to the show mine on the Heights of Abraham, Great Masson Cavern, which can be seen through a gate, but don't attempt to enter the showcave, as that will jeopardise access.
Memo to Self: more lights needed!
We wandered happily around for about three and a half hours, with Karen as an excellent guide, and they were all very tolerant of me grabbing as many photos as possible. I'd certainly love a return visit sometime, and Karen assures me there are other nicely horizontal mines she can introduce me to. For anyone knackered from prussicking out of Titan, this would make a very pleasant trip for the second day of a weekend. We removed a couple of bags of rubbish and - to my surprise - saw no graffiti, apart from the almost obligatory cock and balls on a slab outside the entrance.
Nice to make your acquaintance again, Derbyshire! I'll be back.
Fluorspar, Masson Mine. Photo by Linda Wilson..
When Linda Wilson ventured north for a meeting, she made a virtue out of necessity and managed a trip underground as well ...
Having recently been co-opted as a trustee of the British Cave Research Association (BCRA), I thought I'd better turn up for the first in-person meeting since the Plague, at the British Caving Library in Glasson Bridge. The idea of a trustees' caving trip on the Saturday was mooted and Jenny Potts kindly offered accommodation at the Orpheus Cottage, so as early as I could get away on Friday 1st July, I headed north on the M5, grossly hindered by my sat nav's burning desire to subject me to highway robbery on the sodding M6 toll, despite my instructions to the contrary, so faff ensued while I tried to navigate by dead reckoning and imperfectly remembered geography while the sat nav sulked and eventually rerouted, which took an interminable length of time and a lot of guesswork on my part.
Motorways are notoriously un-photogenic, so have a piccie of miners' tally marks, instead. Masson Mine. Photo by Linda Wilson.
Luckily, despite it being a summer Friday, the traffic wasn't too bad, and eventually I reached Ashbourne, where I promptly stopped for a much needed pee and some even more needed tea and cake. I also had to buy a towel, as I'd forgotten to pack one. Mountain Warehouse, next to M&S obliged, and armed a nice new travel towel, I set out on the last leg of my journey, aided by What Three Words, which took me unerringly to the Orpheus cottage. If you ever need them, the magic words are: hopes.robots.configure.
Russell Myers in one of the large chambers in Masson Mine. Photo by Linda Wilson.
Thanks to a very comprehensive set of instructions from Jenny, I got the key from the key safe, opened the cottage, turned on all the services, carried out a quick recce of the premises and made more tea. I then relaxed outside with my sketch book, enjoying the view.
Next to arrive was BCA chair, Russell Myers and we were later joined by Jenny Potts in her very smart new campervan. Russell had forgotten to pack any booze, but I was well supplied with Gordon's Mediterranean Orange gin and tonic and kind enough to share, so disaster was averted. We spent a pleasant evening gossiping before bedding down in the relatively luxurious bunkroom upstairs. The only drawback to the cottage is the fact that the loo block is separate from the main hut, so if you need a pee in the night, you have to go outside and trek around the corner to the loos. Other than that, it's a really nice cottage with stacks of room.
Dog tooth spar, similar to Pen Park Hole, Bristol. Photo by Linda Wilson.
On Saturday, we met up with caver Karen Slatcher, who does admin work for BCRA and had kindly offered to guide us around the mine. We were joined by Jo White, another of the BCRA trustees. The parking for Masson Mine is in a layby on Salters Lane, but as it's a popular spot for both cavers and climbers, it's advisable to get there early. A ten minute walk leads to Masson Quarry, which had climbers everywhere, enjoying the sunshine. Karen rigged a handline on the entrance slither, which is extremely easy on the way down, but on the way back, the first manoeuvre is slightly awkward and I was grateful for both the line and Russell's very steady shoulder.
We never did discover who was too scared to do what, or where the dog was rescued from, but we were glad it was OK.
The mine itself is mostly large walking passage and very quickly I developed a huge, silly grin on my face as I remembered exactly how much I love that sort of mine. Masson is clearly a popular beginners' trip but it's big enough to absorb multiple groups and complex enough to provide a lot of entertainment - and there's loads to admire.
Copper and lead. Photo by Linda Wilson.
I was soon cooing over the pretties, ranging from stal and cave pearls to large dog toothed crystals, purple fluorspar, some patches of bright green copper and some yellow/orange crystals. Masson was mined for lead, with activity from the 15th to the 20th century. The mine connects to the show mine on the Heights of Abraham, Great Masson Cavern, which can be seen through a gate, but don't attempt to enter the showcave, as that will jeopardise access.
Memo to Self: more lights needed!
We wandered happily around for about three and a half hours, with Karen as an excellent guide, and they were all very tolerant of me grabbing as many photos as possible. I'd certainly love a return visit sometime, and Karen assures me there are other nicely horizontal mines she can introduce me to. For anyone knackered from prussicking out of Titan, this would make a very pleasant trip for the second day of a weekend. We removed a couple of bags of rubbish and - to my surprise - saw no graffiti, apart from the almost obligatory cock and balls on a slab outside the entrance.
Nice to make your acquaintance again, Derbyshire! I'll be back.
Linda Wilson
HONORARY DEGREES FOR THAI CAVE RESCUE DIVERS
Photo-bombing at its best! Back (left to right): Duncan Price, Dick Willis, Graham Mullan, Linda Wilson. Front (yeah, obviously!): John Volanthen (left), Rick Stanton (right). Yeah, we know, we're a bunch of old gits (especially Dick!), but old gits can be heroes, too!
Rick Stanton and John Volanthen, the lead divers in the Thai cave rescue received honorary degrees from the University of Bristol on 6th July 2022, as Linda Wilson reports.
I can still remember the day four years ago when news broke that a team of 12 young Thai boys and their football coach had been trapped by an unexpected flood in Tham Luang cave. Along with most cavers (and probably most other people), I didn't expect to them to be found alive and, when they were, I certainly didn't expect what happened next. [Film spoiler - they all survived!] I was certain events in Thailand would turn out to be the world's worst reality TV show and that we would eventually see the media spotlight turn on a sad series of small body bags being removed from the cave. But that's not what happened, and only a few days after receiving this newsletter, anyone with Amazon Prime will be able to see the film, Thirteen Lives, directed by Ron Howard, which dramatises the rescue, with Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings movies) playing Rick and John Volanten played by Colin Farrell.
Over the time of the rescue, I happened to be in a series of meetings in the university and also attended quite a few graduation lunches as I was representing the Alumni Association at several of the ceremonies. Conversations all inevitably turned to the rescue and those who knew I'm a caver all started to quiz me on what was happening. Our then vice-Chancellor, Hugh Brady, was particularly interested (as a medic) in the details of how the boys had to be drugged with ketamine to get them out of the flooded passages. And so the idea of proposing Rick and John for honorary degrees was born, and Dick Willis agreed to join me in nominating them.
