Zip-line, Croesor-Rhosydd, north Wales.
As the summer temps rise, well, UBSS aren’t feeling it. Underground as ever, this month we see our club splitting up after a packed academic year and reuniting underground. In this edition, keep your eyes peeled for fun (and less fun) trips to new places, new games, the majestic ‘Speleospirit’ and competitions to enter…
From games to gossip, tales to troubles, please keep submitting your fantastic write-ups- whatever they entail, we love to hear them!
PS If anything is in blue and underlined, it’s a clickable link!
PPS You can find all previous newsletters back to 1919 on our website! Do take a look!
From games to gossip, tales to troubles, please keep submitting your fantastic write-ups- whatever they entail, we love to hear them!
PS If anything is in blue and underlined, it’s a clickable link!
PPS You can find all previous newsletters back to 1919 on our website! Do take a look!
IN THIS ISSUE
- UBSS Summer Photo Contest 2026
- Trip Log
- Puzzle Corner
- In the News
- Written in the Stars
- Museum News
- The Sunny Side of the Southbank
- Mist, Mines and Ziplines
- Pitches in Portland
- Midge Attack
- Sleeping Under No Stars
- Return to Little Neath
- In Older News
- I Made It, Darling Toad!
- UBSS Summer Photo Contest 2026
- Trip Log
- Puzzle Corner
- In the News
- Written in the Stars
- Museum News
- The Sunny Side of the Southbank
- Mist, Mines and Ziplines
- Pitches in Portland
- Midge Attack
- Sleeping Under No Stars
- Return to Little Neath
- In Older News
- I Made It, Darling Toad!
UBSS SUMMER PHOTO CONTEST 2026
Jess Brock introduces a new photo competition, open to everyone in the club!Winners will include first and second place in each category with lots of unique prizes! And, your photos will feature in the October edition of the monthly newsletter (just in time for freshers to see them and be amazed!).
Categories:
Expedition Life - Best photo taken on a summer expedition. Try to include at least one UBSS member if photographing people.
Best Underground Shot - Photo taken underground during the summer.
Wild Places - Photo in a remote location and/or exploration beyond established paths (but not on the wrong side of any conservation tape!
Creative Vision - A single image that tells a compelling story or scene. Humour encouraged!
Best Team Photo - A single photo including every member on your trip.
Best Aboveground Shot - Photo taken above ground during the summer. Can be caving related but doesn’t have to be!
How to enter:
You must be a member of UBSS.
You have to be the person who took the photo.
Each photograph must have TITLE/NAME/ MONTH/YEAR e.g. NCHECC Poo, Isaac Neale, March 2026.
ONLY SIX ENTRIES TOTAL PER PERSON.
Please send pictures and captions to Jess by the deadline.
Deadline – 31st August 2026:
Expedition Life - Best photo taken on a summer expedition. Try to include at least one UBSS member if photographing people.
Best Underground Shot - Photo taken underground during the summer.
Wild Places - Photo in a remote location and/or exploration beyond established paths (but not on the wrong side of any conservation tape!
Creative Vision - A single image that tells a compelling story or scene. Humour encouraged!
Best Team Photo - A single photo including every member on your trip.
Best Aboveground Shot - Photo taken above ground during the summer. Can be caving related but doesn’t have to be!
How to enter:
You must be a member of UBSS.
You have to be the person who took the photo.
Each photograph must have TITLE/NAME/ MONTH/YEAR e.g. NCHECC Poo, Isaac Neale, March 2026.
ONLY SIX ENTRIES TOTAL PER PERSON.
Please send pictures and captions to Jess by the deadline.
Deadline – 31st August 2026:
If you have any questions about the competition don’t hesitate to message Jess.
The competition starts now. On your marks… Get set… Snap!
The competition starts now. On your marks… Get set… Snap!
Jess Brock
TRIP LOG
Craig y Ffynnon, South Wales. Photo by Joshitha Sivakumar.
As usual, there's been plenty of caving going on! With thanks to Dan Rose for putting this together in his brief breaks from caving in Ario and for going even further up the mountains to get enough signal to send this over!
06/06/2026. Stanley Lewis Agen Allwedd, South Wales. Day trip to the dig at Donovan's Grief, digging for six hours.
16/06/2026. Joe Bidie, Sam Brace. Eastwater Cavern, Technical Masterpiece, Eastwater, Mendip.
20/06/2026. Joe Bidie, Sam Brace, Eastwater Cavern, Mendip. Southbank Round Trip
21/06/2026. Tess Hopes, Polly Judd, Isaac Neale, Ned Hopes, Jasper Crabb. Voldemort Hole to Notts 2 and up out of Committee Pot Yorkshire
22/06/2026. Polly Judd, Ned Hopes, Tom Philips, Charlotte Alban, James Waite, Basir Hakeemee, County Pot - Pool Sink. Yorkshire. Managed to get past the first two pitches then sadly as it had been too rainy, couldn’t go any further as it had sumped so went back up and had an even more enjoyable time swimming in the little river pool.
23/06/2026 2, James McMillan-Kline, Saunders Lau. Swildons Sump 1, Mendip. Also had a quick look at the Mud Sump.
26/06/2026 Joe Bidie and Lewis Hope. Eastwater Cavern, Mendip. To Lolly Pot and back for Southbank, ladder retrieval.
Formations, Craig y Ffynnon. Photo by Joshitha Sivakumar.
28/06/2026 21 Stanley Lewis, Joshitha Sivakumar, Craig Y Ffynnon, South Wales. To Helictite passage and took at quick look at the Pagoda. Went to North West inlet on the way out :)
Craig y Ffynnon, South Wales. Photo by Joshitha Sivakumar.
As usual, there's been plenty of caving going on! With thanks to Dan Rose for putting this together in his brief breaks from caving in Ario and for going even further up the mountains to get enough signal to send this over!
06/06/2026. Stanley Lewis Agen Allwedd, South Wales. Day trip to the dig at Donovan's Grief, digging for six hours.
16/06/2026. Joe Bidie, Sam Brace. Eastwater Cavern, Technical Masterpiece, Eastwater, Mendip.
20/06/2026. Joe Bidie, Sam Brace, Eastwater Cavern, Mendip. Southbank Round Trip
21/06/2026. Tess Hopes, Polly Judd, Isaac Neale, Ned Hopes, Jasper Crabb. Voldemort Hole to Notts 2 and up out of Committee Pot Yorkshire
22/06/2026. Polly Judd, Ned Hopes, Tom Philips, Charlotte Alban, James Waite, Basir Hakeemee, County Pot - Pool Sink. Yorkshire. Managed to get past the first two pitches then sadly as it had been too rainy, couldn’t go any further as it had sumped so went back up and had an even more enjoyable time swimming in the little river pool.