To our surprise (as scruffy cavers aren't normally what anyone first thinks of when honorary degrees from Bristol are mentioned), the nomination was successful, but the ceremony was delayed due to the onset of covid-19 and it wasn't until this year that the degrees were conferred. The ceremony took place in the Great Hall in the Wills Building, after lunch with the VC and others) and Professor Mike Benton read the oration. Both this and Rick's response held the audience's attention, as students stopped fiddling with their mobiles and just sat and listened.
I had a bird's eye view of the whole thing, as I joined the staff procession and so was sitting on the stage, behind Rick and John. Graham and Duncan Price (also a cave diver) attended as Rick's guests, with Dick there as a nominator, and we were even invited to take part in the photo shoot afterwards. Then we decamped to Brown's for a much needed drink. A highlight of the day was Rick and John inadvertently turning up in identical shoes, this fuelling the epic Hollywood bromance!
The ceremony was live streamed and recorded, and can be watched online. If this link doesn't work for you, let me know and I'll send a download.
The news went viral in the media, too. Thanks go to Steve Warr for sending this screenshot. I even made the BBC news. In my defence, the pompous quote was lifted from the nomination!
And, of course, the day ended with the by now almost obligatory sign of the times email, with John telling us all that after starting to feel grotty as the day wore on, he'd just tested positive for covid, but despite sharing a car and some hugging, the rest of us escaped the plague.
Photo-bombing at its best! Back (left to right): Duncan Price, Dick Willis, Graham Mullan, Linda Wilson. Front (yeah, obviously!): John Volanthen (left), Rick Stanton (right). Yeah, we know, we're a bunch of old gits (especially Dick!), but old gits can be heroes, too!
Rick Stanton and John Volanthen, the lead divers in the Thai cave rescue received honorary degrees from the University of Bristol on 6th July 2022, as Linda Wilson reports.
I can still remember the day four years ago when news broke that a team of 12 young Thai boys and their football coach had been trapped by an unexpected flood in Tham Luang cave. Along with most cavers (and probably most other people), I didn't expect to them to be found alive and, when they were, I certainly didn't expect what happened next. [Film spoiler - they all survived!] I was certain events in Thailand would turn out to be the world's worst reality TV show and that we would eventually see the media spotlight turn on a sad series of small body bags being removed from the cave. But that's not what happened, and only a few days after receiving this newsletter, anyone with Amazon Prime will be able to see the film, Thirteen Lives, directed by Ron Howard, which dramatises the rescue, with Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings movies) playing Rick and John Volanten played by Colin Farrell.
Over the time of the rescue, I happened to be in a series of meetings in the university and also attended quite a few graduation lunches as I was representing the Alumni Association at several of the ceremonies. Conversations all inevitably turned to the rescue and those who knew I'm a caver all started to quiz me on what was happening. Our then vice-Chancellor, Hugh Brady, was particularly interested (as a medic) in the details of how the boys had to be drugged with ketamine to get them out of the flooded passages. And so the idea of proposing Rick and John for honorary degrees was born, and Dick Willis agreed to join me in nominating them.
To our surprise (as scruffy cavers aren't normally what anyone first thinks of when honorary degrees from Bristol are mentioned), the nomination was successful, but the ceremony was delayed due to the onset of covid-19 and it wasn't until this year that the degrees were conferred. The ceremony took place in the Great Hall in the Wills Building, after lunch with the VC and others) and Professor Mike Benton read the oration. Both this and Rick's response held the audience's attention, as students stopped fiddling with their mobiles and just sat and listened.
I had a bird's eye view of the whole thing, as I joined the staff procession and so was sitting on the stage, behind Rick and John. Graham and Duncan Price (also a cave diver) attended as Rick's guests, with Dick there as a nominator, and we were even invited to take part in the photo shoot afterwards. Then we decamped to Brown's for a much needed drink. A highlight of the day was Rick and John inadvertently turning up in identical shoes, this fuelling the epic Hollywood bromance!
The ceremony was live streamed and recorded, and can be watched online. If this link doesn't work for you, let me know and I'll send a download.
The news went viral in the media, too. Thanks go to Steve Warr for sending this screenshot. I even made the BBC news. In my defence, the pompous quote was lifted from the nomination!
And, of course, the day ended with the by now almost obligatory sign of the times email, with John telling us all that after starting to feel grotty as the day wore on, he'd just tested positive for covid, but despite sharing a car and some hugging, the rest of us escaped the plague.
Linda Wilson
PS If I'd
known the degree was going to be Master of Laws, I might not have
nominated them, as they've now ended up with higher law degrees than
mine, and I had to take exams for mine! But on the plus side, when I
next get asked about something legal in the caving world, I'll just send
the enquirer to Rick and John!
TRIP ROUND UP
Welcome back to our new shorter reports section! We're trying to capture as much activity as possible here, and Zac has even put together a form that you can use to send in short, or even long, reports for inclusion, so do check out his handiwork here. Any photos can be sent to either Zac or Linda on Facebook or by email if you have any.
WEST TWIN ADIT
Merryn Matthews in the entrance to West Twin Brook Adit, Burrington. Photo by Henry Morgan.
30.6.22. Henry Morgan, Merryn Matthews. Report by Henry Morgan
Adit'ed to caving! Very cool. A nice walk through the geology of Blackdown.
PIERRE'S POT
30.6.22. Henry Morgan, Merryn Matthews. Report by Henry Morgan.
Checking out the dig site at the end, quite thoroughly! I found out that my new side mount light needs more robust cable ties to be suitable for Mendip caves! We went and looked at the adit afterwards, Merryn enjoyed the geology!
CANADA COOMBE
1.7.22. Jan Walker, Tony Boycott. Report by Jan Walker
Didn't go down Upper Canada Cave this time but we had a chance to see some fossils on the surface with the guide from Avon Wildlife, so the cave will wait for next trip. Fascinating crinoids in the rocks being used to rebuild the falling-down dry stone wall. Saw - and drooled over - the entrance to Bleadon. Really want to go down that one! Star rating was low, only because it was bucketing down rain and we got soaked!
KENT'S CAVERN
WILLIAM PETRE 1571. Currently the oldest known graffito in Kent's Cavern.
14.7.22. Linda Wilson, Jan Walker. Report by Linda Wilson
Day trip to Kent's Cavern showcave in Devon to discuss the possibility of taking on a project to record the historic graffiti in the cave. Had a look at the quantity of material in the cave and agreed to carry out a pilot study in January 2023. James Hull (general manager) and Elliot Ling (information officer) are both incredibly enthusiastic about the project. If anyone would like to be involved in this work, which will involve access beyond the showcave, please contact Linda.
UPPER CANADA CAVE
Faded DW graffito in candle smoke, Upper Canada Cave. Photo by Linda Wilson.
16.7.22. Linda Wilson, Jan Walker, Tony Boycott, Alan Grey (Axbridge Caving Group) and Lofty (also ACG) Report by Linda Wilson.
Tony Boycott in Upper Canada Cave. Photo by Linda Wilson, and yes, she did send it to his oncology nurse as proof of a resumption of 'normal' activities.
Short through trip from Upper Canada Main Entrance to Primrose Cave to see the DW graffito, faded now due to exposure to the air. These may well be initials left by David Williams of Bleadon who explored this area in the 1820s. For more details of the discovery and exploration see this article and survey.
Jan Walker leaving via Primrose entrance, climbing past a stack of original miners' 'deads'. Photo by Linda Wilson.
BLEADON CAVERN
Formations, Bleadon Cavern. Photo by Linda Wilson.
16.7.22. Jan Walker, Linda Wilson, Alan Grey (Axbridge Caving Group). Report by Jan Walker.
Took some time to get into, as we had to cut the lock off. Note that Alan is responsible for access to the cave, so on this occasion removing the lock was wholly legitimate as it hadn't been opened since pre-Covid and had seized up. Tony Boycott assisted. Once the lock was open, Linda, Alan and I went down. It's a very steep cave, with three ladders at the entrance (one outside the gate, and two inside). The first inside ladder requires you to go through the gate, then close it in order to get around to reach the ladder. Then down a bit to an almost horizontal ladder, slightly rickety so it has a rope to hold. Then down a very slick muddy slope, which for some annoying reason only has a rope at the top and at the bottom, and not the middle.
I waited at the start of the bottom rope whilst Linda and Alan checked for the graffiti. They thought they found something, but it wasn't what had been described. They documented it and then returned, and we made it back up the slick bit, with Alan leading and then providing a very handy boot to hang onto so short me could get through the bit that doesn't have a rope. We then returned to the place where the mudslide (snark) started, and went into an upper passage instead. Result. There was a black inscription dated 1746. Linda took photos whilst Alan held her belt and I braced her feet, since she was right by the edge of a rather nasty hole. Came out tired, but flushed with success, to be greeted by Tony Boycott with sandwiches and tea.
Initials and date in candle smoke, RI 1746, in Bleadon Cavern. Photo by Linda Wilson.
Note from Linda Wilson: While Alan was searching for some historic graffiti he'd been shown a while ago (which eluded him), I noticed a previously unreported graffito which appears to be the initials HE (or F). The covering of stal shows that this is certainly not recent! The width of what appears to be candle smoke is similar to the more well known initials and date referred to above.
TOP SINK, LONGWOOD VALLEY
When in a hole, keep digging! Photo by Linda Wilson.
19.7.22. Linda Wilson, Jan Walker, Ali Moody and a cast of thousands, aka nine assorted cavers from the Wessex, the MNRC and Chris Eyles (Somerset Wildlife Trust). Report by Linda Wilson.
Concerned Friend: "It's going to be the hottest day of the year tomorrow. Are you sure this is sensible?"
Me: "Yes, I know, and no, it's not."
Concerned Friend: "Are you going to call it off?"
Me: "Nope. Too hard to rearrange."
So armed with digging kit, plenty of fluids, packed lunches and cakes, we toiled hard for three and a half hours clearing Top Sink of a year's worth of assorted flood debris consisting of rocks, mud, sticks etc in almost archaeological layers. A human chain hefted digging skips to the spoil heap.
Fresh spoil on top of old heap. Photo by Linda Wilson.
The good folk of Cheddar can now sleep more easily in their beds as when dug out to this extent, Top Sink can take most of the winter rain, with occasional overflows getting as far as Longwood Valley Sink, but not reaching (and damaging/closing) the road through Cheddar Gorge. I organise this every year wearing my Charterhouse Caving Company Ltd conservation officer's helmet. To comply with the latest access requirements, we wore helmets at all times in the wood. Legions of biting insects harried us the whole time, but I discovered that drenching myself from head to foot in Deet before leaving the house did help!
Welcome back to our new shorter reports section! We're trying to capture as much activity as possible here, and Zac has even put together a form that you can use to send in short, or even long, reports for inclusion, so do check out his handiwork here. Any photos can be sent to either Zac or Linda on Facebook or by email if you have any.
WEST TWIN ADIT
Merryn Matthews in the entrance to West Twin Brook Adit, Burrington. Photo by Henry Morgan.
30.6.22. Henry Morgan, Merryn Matthews. Report by Henry Morgan
Adit'ed to caving! Very cool. A nice walk through the geology of Blackdown.
PIERRE'S POT
30.6.22. Henry Morgan, Merryn Matthews. Report by Henry Morgan.
Checking out the dig site at the end, quite thoroughly! I found out that my new side mount light needs more robust cable ties to be suitable for Mendip caves! We went and looked at the adit afterwards, Merryn enjoyed the geology!
CANADA COOMBE
1.7.22. Jan Walker, Tony Boycott. Report by Jan Walker
Didn't go down Upper Canada Cave this time but we had a chance to see some fossils on the surface with the guide from Avon Wildlife, so the cave will wait for next trip. Fascinating crinoids in the rocks being used to rebuild the falling-down dry stone wall. Saw - and drooled over - the entrance to Bleadon. Really want to go down that one! Star rating was low, only because it was bucketing down rain and we got soaked!
KENT'S CAVERN
WILLIAM PETRE 1571. Currently the oldest known graffito in Kent's Cavern.
14.7.22. Linda Wilson, Jan Walker. Report by Linda Wilson
Day trip to Kent's Cavern showcave in Devon to discuss the possibility of taking on a project to record the historic graffiti in the cave. Had a look at the quantity of material in the cave and agreed to carry out a pilot study in January 2023. James Hull (general manager) and Elliot Ling (information officer) are both incredibly enthusiastic about the project. If anyone would like to be involved in this work, which will involve access beyond the showcave, please contact Linda.
UPPER CANADA CAVE
Faded DW graffito in candle smoke, Upper Canada Cave. Photo by Linda Wilson.
16.7.22. Linda Wilson, Jan Walker, Tony Boycott, Alan Grey (Axbridge Caving Group) and Lofty (also ACG) Report by Linda Wilson.
Tony Boycott in Upper Canada Cave. Photo by Linda Wilson, and yes, she did send it to his oncology nurse as proof of a resumption of 'normal' activities.
Short through trip from Upper Canada Main Entrance to Primrose Cave to see the DW graffito, faded now due to exposure to the air. These may well be initials left by David Williams of Bleadon who explored this area in the 1820s. For more details of the discovery and exploration see this article and survey.
Jan Walker leaving via Primrose entrance, climbing past a stack of original miners' 'deads'. Photo by Linda Wilson.
BLEADON CAVERN
Formations, Bleadon Cavern. Photo by Linda Wilson.