23/06/2026 2, James McMillan-Kline, Saunders Lau. Swildons Sump 1, Mendip. Also had a quick look at the Mud Sump.
26/06/2026 Joe Bidie and Lewis Hope. Eastwater Cavern, Mendip. To Lolly Pot and back for Southbank, ladder retrieval.
Formations, Craig y Ffynnon. Photo by Joshitha Sivakumar.
28/06/2026 21 Stanley Lewis, Joshitha Sivakumar, Craig Y Ffynnon, South Wales. To Helictite passage and took at quick look at the Pagoda. Went to North West inlet on the way out :)
PUZZLE CORNER
Grace Smith has set a summer challenge ... complete the UBSS caving crosword!
The first person to send in their completed puzzle will earn a word of praise in the next newsletter and an Oliver Lloyd Memorial Fund pen to write their answers to the next one! Submit your answers here.
Grace Smith has set a summer challenge ... complete the UBSS caving crosword!
The first person to send in their completed puzzle will earn a word of praise in the next newsletter and an Oliver Lloyd Memorial Fund pen to write their answers to the next one! Submit your answers here.
IN THE NEWS
More news from around the world. Nice to know that cavers have been playing with fire a very long time!
Wonderwerk Cave bones reveal possible fire use by human ancestors 1.79 million years ago.
Human Ancestors May Have Used Fire Far Earlier Than We Thought, Study Reveals
Why were mysterious ancient humans found in an African cave all female?
More news from around the world. Nice to know that cavers have been playing with fire a very long time!
Wonderwerk Cave bones reveal possible fire use by human ancestors 1.79 million years ago.
Human Ancestors May Have Used Fire Far Earlier Than We Thought, Study Reveals
Why were mysterious ancient humans found in an African cave all female?
Investigating ancient human DNA preservation on cave walls and in rock art
UBSS horoscopes, expertly read by our resident psychic Simple Trelawney.
Aries
The sun points you in the direction of truth, but is quickly out of sight because you went caving again. Your spirit cave:
Goatchurch
Taurus
Some will tell you to continue forward, others say backward. Whatever you do, ignore that one friend telling you to go headfirst into the chossy, abandoned dig on your left. Your spirit cave:
Ogof Draenan
Gemini
Mud is a construct of the mind, but that doesn’t mean you can get away with not showering again. Your spirit cave:
Fishmonger’s Swallet
Cancer
Your instincts were correct: the water level is rising. But maybe that’s just because you fell asleep with the tap on again. Your spirit cave:
Little Neath River Cave
Leo
The spealeospirit whispers in your ear, but you can’t hear it over the sound of ‘Tainted Love’ being played (again). Your spirit cave:
Swildon’s Hole
Virgo
The ebay seller isn’t going to accept your lowball offer on that Petzl Stop, no matter how convincing you think you are. Your spirit cave:
Sidcot Swallet
Libra
Sometimes your family doesn't want to hear about the last muddy hole you squeezed into, especially not at the dinner table. Your spirit cave:
Eastwater Cavern
Scorpio
The stars want to guide you, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need a survey. Your spirit cave:
G.B. Cavern
Sagittarius
Look up at the sky, and you’ll see spelled out in starlight: The Aggy-Daren connection probably goes. Your spirit cave:
Craig y Ffynnon
Capricorn
Drink the beer, caving without a hangover is aid. Your spirit cave:
Notts II
Aquarius
The time is what the time will be, but your callout will always be at silly-o’clock in the morning. Your spirit cave:
Ogof Ffynnon Dhu
Pisces
Left or right, it doesn’t matter, you took a wrong turn twenty minutes ago and have been in denial ever since. Your spirit cave:
Agen Allwedd
MUSEUM NEWS
The UBSS Museum had a busy month in June, with two research visits occupying three days of volunteer time, as curator Linda Wilson reports.
Researchs visits are like Bristol buses, none for ages then two or three all at once! This time it was the turn of the Natural History Museum (NHM) and the Crick Institute to pay us visits.
The NHM have paid many visits to us in the past, and on this occasion it was our pleasure to welcome Marcus Hatch, a postdoc researcher working with Silvia Bello on a project to locate and catalogue all the human material from Gough's Cave, Cheddar. We have several boxes from Goughs, mostly from the 1968 rescue dig which was essentially the archaeological equivalent of a smash and grab raid before - or even during - work by bulldozers clearing ground outside the cave for some new buildings. The dig, by Tratman and other Society members was written up in Proceedings, but documentation is sparse, to put it mildly, and not everything was included in the catalogue.
Marcus, a flint specialist, did his best with the bone, with occasional help from Mungo and I, with Mungo tracking down what information we had available. Marcus spent a day and a half working his way through the boxes, compiling a spreadsheet which will be made available to us when the project has been finished. We're grateful to the NHM for their donation for our curatorial time. Whilst we never charge researchers for our time, if this can be built into project costs, then we'll never turn it down, as our museum is wholly funded by members' subscriptions.
Sarah Johnson sampling the dog jawbone.
The second visit was from Sarah Johnson of the Crick Institute, who was sampling a dog jawbone from Fishmonger's Swallet, South Gloucestershire, as part of a major aDNA project. As Sarah explains:
"The Skoglund Ancient Genomics Laboratory in the Francis Crick Institute is undertaking a study on dogs and wolves through the use of ancient DNA. The lab aims to better understand the processes and agents of dog domestication - this is being done through analysis of Ice Age wolf populations, studying some of the earliest evidence of domesticated dogs, and understanding how fully domesticated dogs continued to develop with and without human influence. Through this project, we have sampled a number of dogs from the Iron Age site of Fishmongers Swallet, one of which had excellently preserved DNA. While we are still in the early stages of data analysis, the high coverage genome we have been able to generate will be able to shed light on the site, ancient dogs in England, and even global patterns of dog ancestry and migration. However, to be able to anchor this excellent genome into the wider chronology, and in turn draw more confident conclusions, we want to get it directly radiocarbon dated. The photos show the radiocarbon sampling undertaken on site at UBSS, where a small piece of bone is removed - this piece will then be sent to an accredited facility where they will extract the collagen within the bone, and run it on an Accelerator Mass Spectrometer (AMS) to produce the date."
Fishmonger's really is the gift that keeps giving, and it's great that it is contributing to our knowledge of ancient human and and animal projects in so many exciting ways.
I'm really grateful to Student Curator Mungo Palmer for their help on both occasions, from tracking down the specimen for the Crick amidst many boxes and working to help Marcus with information and identification. It's a huge help to be able to have a knowledgeable and engaged student curator and Mungo and I have identified some conservation projects that can be worked on next term, so do get in contact with Mungo and I so we can put a WhatsApp group together for this.
The UBSS Museum had a busy month in June, with two research visits occupying three days of volunteer time, as curator Linda Wilson reports.
Researchs visits are like Bristol buses, none for ages then two or three all at once! This time it was the turn of the Natural History Museum (NHM) and the Crick Institute to pay us visits.
The NHM have paid many visits to us in the past, and on this occasion it was our pleasure to welcome Marcus Hatch, a postdoc researcher working with Silvia Bello on a project to locate and catalogue all the human material from Gough's Cave, Cheddar. We have several boxes from Goughs, mostly from the 1968 rescue dig which was essentially the archaeological equivalent of a smash and grab raid before - or even during - work by bulldozers clearing ground outside the cave for some new buildings. The dig, by Tratman and other Society members was written up in Proceedings, but documentation is sparse, to put it mildly, and not everything was included in the catalogue.
Marcus, a flint specialist, did his best with the bone, with occasional help from Mungo and I, with Mungo tracking down what information we had available. Marcus spent a day and a half working his way through the boxes, compiling a spreadsheet which will be made available to us when the project has been finished. We're grateful to the NHM for their donation for our curatorial time. Whilst we never charge researchers for our time, if this can be built into project costs, then we'll never turn it down, as our museum is wholly funded by members' subscriptions.
Sarah Johnson sampling the dog jawbone.
The second visit was from Sarah Johnson of the Crick Institute, who was sampling a dog jawbone from Fishmonger's Swallet, South Gloucestershire, as part of a major aDNA project. As Sarah explains:
"The Skoglund Ancient Genomics Laboratory in the Francis Crick Institute is undertaking a study on dogs and wolves through the use of ancient DNA. The lab aims to better understand the processes and agents of dog domestication - this is being done through analysis of Ice Age wolf populations, studying some of the earliest evidence of domesticated dogs, and understanding how fully domesticated dogs continued to develop with and without human influence. Through this project, we have sampled a number of dogs from the Iron Age site of Fishmongers Swallet, one of which had excellently preserved DNA. While we are still in the early stages of data analysis, the high coverage genome we have been able to generate will be able to shed light on the site, ancient dogs in England, and even global patterns of dog ancestry and migration. However, to be able to anchor this excellent genome into the wider chronology, and in turn draw more confident conclusions, we want to get it directly radiocarbon dated. The photos show the radiocarbon sampling undertaken on site at UBSS, where a small piece of bone is removed - this piece will then be sent to an accredited facility where they will extract the collagen within the bone, and run it on an Accelerator Mass Spectrometer (AMS) to produce the date."
Fishmonger's really is the gift that keeps giving, and it's great that it is contributing to our knowledge of ancient human and and animal projects in so many exciting ways.
I'm really grateful to Student Curator Mungo Palmer for their help on both occasions, from tracking down the specimen for the Crick amidst many boxes and working to help Marcus with information and identification. It's a huge help to be able to have a knowledgeable and engaged student curator and Mungo and I have identified some conservation projects that can be worked on next term, so do get in contact with Mungo and I so we can put a WhatsApp group together for this.
Linda Wilson
THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE SOUTHBANK
How it started. Joe Bidie (left), Sam Brace (right). Photo by Sam Brace.
After a preliminary trip down Eastwater’s Technical Masterpiece a few days before, the Silt Slurpers returned to Priddy on the first day of the heatwave to tackle the infamous Southbank Round Trip. Sam Brace recounts the story…
Walking across the field towards the entrance of Eastwater, Joe Bidie and I were already sweating buckets. The weather forecast promised a high of 33 degrees today, and we’d decided the best way to stay cool would be to get ourselves underground. The Southbank Round Trip had been on Joe’s to-do list for about a year, and since our trip to the bottom of Tekky had gone so smoothly, it had gained a place on mine too. The entrance was dry as a bone, and despite some potential ‘light showers’ in the early evening we entered the cave with a healthy mix of anticipation and glee. As we descended the entrance, I left a four pack of beer hidden away from the sun, hoping to use the cave’s cool atmosphere as a natural fridge.
Arguably one of the worst parts of reaching the further reaches of Eastwater is the tackle. We had with us two 10m one 15m ladders, with two stuffed into the tackle sack on Joe’s back and one held in my hand. Navigating the Woggle Press and the Canyon with ease, we quickly made it to Dolphin Pot where thankfully I could ditch my ladder. From there we continued with ease through the s-bend and into Soho and towards the West End Series. The Strand, Organ Grinder and Greek Street were all similarly pleasant, even with the cumbersome tackle sack, and very soon we reached the top of Gladman’s Shaft, finally into new territory for us.
From Gladman’s Shaft to Lolly Pot the cave quickly closed in, and we had to navigate some very tekky-esque passage before being able to leave behind the final ladder and descend the very pretty Lolly Pot. After a short climb down we entered Blackwall Tunnel, a gravel floored crawl which quickly turned into a 45° upward tube filled with thick and sticky mud. It was clear that the ‘sporting’ part of this trip was only just beginning.
After soaking ourselves in the duck, we continued through Charing Cross and into the Chamber of Horrors. Here we had to cross over a somewhat large and muddy pot, and Joe decided to descend in order to access the rope on the other side (which had frustratingly few knots in it) whilst I took the much more efficient (and, dare I say, graceful?) approach of just hopping over the thing. One short ladder descent later, we regained walking height at the start of the Jubilee Line and after a few easy squeezes and a look at the ‘Cricket Ball’ formation, we reached Waterloo, a large but tight u-tube coated in slippery mud. After easily over five minutes of desperate thrutching, I think it's safe to say I’ve realised which part of caving I like the least. Thankfully, we were almost back on home turf, and after slipping though Never Hurry A Murray without difficulty we entered the Southbank Series, climbing through the one last calcite squeeze before reaching the bottom of Lambeth Walk.
Shouts of ‘hallelujah’ filled the chamber, as we were finally almost out of the mud ridden section of the trip and into the warm embrace of the Technical Masterpiece. Tired, cold and eager to begin our exit, we pushed ourselves slowly up the muddy tube that is Lambeth Walk, and soon arrived at the base of the Tekky. Despite having a good few hours of arduous caving already under our belts, the exit was surprisingly easy, and I tried my best not to get caught in the too-tight sections of rift that had plagued me so much last time I was there.