16.7.22. Jan Walker, Linda Wilson, Alan Grey (Axbridge Caving Group). Report by Jan Walker.
Took some time to get into, as we had to cut the lock off. Note that Alan is responsible for access to the cave, so on this occasion removing the lock was wholly legitimate as it hadn't been opened since pre-Covid and had seized up. Tony Boycott assisted. Once the lock was open, Linda, Alan and I went down. It's a very steep cave, with three ladders at the entrance (one outside the gate, and two inside). The first inside ladder requires you to go through the gate, then close it in order to get around to reach the ladder. Then down a bit to an almost horizontal ladder, slightly rickety so it has a rope to hold. Then down a very slick muddy slope, which for some annoying reason only has a rope at the top and at the bottom, and not the middle.
I waited at the start of the bottom rope whilst Linda and Alan checked for the graffiti. They thought they found something, but it wasn't what had been described. They documented it and then returned, and we made it back up the slick bit, with Alan leading and then providing a very handy boot to hang onto so short me could get through the bit that doesn't have a rope. We then returned to the place where the mudslide (snark) started, and went into an upper passage instead. Result. There was a black inscription dated 1746. Linda took photos whilst Alan held her belt and I braced her feet, since she was right by the edge of a rather nasty hole. Came out tired, but flushed with success, to be greeted by Tony Boycott with sandwiches and tea.
Initials and date in candle smoke, RI 1746, in Bleadon Cavern. Photo by Linda Wilson.
Note from Linda Wilson: While Alan was searching for some historic graffiti he'd been shown a while ago (which eluded him), I noticed a previously unreported graffito which appears to be the initials HE (or F). The covering of stal shows that this is certainly not recent! The width of what appears to be candle smoke is similar to the more well known initials and date referred to above.
TOP SINK, LONGWOOD VALLEY
When in a hole, keep digging! Photo by Linda Wilson.
19.7.22. Linda Wilson, Jan Walker, Ali Moody and a cast of thousands, aka nine assorted cavers from the Wessex, the MNRC and Chris Eyles (Somerset Wildlife Trust). Report by Linda Wilson.
Concerned Friend: "It's going to be the hottest day of the year tomorrow. Are you sure this is sensible?"
Me: "Yes, I know, and no, it's not."
Concerned Friend: "Are you going to call it off?"
Me: "Nope. Too hard to rearrange."
So armed with digging kit, plenty of fluids, packed lunches and cakes, we toiled hard for three and a half hours clearing Top Sink of a year's worth of assorted flood debris consisting of rocks, mud, sticks etc in almost archaeological layers. A human chain hefted digging skips to the spoil heap.
Fresh spoil on top of old heap. Photo by Linda Wilson.
The good folk of Cheddar can now sleep more easily in their beds as when dug out to this extent, Top Sink can take most of the winter rain, with occasional overflows getting as far as Longwood Valley Sink, but not reaching (and damaging/closing) the road through Cheddar Gorge. I organise this every year wearing my Charterhouse Caving Company Ltd conservation officer's helmet. To comply with the latest access requirements, we wore helmets at all times in the wood. Legions of biting insects harried us the whole time, but I discovered that drenching myself from head to foot in Deet before leaving the house did help!
ACCESS NEWS - OGOF CRAIG A FFYNNON
The following message from the Cambrian Caving Council (CCC), the regional caving body for Wales, not to be confused with CCC Ltd, the access body that deals with the Charterhouse caves on Mendip - yeah, we know, too many similar acronyms! - has been passed on by Clive Owen, UBSS rep on CCC. We've expanded the acronyms via square brackets [and red, proving that Henry isn't the only one who can colour code things!]
Cambrian Caving Council has decided to change the padlock at Ogof Craig a Ffynnon. There are 30+ official keys in circulation mainly held by clubs and going back maybe 20 years.
The new lock will be the same key as fits Ogof Cnwc (the Daren Cilau No.2 entrance) itself in use for 10+ years and should be installed sometime on Monday 18th July. There are also 30+ keys in circulation for Ogof Cnwc. So on 18th July you would need to take both old and new, and thereafter just the new one. Clubs or cavers wanting keys should contact Malcolm Reid (the former MLCMAC [Mmyndd Llangatwg Cave Management Advisory Committee] access officer) or get one through Chelsea Speleological Society (Adrian Fawcett or me). Groups staying at Whitewalls can be provided with a set of local cave keys for the duration of their stay by prior arrangement.
An update on MLCMAC. [Mmyndd Llangatwg Cave Management Advisory Committee]
The former cave management committee was effectively left in limbo when NRW [Natural Resources Wales] withdrew from funding, running and chairing it. The group has now been adopted by Cambrian Caving Council where the plan is to let it run as a subcommittee comprising its previous members (but not NRW staff) and welcomes anyone else expressing an interest in helping look after the caves on its patch. NRW's cave management agreement with the landowners (Beaufort Estate) essentially ended when NRW defaulted. The established position of the estate, as stated to me in various meetings over the years, is that they approve of responsible bona fide caving activities on their land and cavers themselves must assess what 'responsible' implies and act accordingly. We hope to be able to re-affirm this simple and pragmatic position in a meeting with the estate later in the summer and reach a clear understanding with them that CCC will take responsibility where NRW left off.
Stuart France
Conservation and Access Officer
Cambrian Caving
Two weeks later, the lock and gate were deliberately damaged and so at present, there is no access to the cave at all while repairs are carried out. We'll update on this as soon as we can.
The following message from the Cambrian Caving Council (CCC), the regional caving body for Wales, not to be confused with CCC Ltd, the access body that deals with the Charterhouse caves on Mendip - yeah, we know, too many similar acronyms! - has been passed on by Clive Owen, UBSS rep on CCC. We've expanded the acronyms via square brackets [and red, proving that Henry isn't the only one who can colour code things!]
Cambrian Caving Council has decided to change the padlock at Ogof Craig a Ffynnon. There are 30+ official keys in circulation mainly held by clubs and going back maybe 20 years.
The new lock will be the same key as fits Ogof Cnwc (the Daren Cilau No.2 entrance) itself in use for 10+ years and should be installed sometime on Monday 18th July. There are also 30+ keys in circulation for Ogof Cnwc. So on 18th July you would need to take both old and new, and thereafter just the new one. Clubs or cavers wanting keys should contact Malcolm Reid (the former MLCMAC [Mmyndd Llangatwg Cave Management Advisory Committee] access officer) or get one through Chelsea Speleological Society (Adrian Fawcett or me). Groups staying at Whitewalls can be provided with a set of local cave keys for the duration of their stay by prior arrangement.
An update on MLCMAC. [Mmyndd Llangatwg Cave Management Advisory Committee]
The former cave management committee was effectively left in limbo when NRW [Natural Resources Wales] withdrew from funding, running and chairing it. The group has now been adopted by Cambrian Caving Council where the plan is to let it run as a subcommittee comprising its previous members (but not NRW staff) and welcomes anyone else expressing an interest in helping look after the caves on its patch. NRW's cave management agreement with the landowners (Beaufort Estate) essentially ended when NRW defaulted. The established position of the estate, as stated to me in various meetings over the years, is that they approve of responsible bona fide caving activities on their land and cavers themselves must assess what 'responsible' implies and act accordingly. We hope to be able to re-affirm this simple and pragmatic position in a meeting with the estate later in the summer and reach a clear understanding with them that CCC will take responsibility where NRW left off.
Stuart France
Conservation and Access Officer
Cambrian Caving
Two weeks later, the lock and gate were deliberately damaged and so at present, there is no access to the cave at all while repairs are carried out. We'll update on this as soon as we can.
CAVING IN NORTHWEST SCOTLAND
The resurgence tourist entrance to Smoo Cave Durness. Photo by Mark Tringham.
Mention Scotland and lochs, fine mountain scenery and whisky come to mind, but caving? Seriously? Well, the short answer is yes! Mark Tringham, a member of UBSS, GSS (Gloucester Speleological Society) and GSG (Grampian Speleological Group), has provided an account of some of the excellent trips awaiting anyone who ventures north of the border.
There is much to satisfy the speleological interest of those willing to pass by the Yorkshire Dales and keep going a long, long way further. The Northwest Highlands have an intermittent tract of Cambrian aged limestone and dolomite found from around Skye right up to the NW coast at Durness as well as Jurassic limestone centred on the Isle of Skye and these areas host the majority of the known caves.
I had my first brush with this area as a 20-year-old geology student when we were taken to the Assynt district see what is one of the UK’s most scenic areas with the most amazing variety of rock types, stratigraphy and geological structure. Then much later as a geologist working in Aberdeen it was a natural for me to join the principal club, the Grampian Speleological Group (GSG) and spend many weekends and longer breaks staying at the club hut at Elphin, just to the north of Ullapool, right in the heart of the caving patch.
So, in May 2022, many years later, I led an enthusiastic group of five others from the Gloucester Speleological Society (GSS) to stay for five days and enjoy the caves there. Most had not caved there before, so we hit the high points for our four days caving and two half days mountain walking. Assynt has many mountains many reaching between 2,700 and 3,300 ft in height and is also close to the bracing Atlantic coastline and thus provides an excellent all-round out-door experience on top of the caving.
The drive from Gloucester is about ten hours and 500 miles distance and we stayed as guests of the GSG at the Elphin Caving Centre for five nights. May is often the best time to visit because of better weather, long day-light hours and few, if any, problems with the dreaded midges.
Fixed ladders in the entrance pitch of Rana Hole. Photo by Andy Ley.
On caving day one, the group decided to tackle the hardest sporty caving trip of the week. This involved walking up Allt nan Uamh (Stream of the Caves) fighting up the valley against a very strong wind for an hour or so before descending Rana Hole, which is part of the Claonite system. At 3.4 km long and 110m deep this is the longest cave in Scotland. Rana Hole was dug out over the course of many years of effort by GSG to gain access to the downstream part of Claonite beyond a series of sumps.
Black Rift pitch Rana Hole with Ian Crossland on the rope. Photo by Mark Tringham.
Rana starts with some acrobatic fixed ladders, climbs and squeezes, passing some large and well decorated chambers and then an SRT rope descent of Black Rift near Belh Aven where it joins the major Claonite trunk route with a large rumbling streamway and relict dry passages and chambers. These end near The Great Northern Time Machine (photo) a truly massive passage and near to where bear skeletons and reindeer remains were found by the original explorers. These have now been transferred by GSG to the Museum of Scotland for study and safe-keeping. The GSS team had a good romp around the lower part of the cave, took some photos and were well satisfied after about six hours underground.
Uamh an Claonite, the Great Northern Time Machine. Photo by Mark Tringham.
An easier day followed with a visit to Cnoc nan Uamh (Hill of Caves), which is a favourite for beginners. This is a 1,750 long and 83m deep cave system, but for the most-part is horizontal. Like most of the other caves in the region it involves about 45 minutes walk from the road-side parking place. With three entrances, the system contains a fine mixture of gushing streamways, large chambers, some of which are well decorated with formations, and short squeezes. In the upstream direction Cnoc nan Uamh Stream Cave – otherwise known as Cnockers – forms the majority of the system that can be followed without diving. This was explored via three chambers with connecting crawls and cascades to Far Passage, which is a flood overflow route (photo) leading to a static sump. Landslip Chamber is the biggest of the three and photos were also taken here on the way out while some team members went off exploring the numerous looping side passage crawls.
Landslip Chamber, Cnoc nan Uamh, with Juli Durber. Photo by Mark Tringham.
Downstream Uamh Tartair (Roaring Cave) forms a broad ramp passage with a long cascade eroded out along a thrust fault plane. Many of the caves in this region have formed along such low angle fault planes, a feature almost unique to this part of the UK.
Uamh an Tartair, water slide eroded out on thrust fault plane. Photo by Mark Tringham.
After these two fairly ‘full-on’ caving days completed and with a good weather forecast on Day Three the GSS team decided to take the 60 mile scenic drive north to Durness for some coastal walking and a visit to the world-famous but short Smoo show cave. The drive passes through exciting scenery with steep mountain peaks, numerous fresh and saltwater lochs and finally the sea cliffs and beautiful sandy beaches around the village of Durness. I had already contacted the show cave operator and GSG member Fraser Eadie concerning caver access to the show cave and the team went first to Smoo to speak to him and arranged a return later at 4pm after tourist access had stopped for the day. The pothole entrance was checked and looked quite intimidating with a large stream flow and strong wind draughting in and down, whipping up the cascading water into a fine spray. The GSS objective was to descend the waterfall pothole entrance, which is about 30m deep, drop into Second Chamber, swim around into Third Chamber and swim out of the resurgence to First Chamber. First Chamber opens to the sea cliff and is a spectacular sight. Tourists currently pay £10 for the privilege of an inflatable boat ride around 2nd and 3rd Chambers as well as receiving a scientific explanation from Fraser. Since the boat ride involves travelling beneath the pothole entrance the abseil in has to be outside opening hours for tourists.
Next, the craft village at Balnakeil was visited just on the other side of Durness village for a café lunch and look around the various shops and a small geological museum. Balnakiel is a disused RAF base that was an important northwestern-most UK mainland airfield, used during World War Two for North Atlantic sorties. Part of the old base was once a Glasgow University field studies centre and I had stayed there for a week during my undergraduate geological trip mentioned in the introduction. The team also enjoyed an hour or two beach walk at Balnakiel, going out northwards towards Faraid Headland.
Descending into Smoo Cave. Mark Tringham on the rope. Photo by Andy Ley.
On returning to Smoo we found the show cave closed, the water still flowing strongly down the pothole entrance, but the windy conditions had abated. We therefore set about rigging the rope in, belaying to a modern wood and steel bridge that spans across the pothole entrance with a traverse line and single vertical drop just to one side of the main waterflow. Three of the team tested out the route without difficulty and had massive fun on the airy abseil and swim around and out, followed by a walk back up the tourist footpath. After a few goes the rest of the team joined in and found the descent and short through trip very exciting. The trip back to Elphin took about 1 ½ hours in the beautiful evening light with majestic views out to sea and inland to the nearby craggy mountain peaks.