However, about halfway through our exit, things began to deteriorate. My wellies were already well past their prime, but my previous trips in Aggy, Daren and Eastwater had well and truly destroyed them. Their structural integrity had been reduced to nil, and coupled with my approaching tiredness led me to slip twice into some less than ideal positions. Firstly, I ended up suspended by my helmet and only just managed to muster the strength to pull myself back into a roomier part of the rift (I’ll surely be sporting the bruises on my chin for a few days). The second slip occurred at the second of the Pointless Pots, only a matter of metres away from the end. Almost at the top, my feet both slipped from their footholds, sending me tumbling down the 4m shaft. Luckily, I managed to stop myself about two feet from the bottom (no doubt thanks to Joe’s helpful shout of ‘careful!’ as I fell) and was uninjured. After a short rest, I climbed the pot again, arms aching, desperate for a beer in the sunshine.
Left to right: Joe Bidie, Sam Brace, A Well-Earned Beer.
Climbing the entrance boulders, we grabbed the beers and emerged from the cave just over five hours after entering. Unfortunately, we were not met with the sunshine we’d expected, but rather with weather that can only be described as a tropical storm.
Rushing back to the car, thunder and lightning raging overhead, we stripped off and tossed our now soaking kit to the side of the road. Clambering into the car (which was still warm from the day's heat) we enjoyed our beers, thankful that the trip hadn’t taken any longer than necessary. My first ever round trip complete, I was simply left with the choice and fitting words from the WCC Journal: ‘MAD PHIL HAS CREATED A MONSTER!’
How it started. Joe Bidie (left), Sam Brace (right). Photo by Sam Brace.
After a preliminary trip down Eastwater’s Technical Masterpiece a few days before, the Silt Slurpers returned to Priddy on the first day of the heatwave to tackle the infamous Southbank Round Trip. Sam Brace recounts the story…
Walking across the field towards the entrance of Eastwater, Joe Bidie and I were already sweating buckets. The weather forecast promised a high of 33 degrees today, and we’d decided the best way to stay cool would be to get ourselves underground. The Southbank Round Trip had been on Joe’s to-do list for about a year, and since our trip to the bottom of Tekky had gone so smoothly, it had gained a place on mine too. The entrance was dry as a bone, and despite some potential ‘light showers’ in the early evening we entered the cave with a healthy mix of anticipation and glee. As we descended the entrance, I left a four pack of beer hidden away from the sun, hoping to use the cave’s cool atmosphere as a natural fridge.
Arguably one of the worst parts of reaching the further reaches of Eastwater is the tackle. We had with us two 10m one 15m ladders, with two stuffed into the tackle sack on Joe’s back and one held in my hand. Navigating the Woggle Press and the Canyon with ease, we quickly made it to Dolphin Pot where thankfully I could ditch my ladder. From there we continued with ease through the s-bend and into Soho and towards the West End Series. The Strand, Organ Grinder and Greek Street were all similarly pleasant, even with the cumbersome tackle sack, and very soon we reached the top of Gladman’s Shaft, finally into new territory for us.
From Gladman’s Shaft to Lolly Pot the cave quickly closed in, and we had to navigate some very tekky-esque passage before being able to leave behind the final ladder and descend the very pretty Lolly Pot. After a short climb down we entered Blackwall Tunnel, a gravel floored crawl which quickly turned into a 45° upward tube filled with thick and sticky mud. It was clear that the ‘sporting’ part of this trip was only just beginning.
After soaking ourselves in the duck, we continued through Charing Cross and into the Chamber of Horrors. Here we had to cross over a somewhat large and muddy pot, and Joe decided to descend in order to access the rope on the other side (which had frustratingly few knots in it) whilst I took the much more efficient (and, dare I say, graceful?) approach of just hopping over the thing. One short ladder descent later, we regained walking height at the start of the Jubilee Line and after a few easy squeezes and a look at the ‘Cricket Ball’ formation, we reached Waterloo, a large but tight u-tube coated in slippery mud. After easily over five minutes of desperate thrutching, I think it's safe to say I’ve realised which part of caving I like the least. Thankfully, we were almost back on home turf, and after slipping though Never Hurry A Murray without difficulty we entered the Southbank Series, climbing through the one last calcite squeeze before reaching the bottom of Lambeth Walk.
Shouts of ‘hallelujah’ filled the chamber, as we were finally almost out of the mud ridden section of the trip and into the warm embrace of the Technical Masterpiece. Tired, cold and eager to begin our exit, we pushed ourselves slowly up the muddy tube that is Lambeth Walk, and soon arrived at the base of the Tekky. Despite having a good few hours of arduous caving already under our belts, the exit was surprisingly easy, and I tried my best not to get caught in the too-tight sections of rift that had plagued me so much last time I was there.
However, about halfway through our exit, things began to deteriorate. My wellies were already well past their prime, but my previous trips in Aggy, Daren and Eastwater had well and truly destroyed them. Their structural integrity had been reduced to nil, and coupled with my approaching tiredness led me to slip twice into some less than ideal positions. Firstly, I ended up suspended by my helmet and only just managed to muster the strength to pull myself back into a roomier part of the rift (I’ll surely be sporting the bruises on my chin for a few days). The second slip occurred at the second of the Pointless Pots, only a matter of metres away from the end. Almost at the top, my feet both slipped from their footholds, sending me tumbling down the 4m shaft. Luckily, I managed to stop myself about two feet from the bottom (no doubt thanks to Joe’s helpful shout of ‘careful!’ as I fell) and was uninjured. After a short rest, I climbed the pot again, arms aching, desperate for a beer in the sunshine.
Left to right: Joe Bidie, Sam Brace, A Well-Earned Beer.
Climbing the entrance boulders, we grabbed the beers and emerged from the cave just over five hours after entering. Unfortunately, we were not met with the sunshine we’d expected, but rather with weather that can only be described as a tropical storm.
Rushing back to the car, thunder and lightning raging overhead, we stripped off and tossed our now soaking kit to the side of the road. Clambering into the car (which was still warm from the day's heat) we enjoyed our beers, thankful that the trip hadn’t taken any longer than necessary. My first ever round trip complete, I was simply left with the choice and fitting words from the WCC Journal: ‘MAD PHIL HAS CREATED A MONSTER!’
Sam Brace
MIST, MINES AND ZIPLINES
Tess Hopes, Marty Hebden, Thomas De Ath on the approach to the mine.
Noah Lewis tells the epic tale of the recent through trip in the Croesor-Rhosydd mine in north Wales …
Following a very sickly drive down to Blaenau Ffestiniog and an extended Tesco stop to feed Willem’s meal deal desires we made it to the start of the long approach to the Croesor-Rhosydd Through Trip. In the misty conditions, navigation proved difficult with a lot of disputes over which direction to take. Luckily, I (Noah) led us the right way despite several arguments (Tess) over which path we should take to the quarry entrance.
After a short walk into the mine, we found our first pitch, a long descent into the first chamber. We all happily agreed to send Willem down first to inspect the in situ rope giving us all hope that the muddy fixed lines would be strong enough to support our venture.
The next hour involved a tricky deviation and another smooth descent deeper into the mine, giving us all plenty of time to take selfies and laugh at those who lost their footing on the way down.
One of the most enjoyable pitches involved a zipline over a pit lake where Willem explained that you had to use your hand on the braking rope to slow down. Marty had clearly not heeded this advice as we all saw her catapult into a wall of rock on the other side followed by a large bang. Luckily, I was there on the other side ready to step in in case things took a turn for the worst. Thankfully everything was all right.
Once we were all safely over the zipline and after a few traverses we came across the infamous boat crossing in the Chamber of Horrors. After watching a few rescues that had taken place previously in the chamber, we were eager to get through it. Upon reaching the entrance of the huge water filled chamber, we spotted the mostly sunk canoe and discovered that the pulley system for it was broken, meaning we’d have to rely on our paddles alone.
Willem Glass bailing out the almighty canoe.
Willem carefully descended above the canoe and successfully bailed it out, before Marty and Tess descended aboard and paddled swiftly to the other side. After this Tommy and I tried to decide how to get in the mighty canoe without a great capsize. Using pure SRT skill I managed to descend perfectly, followed by Tommy who caused a great tilt in the already sinking boat.
Making it safely to the other side caused great celebration, which was quickly silenced as we were reminded that any loud noises could disrupt the already unstable mine roof.
Left to right: Noah Lewis, Tess Hopes, Marty Hebden, Thomas De Ath, Willem Glass right after reaching the surface.
After several wrong turns on the way out we finally saw daylight at the end of a partially flooded tunnel, marking the end of us through trip. A short walk back to the car meant that we made our already extended call out in great time, giving us time to enjoy the sausage and mash Mr Lewis had cooked up at the NLCC.
Tess Hopes, Marty Hebden, Thomas De Ath on the approach to the mine.
Noah Lewis tells the epic tale of the recent through trip in the Croesor-Rhosydd mine in north Wales …
Following a very sickly drive down to Blaenau Ffestiniog and an extended Tesco stop to feed Willem’s meal deal desires we made it to the start of the long approach to the Croesor-Rhosydd Through Trip. In the misty conditions, navigation proved difficult with a lot of disputes over which direction to take. Luckily, I (Noah) led us the right way despite several arguments (Tess) over which path we should take to the quarry entrance.
After a short walk into the mine, we found our first pitch, a long descent into the first chamber. We all happily agreed to send Willem down first to inspect the in situ rope giving us all hope that the muddy fixed lines would be strong enough to support our venture.
The next hour involved a tricky deviation and another smooth descent deeper into the mine, giving us all plenty of time to take selfies and laugh at those who lost their footing on the way down.
One of the most enjoyable pitches involved a zipline over a pit lake where Willem explained that you had to use your hand on the braking rope to slow down. Marty had clearly not heeded this advice as we all saw her catapult into a wall of rock on the other side followed by a large bang. Luckily, I was there on the other side ready to step in in case things took a turn for the worst. Thankfully everything was all right.
Once we were all safely over the zipline and after a few traverses we came across the infamous boat crossing in the Chamber of Horrors. After watching a few rescues that had taken place previously in the chamber, we were eager to get through it. Upon reaching the entrance of the huge water filled chamber, we spotted the mostly sunk canoe and discovered that the pulley system for it was broken, meaning we’d have to rely on our paddles alone.
Willem Glass bailing out the almighty canoe.
Willem carefully descended above the canoe and successfully bailed it out, before Marty and Tess descended aboard and paddled swiftly to the other side. After this Tommy and I tried to decide how to get in the mighty canoe without a great capsize. Using pure SRT skill I managed to descend perfectly, followed by Tommy who caused a great tilt in the already sinking boat.
Making it safely to the other side caused great celebration, which was quickly silenced as we were reminded that any loud noises could disrupt the already unstable mine roof.
Left to right: Noah Lewis, Tess Hopes, Marty Hebden, Thomas De Ath, Willem Glass right after reaching the surface. After several wrong turns on the way out we finally saw daylight at the end of a partially flooded tunnel, marking the end of us through trip. A short walk back to the car meant that we made our already extended call out in great time, giving us time to enjoy the sausage and mash Mr Lewis had cooked up at the NLCC.
Noah Lewis
PITCHES IN PORTLAND
Queens Entrance, Portland.
On a recent trip to the south coast. our esteemed President Elaine Oliver was unable to resist the siren song of the world beneath her feet, so here's her account of pitches, squeezes and fulmar petrels!
After a bank holiday weekend on the south coast helping Jacob Podesta move his floating home and acquiring something dangerously akin to a suntan along the way, Si Hadfield and I were suffering from a bit much daylight.
Having identified the bolts for Ariel Cave and its adjacent lead climb 'Drag Racing Underground' (6c+) during a climbing session with Jacob a couple of days prior, and again during a walk circumnavigating the Isle of Portland, we were flat out of excuses and could put off caving no longer - or so we thought, as in my haste to pack for a multi-day, multi-activity trip in under half an hour, I had forgotten the fairly critical elements of a caving undersuit and oversuit. Luckily I found my old (very shagged) oversuit stuffed under the bed in my van, so armed with that and a Smokey Bear t-shirt I was set to face the cooling delights of subterranean Portland.
You don't need a rope protector with Primaloft on your side!
After reading about recent breakthroughs, we were keen to attempt the through trip from Persil Rift to Ariel Cave via the round trip with a few excursions, but we were also keen not to take 60m of rope for a walk through the entire trip. So we opted to first rig our escape, pulling down the top section and saying hi to a supremely unperturbed fulmar before heading off to find Persil. This turned out to be straightforward and we soon slipped into the shady rift, meeting the first pitch in short order. This was the only other pitch we had brought proper rope for, hoping that we could either free climb or deploy a combination of slings and tat on the two further short pitches to minimise luggage through the snaggy rifts and crawls that characterise Portland caves.
Calgon Rift.