Allt nan Uamh Stream Cave Main Passage. Photo by Mark Tringham.
The fourth day of caving took the team back to Allt nan Uamh, but this time to visit the Stream Cave (ANUSC) which is around 1500m long and 40m deep and then followed with a visit to a relatively new cave dig at nearby UNCABAC, presently 175m long. The ANUSC was fairly fully explored and photos taken with a fine streamway coming and going from various large dry routes leading down to a sump and splashy boulder digs. A short tight wet squeeze leads into the upstream part of the cave with some exhilarating climbs and traverses above the streamway (photo) before another inlet sump was reached. After exiting the cave most of the team had had enough, but I was determined to take a look at the UNCABAC dig, which has featured in GSG news for several years now. The entrance is in the stream-bed and had to be uncovered from its protective boulder and plastic barricade before entry could be made (photo). The first part of the cave was found to be very muddy and narrow but further in it became larger and cleaner with a few chambers and passages large enough to stand up in before termination in a small rift where banging has been in progress to try and extend the cave.
The team celebrated a successful and fun four days caving with an enjoyable evening meal out at the Alltnacealgach Inn a few miles from Elphin. A clean-up at the GSG hut was done the next morning, followed by a few hours’ mountain walk up the popular Stac Polaidh peak and then the team dispersed on various onward routes home. Everyone had a great time and enjoyed staying at the excellent GSG hut and felt well-satisfied with four days of varied and challenging caving as well as being so impressed by the magnificent scenery in this remote part of the UK. This was the first ever GSS club trip to Assynt and based on everyone’s response it’s unlikely to be the last.
The resurgence tourist entrance to Smoo Cave Durness. Photo by Mark Tringham.
Mention Scotland and lochs, fine mountain scenery and whisky come to mind, but caving? Seriously? Well, the short answer is yes! Mark Tringham, a member of UBSS, GSS (Gloucester Speleological Society) and GSG (Grampian Speleological Group), has provided an account of some of the excellent trips awaiting anyone who ventures north of the border.
There is much to satisfy the speleological interest of those willing to pass by the Yorkshire Dales and keep going a long, long way further. The Northwest Highlands have an intermittent tract of Cambrian aged limestone and dolomite found from around Skye right up to the NW coast at Durness as well as Jurassic limestone centred on the Isle of Skye and these areas host the majority of the known caves.
I had my first brush with this area as a 20-year-old geology student when we were taken to the Assynt district see what is one of the UK’s most scenic areas with the most amazing variety of rock types, stratigraphy and geological structure. Then much later as a geologist working in Aberdeen it was a natural for me to join the principal club, the Grampian Speleological Group (GSG) and spend many weekends and longer breaks staying at the club hut at Elphin, just to the north of Ullapool, right in the heart of the caving patch.
So, in May 2022, many years later, I led an enthusiastic group of five others from the Gloucester Speleological Society (GSS) to stay for five days and enjoy the caves there. Most had not caved there before, so we hit the high points for our four days caving and two half days mountain walking. Assynt has many mountains many reaching between 2,700 and 3,300 ft in height and is also close to the bracing Atlantic coastline and thus provides an excellent all-round out-door experience on top of the caving.
The drive from Gloucester is about ten hours and 500 miles distance and we stayed as guests of the GSG at the Elphin Caving Centre for five nights. May is often the best time to visit because of better weather, long day-light hours and few, if any, problems with the dreaded midges.
Fixed ladders in the entrance pitch of Rana Hole. Photo by Andy Ley.
On caving day one, the group decided to tackle the hardest sporty caving trip of the week. This involved walking up Allt nan Uamh (Stream of the Caves) fighting up the valley against a very strong wind for an hour or so before descending Rana Hole, which is part of the Claonite system. At 3.4 km long and 110m deep this is the longest cave in Scotland. Rana Hole was dug out over the course of many years of effort by GSG to gain access to the downstream part of Claonite beyond a series of sumps.
Black Rift pitch Rana Hole with Ian Crossland on the rope. Photo by Mark Tringham.
Rana starts with some acrobatic fixed ladders, climbs and squeezes, passing some large and well decorated chambers and then an SRT rope descent of Black Rift near Belh Aven where it joins the major Claonite trunk route with a large rumbling streamway and relict dry passages and chambers. These end near The Great Northern Time Machine (photo) a truly massive passage and near to where bear skeletons and reindeer remains were found by the original explorers. These have now been transferred by GSG to the Museum of Scotland for study and safe-keeping. The GSS team had a good romp around the lower part of the cave, took some photos and were well satisfied after about six hours underground.
Uamh an Claonite, the Great Northern Time Machine. Photo by Mark Tringham.
An easier day followed with a visit to Cnoc nan Uamh (Hill of Caves), which is a favourite for beginners. This is a 1,750 long and 83m deep cave system, but for the most-part is horizontal. Like most of the other caves in the region it involves about 45 minutes walk from the road-side parking place. With three entrances, the system contains a fine mixture of gushing streamways, large chambers, some of which are well decorated with formations, and short squeezes. In the upstream direction Cnoc nan Uamh Stream Cave – otherwise known as Cnockers – forms the majority of the system that can be followed without diving. This was explored via three chambers with connecting crawls and cascades to Far Passage, which is a flood overflow route (photo) leading to a static sump. Landslip Chamber is the biggest of the three and photos were also taken here on the way out while some team members went off exploring the numerous looping side passage crawls.
Landslip Chamber, Cnoc nan Uamh, with Juli Durber. Photo by Mark Tringham.
Downstream Uamh Tartair (Roaring Cave) forms a broad ramp passage with a long cascade eroded out along a thrust fault plane. Many of the caves in this region have formed along such low angle fault planes, a feature almost unique to this part of the UK.
Uamh an Tartair, water slide eroded out on thrust fault plane. Photo by Mark Tringham.
After these two fairly ‘full-on’ caving days completed and with a good weather forecast on Day Three the GSS team decided to take the 60 mile scenic drive north to Durness for some coastal walking and a visit to the world-famous but short Smoo show cave. The drive passes through exciting scenery with steep mountain peaks, numerous fresh and saltwater lochs and finally the sea cliffs and beautiful sandy beaches around the village of Durness. I had already contacted the show cave operator and GSG member Fraser Eadie concerning caver access to the show cave and the team went first to Smoo to speak to him and arranged a return later at 4pm after tourist access had stopped for the day. The pothole entrance was checked and looked quite intimidating with a large stream flow and strong wind draughting in and down, whipping up the cascading water into a fine spray. The GSS objective was to descend the waterfall pothole entrance, which is about 30m deep, drop into Second Chamber, swim around into Third Chamber and swim out of the resurgence to First Chamber. First Chamber opens to the sea cliff and is a spectacular sight. Tourists currently pay £10 for the privilege of an inflatable boat ride around 2nd and 3rd Chambers as well as receiving a scientific explanation from Fraser. Since the boat ride involves travelling beneath the pothole entrance the abseil in has to be outside opening hours for tourists.