Shortly after descending this first pitch I decided to drop the bag of tat down the rift we were now traversing, meaning Si (in a slightly closer position to the bag) had to slither down to retrieve it, roundly ignoring the recommended 1.5m height of travel as he came to join me. We admired various ochre-hued pretties on the way and were pleased to discover that we were competent enough not to have to open the bag of tat to descend into the Washing Machine and on to Harpic Grotto and Izal Rift - our last stop in Persil before the connection to Ariel (are you noticing a theme here?).
The connection offers two options: a slot/wriggle/squeeze, or "a tighter, entirely academic, upwards squeeze" (annotated "squeeze lovers only" in the route description). Since the slot was very soon after the start of Launderette Rift, I missed it and found myself in the academic squeeze anyway. Being an occasional dabbler in the odd squeeze, and also somewhat foolhardy, I decided to continue despite wearing my harness. Although ultimately successful, I would not recommend this tactic. Si, having provided moral support from above, decided to dekit and return to try the squeeze as well, and we have concluded that harness off is definitely the best approach. We were later informed that we may be only the second and third people known to have passed this squeeze! (The first is also a Mendipper... hmm!)
Elaine in Fairy Rift.
We were now in the Grand Canyon, and Ariel Cave proper. With plenty of time on the clock, we decided to continue along the Round Trip, first visiting some fine orange formations at the Confluence. These put us in mind of German beer steins, and we resolved to honour this image with a pint upon exit. Fairy Rift came next; another well decorated area, featuring a huge ammonite fossil on the ascent. Throughout the cave, the lack of damage (mud, breakages) to the various decorations is commendable - long may this continue!
Elaine and Si at Ariel Cave Entrance.
Onwards to Query Rift, where Si had his revenge for my earlier tat bag loss by emptying the contents of his pocket (phone, knife and two cereal bars) down the (rather deep and loose!) rift as he squeezed over a boulder at the top and sent me down to fetch them. We decided to take one last detour to look out Queen's Entrance where we found another very relaxed fulmar (relaxed is good, as they can vomit on you if disturbed and apparently the smell doesn't come out for ages), before heading back up C&A rift, taking different routes to compare notes.
The final crawl held one last surprise for us, forcing us to traverse over a dead rock dove (I didn't want to move it and risk untold horrors on its underside) before daylight and, yes, a third easy-going fulmar (this one was safely ensconced a few metres away from the entrance on a little ledge). Si whizzed down the rope to go and derig the Persil rope, while I rerigged the Ariel rope as a pull-through.
Sunset at Portland,
After all this, then we then made good on our resolution to consume German beer (Erdinger Alkoholfrei) in advance of a spectacular drive home accompanied by incessant thunderstorms the entire way.
Queens Entrance, Portland.
On a recent trip to the south coast. our esteemed President Elaine Oliver was unable to resist the siren song of the world beneath her feet, so here's her account of pitches, squeezes and fulmar petrels!
After a bank holiday weekend on the south coast helping Jacob Podesta move his floating home and acquiring something dangerously akin to a suntan along the way, Si Hadfield and I were suffering from a bit much daylight.
Having identified the bolts for Ariel Cave and its adjacent lead climb 'Drag Racing Underground' (6c+) during a climbing session with Jacob a couple of days prior, and again during a walk circumnavigating the Isle of Portland, we were flat out of excuses and could put off caving no longer - or so we thought, as in my haste to pack for a multi-day, multi-activity trip in under half an hour, I had forgotten the fairly critical elements of a caving undersuit and oversuit. Luckily I found my old (very shagged) oversuit stuffed under the bed in my van, so armed with that and a Smokey Bear t-shirt I was set to face the cooling delights of subterranean Portland.
You don't need a rope protector with Primaloft on your side!
After reading about recent breakthroughs, we were keen to attempt the through trip from Persil Rift to Ariel Cave via the round trip with a few excursions, but we were also keen not to take 60m of rope for a walk through the entire trip. So we opted to first rig our escape, pulling down the top section and saying hi to a supremely unperturbed fulmar before heading off to find Persil. This turned out to be straightforward and we soon slipped into the shady rift, meeting the first pitch in short order. This was the only other pitch we had brought proper rope for, hoping that we could either free climb or deploy a combination of slings and tat on the two further short pitches to minimise luggage through the snaggy rifts and crawls that characterise Portland caves.
Calgon Rift.
Shortly after descending this first pitch I decided to drop the bag of tat down the rift we were now traversing, meaning Si (in a slightly closer position to the bag) had to slither down to retrieve it, roundly ignoring the recommended 1.5m height of travel as he came to join me. We admired various ochre-hued pretties on the way and were pleased to discover that we were competent enough not to have to open the bag of tat to descend into the Washing Machine and on to Harpic Grotto and Izal Rift - our last stop in Persil before the connection to Ariel (are you noticing a theme here?).
The connection offers two options: a slot/wriggle/squeeze, or "a tighter, entirely academic, upwards squeeze" (annotated "squeeze lovers only" in the route description). Since the slot was very soon after the start of Launderette Rift, I missed it and found myself in the academic squeeze anyway. Being an occasional dabbler in the odd squeeze, and also somewhat foolhardy, I decided to continue despite wearing my harness. Although ultimately successful, I would not recommend this tactic. Si, having provided moral support from above, decided to dekit and return to try the squeeze as well, and we have concluded that harness off is definitely the best approach. We were later informed that we may be only the second and third people known to have passed this squeeze! (The first is also a Mendipper... hmm!)
Elaine in Fairy Rift.
We were now in the Grand Canyon, and Ariel Cave proper. With plenty of time on the clock, we decided to continue along the Round Trip, first visiting some fine orange formations at the Confluence. These put us in mind of German beer steins, and we resolved to honour this image with a pint upon exit. Fairy Rift came next; another well decorated area, featuring a huge ammonite fossil on the ascent. Throughout the cave, the lack of damage (mud, breakages) to the various decorations is commendable - long may this continue!
Elaine and Si at Ariel Cave Entrance.
Onwards to Query Rift, where Si had his revenge for my earlier tat bag loss by emptying the contents of his pocket (phone, knife and two cereal bars) down the (rather deep and loose!) rift as he squeezed over a boulder at the top and sent me down to fetch them. We decided to take one last detour to look out Queen's Entrance where we found another very relaxed fulmar (relaxed is good, as they can vomit on you if disturbed and apparently the smell doesn't come out for ages), before heading back up C&A rift, taking different routes to compare notes.
The final crawl held one last surprise for us, forcing us to traverse over a dead rock dove (I didn't want to move it and risk untold horrors on its underside) before daylight and, yes, a third easy-going fulmar (this one was safely ensconced a few metres away from the entrance on a little ledge). Si whizzed down the rope to go and derig the Persil rope, while I rerigged the Ariel rope as a pull-through.
Sunset at Portland,
After all this, then we then made good on our resolution to consume German beer (Erdinger Alkoholfrei) in advance of a spectacular drive home accompanied by incessant thunderstorms the entire way.
Elaine Oliver
MIDGE ATTACK!
Voldemort Hole to Notts II via Committee Pot. Photo by Ned Hopes.
Tess Hopes enjoyed plenty of faff-free caving on a sunny trip to Yorkshire, despite the legions of midges determined to eat her alive.
In preparation for Expo, everyone knows nothing is as important as going to Yorkshire, so when my brother asked if I wanted to come along, I swiftly took the opportunity and somehow managed to sneak onto the ABC weekend (Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff) at the Red Rose.
Saturday morning began in traditional Cardiff fashion, with the sound of pots and pans being enthusiastically clanged together outside my tent, followed by the inevitable tent sauna.
The plan for the day was Cow Pot/Pool Sink, as Ned was determined to show me the Ease Gill cave network. Piper confidently informed us that it would be too wet and not worth bothering with. Naturally, he ignored this advice completely.
The team consisted of me, Ned Hopes, Polly Judd, Basir Hakeemee, Tom Phillips, Charlotte Laban and James Waite. We descended the first two pitches; Big Tom successfully passed through the squeezes, and everything seemed to be going suspiciously well.
Then, to the surprise of absolutely nobody except the people who had ignored Piper, the cave was too wet, and a sump had become impassable. So, we headed back to the surface and made what was clearly the only sensible decision on one of the hottest Yorkshire weekends anyone could remember: swimming in the pool outside the cave.
James Waite, Charlotte Laban and Tess Hopes enjoying a splash. Photo by Ned Hopes.
We spent the afternoon swimming, gossiping and generally avoiding any further sensible decision-making in a cold cave. At some point, I accidentally pushed Ned into the water after a not-so-trustworthy trust fall, which apparently justified Tom, Ned and James later throwing me into the kit-cleaning pool. I still maintain these events were not equivalent.
The evening started peacefully enough. Buck played guitar from the roof while everyone sat around in the sunshine. Unfortunately, the local midge population had been planning for this moment all year. Within minutes, we became an all-you-can-eat buffet and retreated indoors to escape what felt like a coordinated assault.
As darkness fell, things became progressively more Yorkshire. There was chanting and worshipping around the fire while people attempted to burn, and throw off the roof, anything they could find; expeditions to the Booths bins that somehow resulted in an impressive haul; and increasingly questionable engineering projects involving Molotov cocktails and shouting “RUN!” at unsuspecting bystanders.
Ben Edwards worshipping the fire. Photo by Ned Hopes.
The less said about the rest of the evening, the better.
Sunday saw me, Ned, Polly, Isaac Neale and Jasper Crabb heading into Voldemort Hole to Notts II via Committee Pot. Finding the cave proved to be one of the day's greater challenges. Despite being told it was only about 200 metres from the car, it became clear that nobody actually knew how far 200 metres was.
Tess Hopes in Voldemort Hole to Notts II via Committee Pot. Photo by Ned Hopes.
Eventually, we found it, and the trip itself was amazing. The cave had some gorgeous straws, there was a very fun pitch down a waterfall, and everything moved remarkably smoothly. It was also refreshing to discover that other clubs can reach a cave without generating quite the same level of faff that we usually manage - but I missed the chaos.
Issac Neale in Voldemort Hole to Notts II via Committee Pot. Photo by Ned Hopes.
The route out contained what felt like approximately a thousand metres of scaffolding. While exhausting, it did make the whole thing feel like an oversized adult climbing frame. Emerging from the cave, it was somehow still sunny. Yet another point in favour of summer caving.
Back at Bull Pot Farm, we demolished a barbecue, sat in the sunshine with a well-earned cider, and reflected on a weekend that had included excellent caves, excellent weather, excellent people, and an unreasonable number of midges.
Voldemort Hole to Notts II via Committee Pot. Photo by Ned Hopes.
Tess Hopes enjoyed plenty of faff-free caving on a sunny trip to Yorkshire, despite the legions of midges determined to eat her alive.
In preparation for Expo, everyone knows nothing is as important as going to Yorkshire, so when my brother asked if I wanted to come along, I swiftly took the opportunity and somehow managed to sneak onto the ABC weekend (Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff) at the Red Rose.
Saturday morning began in traditional Cardiff fashion, with the sound of pots and pans being enthusiastically clanged together outside my tent, followed by the inevitable tent sauna.
The plan for the day was Cow Pot/Pool Sink, as Ned was determined to show me the Ease Gill cave network. Piper confidently informed us that it would be too wet and not worth bothering with. Naturally, he ignored this advice completely.
The team consisted of me, Ned Hopes, Polly Judd, Basir Hakeemee, Tom Phillips, Charlotte Laban and James Waite. We descended the first two pitches; Big Tom successfully passed through the squeezes, and everything seemed to be going suspiciously well.
Then, to the surprise of absolutely nobody except the people who had ignored Piper, the cave was too wet, and a sump had become impassable. So, we headed back to the surface and made what was clearly the only sensible decision on one of the hottest Yorkshire weekends anyone could remember: swimming in the pool outside the cave.
James Waite, Charlotte Laban and Tess Hopes enjoying a splash. Photo by Ned Hopes.
We spent the afternoon swimming, gossiping and generally avoiding any further sensible decision-making in a cold cave. At some point, I accidentally pushed Ned into the water after a not-so-trustworthy trust fall, which apparently justified Tom, Ned and James later throwing me into the kit-cleaning pool. I still maintain these events were not equivalent.
The evening started peacefully enough. Buck played guitar from the roof while everyone sat around in the sunshine. Unfortunately, the local midge population had been planning for this moment all year. Within minutes, we became an all-you-can-eat buffet and retreated indoors to escape what felt like a coordinated assault.
As darkness fell, things became progressively more Yorkshire. There was chanting and worshipping around the fire while people attempted to burn, and throw off the roof, anything they could find; expeditions to the Booths bins that somehow resulted in an impressive haul; and increasingly questionable engineering projects involving Molotov cocktails and shouting “RUN!” at unsuspecting bystanders.
Ben Edwards worshipping the fire. Photo by Ned Hopes.
The less said about the rest of the evening, the better.