Next, the craft village at Balnakeil was visited just on the other side of Durness village for a café lunch and look around the various shops and a small geological museum. Balnakiel is a disused RAF base that was an important northwestern-most UK mainland airfield, used during World War Two for North Atlantic sorties. Part of the old base was once a Glasgow University field studies centre and I had stayed there for a week during my undergraduate geological trip mentioned in the introduction. The team also enjoyed an hour or two beach walk at Balnakiel, going out northwards towards Faraid Headland.
Descending into Smoo Cave. Mark Tringham on the rope. Photo by Andy Ley.
On returning to Smoo we found the show cave closed, the water still flowing strongly down the pothole entrance, but the windy conditions had abated. We therefore set about rigging the rope in, belaying to a modern wood and steel bridge that spans across the pothole entrance with a traverse line and single vertical drop just to one side of the main waterflow. Three of the team tested out the route without difficulty and had massive fun on the airy abseil and swim around and out, followed by a walk back up the tourist footpath. After a few goes the rest of the team joined in and found the descent and short through trip very exciting. The trip back to Elphin took about 1 ½ hours in the beautiful evening light with majestic views out to sea and inland to the nearby craggy mountain peaks.
Allt nan Uamh Stream Cave Main Passage. Photo by Mark Tringham.
The fourth day of caving took the team back to Allt nan Uamh, but this time to visit the Stream Cave (ANUSC) which is around 1500m long and 40m deep and then followed with a visit to a relatively new cave dig at nearby UNCABAC, presently 175m long. The ANUSC was fairly fully explored and photos taken with a fine streamway coming and going from various large dry routes leading down to a sump and splashy boulder digs. A short tight wet squeeze leads into the upstream part of the cave with some exhilarating climbs and traverses above the streamway (photo) before another inlet sump was reached. After exiting the cave most of the team had had enough, but I was determined to take a look at the UNCABAC dig, which has featured in GSG news for several years now. The entrance is in the stream-bed and had to be uncovered from its protective boulder and plastic barricade before entry could be made (photo). The first part of the cave was found to be very muddy and narrow but further in it became larger and cleaner with a few chambers and passages large enough to stand up in before termination in a small rift where banging has been in progress to try and extend the cave.
The team celebrated a successful and fun four days caving with an enjoyable evening meal out at the Alltnacealgach Inn a few miles from Elphin. A clean-up at the GSG hut was done the next morning, followed by a few hours’ mountain walk up the popular Stac Polaidh peak and then the team dispersed on various onward routes home. Everyone had a great time and enjoyed staying at the excellent GSG hut and felt well-satisfied with four days of varied and challenging caving as well as being so impressed by the magnificent scenery in this remote part of the UK. This was the first ever GSS club trip to Assynt and based on everyone’s response it’s unlikely to be the last.
Mark Tringham
CAVES OF ASSYNT
And for anyone who's been inspired by Mark's article to consider a trip to Scotland, a must-have item is the new guidebook to the Assynt area, edited by Tim Lawson and Peter Dowswell. This review by Graham Mullan will hopefully whet your appetite even more for the area.
And for anyone who's been inspired by Mark's article to consider a trip to Scotland, a must-have item is the new guidebook to the Assynt area, edited by Tim Lawson and Peter Dowswell. This review by Graham Mullan will hopefully whet your appetite even more for the area.
The Grampian Speleological Group (GSG), Scotland’s premier caving club, has a long history of producing guides to the country’s caves; indeed this is third edition of a guide that was first published in 1972. However, in another sense this is a new departure. Previous editions were very much home-produced, but this has been laid out by co-editor Tim Lawson using modern DTP software and professionally printed and bound.
Caves of Assynt covers the caving areas of western Scotland, from Ullapool to the north, for some 35km. This takes in the main caving areas of the Traligill basin, the Allt nan Uamh basin and the Knockan area as well as several more minor areas both north and south. The major chapters carry detailed descriptions of all the caves plus historical accounts of their discovery and exploration. In addition to these aspects, the book also has chapters on the geology and geomorphology of the main areas, on palaeoclimatic studies undertaken using speleothem data and on cave biology. The book is a comprehensive guide for anyone wanting to visit and understand the caves of the area.
Produced at A4 paper size, it is somewhat larger than the recent run of cave guides. A decision on size is always a compromise; the larger size allows for larger maps and surveys but makes it harder to carry around in the field. The large page size has also led to the text being arranged in two columns. The text is liberally interspersed with colour photographs. Personally, I would have preferred to see larger images, even if that had meant fewer of them. Some of the smaller ones are lacking in detail, though overall the quality of reproduction is good.
The area maps show the locations of the caves on Ordnance Survey base maps and are excellent. They were produced by Bob Jones using a GIS system so one can guarantee that the position of a cave entrance on a map is as good as it can be from the available grid reference. The surveys are rather more variable. The more modern ones are clear and well executed but some of the older ones have been taken from old paper originals. Some have been redrawn or relabelled, but some have not. According to the editors’ foreword, “no concerted attempt to redraw all the surveys in a ‘house style’ was made so many retain ‘quirks’ …” This is true, and in some cases, the text labelling is quite small and difficult to read. This is one of very few flaws in an otherwise excellent book.
This third edition was first mooted in 2011. Not only was the previous edition long out of print but continued exploration in the area had considerably expanded what needed to be included. That process has continued for the past decade resulting in the need for frequent revision of cave descriptions. It was only in 2020 when Tim joined Peter as co-editor and, perhaps, as the pandemic slowed down the rate of new discoveries, that the project could be brought to completion. A vast amount of work has gone into this book; six main authors and no fewer than 18 photographers are credited along with countless unsung surveyors and explorers, all of whose work has come together in one imposing volume.
Caves of Assynt is a book for all cavers with an interest in Scotland. It is available directly from the GSG, email orders to the chairman .The price, shown below, does not include p&p, this is currently £4.50 for the softback. The hardback postage rate is not yet known.
Graham Mullan
GSG, Edinburgh. 2022.
211pp, 243 colour photographs, 5 black & white photographs,
20 maps and diagrams, 55 cave surveys.
210mm × 297mm (softback)
£20 (softback) £35 (hardback)
ISBN 978-1-7397635-0-3 (softback)
ISBN 978-1-7397635-1-0 (hardback)
With thanks to Darkness Below for permission to reprint this review.
I DID IT, COOL CAVING CAMEL, I READ TO THE END! YOU OWE ME A DRINK!
In honour of the hot weather, we welcome back Cool Caving Camel, with thanks to Chris Howes for our star guest!
Cool Caving Camel is here to offer a drink to the first person to get to the end this month! Maybe two drinks for outrageously fawning comments on the literary merit of this august publication ... Last month, Jan Walker and David Hardwick vied for the top spot, but we're going to award the dog biscuit to David, as the reader who has showed the most improvement, going from 14 months late last time, to a very narrow second place this time! Congratulations!
- and I watched the trailer too. Having read to the end I am now running out of excuses for doing what I’m supposed to be doing … no wait … I can go and walk the dogs. [David Hardwick]
- I loved the varied format for this one! Kudos to all. The quick trip form will let us know just how many trips are being made (since people start cringing at the idea of writing up a full report!). Extra comments: 1. And the award for the most succinct trip report goes to Henry Morgan's Swildon's Hole report. 2. The baby-caving was meltingly sweet. 3. Congrats to Jakob's parents! I was 59 on my first trip. 4. Lunch at the Mirandol? Super Awesome! Thanks! [Jan Walker]
- I have read to the end again and thoroughly enjoyed it, although I'm a little miffed that Gabe, Zac, Merryn and Elliott found it so easy to navigate through OFD when it took me 4 trips and 2 very close call outs to have similar success. Thanks for such a great newsletter! [Kat Osei-Mensah]
- Triggered by all the news ... [|Chris Howes, clearly feeling poetic]
I must go down to Mendip
To see the holes in rock
I left my bag of clothes there
I need to find my sock
- For the record, I had finished reading the newsletter by 0915. The request (for a Tween Twins trip) arrived at 0857, just 33 minutes after the newsletter itself! [Clive Owen]
- Another great newsletter and very distracting. I am supposed to be thinking about where to place national grade boundaries on my A Level paper for English Language, but this was much more fun. (Just don’t tell AQA!) I am currently reading The John Nathan-Turner Production Diary 1979-1990 by Richard Molesworth. [Ian Wheeler]
- I read to the end before it was even released! Surely that means I win right? [Zac Woodford] [Other Editor's note: nope, but keep trying!]
- Hi cool dude dog, I’m so happy to make your acquaintance! Sorry I haven’t met you in earlier issues, I’ve been busy with german uni. I particularly enjoyed the wood chopping photos, they made me miss everybody! Woof woof, Mia. [Madam Student Prezz]
- Well done for hut working party, tea & medals all round. [John 'Tangent' Williams]
- Tony has now read to the end but has not yet read the rest of it. :-) [Jan for Tony Boycott]
- Great to see the Hut alive and well. Thank you to all in the workparty. [Eve Gilmore]
- The title of buffest fresher is the biggest flex! Made my day, thank you! [Guy Maalouf]
- Great newsletter as usual. [Paul Savage]
- Thanks. As usual much fascinating stuff and the first article is a reminder to me of Union Week 1961 when, under The President's direction, the front of the hut was moved out but I cannot remember by how much. I also remember the myriads of glow worms beside the hut track. [Tim Hill]
- Please contact me urgently. [Fake Elaine] [Editors' note: Nope, we're not talking to you any more. You never thanked us for the last lot of iTunes vouchers or the $5 million dollars.]
- But I'm in Istanbul and my wallet has been stolen and I need to get home. [Fake Elaine] [Editor's note: No, you're not, you're in France, skinny dipping at 2am. We've seen the photos.]
- I would like to support the above plea plea for additional funding. [Colonel H. Saunders, OBE, DSO & Bar] [Editors' note: you can piss off, too.]
Cool Caving Camel, I got to the end! I deserve a drink, don't I?
THE END
In honour of the hot weather, we welcome back Cool Caving Camel, with thanks to Chris Howes for our star guest!
Cool Caving Camel is here to offer a drink to the first person to get to the end this month! Maybe two drinks for outrageously fawning comments on the literary merit of this august publication ... Last month, Jan Walker and David Hardwick vied for the top spot, but we're going to award the dog biscuit to David, as the reader who has showed the most improvement, going from 14 months late last time, to a very narrow second place this time! Congratulations!
- and I watched the trailer too. Having read to the end I am now running out of excuses for doing what I’m supposed to be doing … no wait … I can go and walk the dogs. [David Hardwick]
- I loved the varied format for this one! Kudos to all. The quick trip form will let us know just how many trips are being made (since people start cringing at the idea of writing up a full report!). Extra comments: 1. And the award for the most succinct trip report goes to Henry Morgan's Swildon's Hole report. 2. The baby-caving was meltingly sweet. 3. Congrats to Jakob's parents! I was 59 on my first trip. 4. Lunch at the Mirandol? Super Awesome! Thanks! [Jan Walker]
- I have read to the end again and thoroughly enjoyed it, although I'm a little miffed that Gabe, Zac, Merryn and Elliott found it so easy to navigate through OFD when it took me 4 trips and 2 very close call outs to have similar success. Thanks for such a great newsletter! [Kat Osei-Mensah]
- Triggered by all the news ... [|Chris Howes, clearly feeling poetic]
I must go down to Mendip
To see the holes in rock
I left my bag of clothes there
I need to find my sock
- For the record, I had finished reading the newsletter by 0915. The request (for a Tween Twins trip) arrived at 0857, just 33 minutes after the newsletter itself! [Clive Owen]
- Another great newsletter and very distracting. I am supposed to be thinking about where to place national grade boundaries on my A Level paper for English Language, but this was much more fun. (Just don’t tell AQA!) I am currently reading The John Nathan-Turner Production Diary 1979-1990 by Richard Molesworth. [Ian Wheeler]
- I read to the end before it was even released! Surely that means I win right? [Zac Woodford] [Other Editor's note: nope, but keep trying!]
- Hi cool dude dog, I’m so happy to make your acquaintance! Sorry I haven’t met you in earlier issues, I’ve been busy with german uni. I particularly enjoyed the wood chopping photos, they made me miss everybody! Woof woof, Mia. [Madam Student Prezz]
- Well done for hut working party, tea & medals all round. [John 'Tangent' Williams]
- Tony has now read to the end but has not yet read the rest of it. :-) [Jan for Tony Boycott]
- Great to see the Hut alive and well. Thank you to all in the workparty. [Eve Gilmore]
- The title of buffest fresher is the biggest flex! Made my day, thank you! [Guy Maalouf]
- Great newsletter as usual. [Paul Savage]
- Thanks. As usual much fascinating stuff and the first article is a reminder to me of Union Week 1961 when, under The President's direction, the front of the hut was moved out but I cannot remember by how much. I also remember the myriads of glow worms beside the hut track. [Tim Hill]
- Please contact me urgently. [Fake Elaine] [Editors' note: Nope, we're not talking to you any more. You never thanked us for the last lot of iTunes vouchers or the $5 million dollars.]
- But I'm in Istanbul and my wallet has been stolen and I need to get home. [Fake Elaine] [Editor's note: No, you're not, you're in France, skinny dipping at 2am. We've seen the photos.]
- I would like to support the above plea plea for additional funding. [Colonel H. Saunders, OBE, DSO & Bar] [Editors' note: you can piss off, too.]
Cool Caving Camel, I got to the end! I deserve a drink, don't I?
THE END