Sunday saw me, Ned, Polly, Isaac Neale and Jasper Crabb heading into Voldemort Hole to Notts II via Committee Pot. Finding the cave proved to be one of the day's greater challenges. Despite being told it was only about 200 metres from the car, it became clear that nobody actually knew how far 200 metres was.
Tess Hopes in Voldemort Hole to Notts II via Committee Pot. Photo by Ned Hopes.
Eventually, we found it, and the trip itself was amazing. The cave had some gorgeous straws, there was a very fun pitch down a waterfall, and everything moved remarkably smoothly. It was also refreshing to discover that other clubs can reach a cave without generating quite the same level of faff that we usually manage - but I missed the chaos.
Issac Neale in Voldemort Hole to Notts II via Committee Pot. Photo by Ned Hopes.
The route out contained what felt like approximately a thousand metres of scaffolding. While exhausting, it did make the whole thing feel like an oversized adult climbing frame. Emerging from the cave, it was somehow still sunny. Yet another point in favour of summer caving.
Back at Bull Pot Farm, we demolished a barbecue, sat in the sunshine with a well-earned cider, and reflected on a weekend that had included excellent caves, excellent weather, excellent people, and an unreasonable number of midges.
Tess Hopes
SLEEPING UNDER NO STARS
Mowgli Palmer, Mungo Palmer, Grace Smith and Dylan Tooley in Hard Rock Cafe. Photo by Joshitha Sivakumar.
Grace Smith recalls her sleepover in Daren with Mungo Palmer, Joshitha Sivakumar, Mowgli Palmer and Dylan Tooley.
The prep
The preparation for our first underground camping trip was, to say the least and exactly as you would expect, nothing but faff. We went from a glorious mac-and-cheese together to making an ungodly amount of dhal, wrapped in sandwich bags, duct-tape and bin bags (nothing was coming in the way of us and our dinner) before finally getting round to packing our Daren drums and tackle sacks.
What’s to come. Mowgli Palmer Squirting dhal. Photo by Joshitha Sivakumar.
After a good night's sleep and lots of mess, we set of at 10 am the next day to stores. When we get to stores, we are informed (luckily) that one of our tackle sacks doesn’t fit in the Daren crawl. Back to repacking. Yay.
At last, we were on our way!
Let’s pack (again)! Joshitha Sivakumar, Mungo Palmer, Dyland Tooley. Photo by Mowgli Palmer.
The crawl
After lunch with the chickens at CSCC, we set off into the crawl, saying goodbye to the sun for the next 30-odd hours. Daren is infamous for its 500-meter crawl. This was my first time, and I was itching to get inside for a good squeeze.
I went in last, after Mowgli. The crawl on the way in was a surprise. Roomier than I had expected and good fun, pulling and pushing our tackle sacks, crawling and squeezing along to whatever banging songs were on, (thanks, Joshitha).
As we finished the crawl, the route on was obvious, opening into welcoming chambers before closing back into tightness. My favourite had to be The Wriggle - a tight wiggly squeeze - that opened into Misfit Passage, with pools to dodge and pretty formations well conserved with tape.
The Crown Jewels. Photo by Mowgli Palmer.
Then came the ladder and a solid hour of hauling bags, traversing and nice rope climbs which left us giggling and proper dehydrated. That one is on us for not taking any water through the crawl…
A Classic Stomp
From here on out it was beautiful, easy boulder-hopping and stomping, in huge cave passage. The crawl became a distant memory. We walked, chatted and snacked, admiring the beauty of helictites and straws as we ambled by. The route finding wasn’t really a thing, just one big passage to sing through.
Whenever I’m caving, time always moves differently. Time defiantly got away from us. This part of the journey took us wayyy too long, and I wouldn’t do it any differently. The beauty of camping is the length of the call out. We could chill, chat, admire with absolutely no rush. We just got lost in the time.
Camping
Eventually we made it to Crystal Oxbow - water stop! First time I’d filled my bottle in a cave. I’m not dead yet, although I was warned by a football sized boulder landing on my toe. On that note, onward to camp please.
Very Hungry Mungo Palmer, Mowgli Palmer, Grace Smith and Joshitha Sivakumar. Photo by Dylan Tooley.
We got to camp, properly chilly from our snail’s pace, quickly changed and unravelled the dhal-in-bin-bags chaos, we’d been carrying since breakfast. We cooked it up together, with Mowgli not taking an eye off the pot in his hunger-driven state. I think if any got spilt, none of us would’ve been coming back. The rest of the night was spent with a mix of classic sleepover chatter, music and vodka, before finally cuddling up together on piles of yoga mats.
Cuddled up next to Joshitha, giggling under the warmth of vodka-squash, I have never slept better. A banging eight hours. Although I can’t say the same for Dylan who ended up crushed against the wall (sorry, Dyl). The next morning… more DHAL, with a special of coffee, leading to the Daren-special flushing toilet. It was magical really.
Wanna grab a coffee? Grace Smith and Joshitha Sivakumar. Photo by Dylan Tooley.
The Return
The return trip was a lot faster than the way in, although still slow as owt. It was so much fun, retracing our steps, and having a good giggle on the ladder. Back through classic stomping passage and some parkour extravagance when boulder hopping, before finally reaching the crawl.
Less joyed to see the crawl, we started with high energy, high hopes; Dylan beamed ahead, then me and Mowgli singing along happily behind him, and then poor Joshitha and Mungo going through hell behind us.
Mungo’s massive fuck-off sleeping bag, was shoved in the top of the tackle sack, not very well apparently, so as they dragged it through the wet, squeezy crawl, this massive fuck-off sleeping bag slowly began to fill with water. Me and Mowgli then inherited this shitty tackle sack. I do apologise for my language but oh my lord this was painful. As we worked through the crawl, the sleeping bag slowly, absorbing as much water as possible, it started to pop out of the bag with every pull-push. The frustration got to me at one point, lying in the freezing water pushing the floppy sleeping-tackle sack just for it to get stuck again! By the Vice I was shattered, but we continued.
As we came out of that thing, we were greeted by campers! Enjoying the sun, chatting outside their tents, not knowing their camp spot was right next to ours. They seemed very confused as to why we’d chosen to camp under a rock. Honestly fair, because me too.
Mowgli Palmer in the crawl. Photo by Grace Smith.
From prep to the crawl, this was such an amazing trip. Not hard caving, just a beautiful weekend with beautiful people, doing something fun and slightly ridiculous. Would 100% recommend!
Mowgli Palmer, Mungo Palmer, Grace Smith and Dylan Tooley in Hard Rock Cafe. Photo by Joshitha Sivakumar.
Grace Smith recalls her sleepover in Daren with Mungo Palmer, Joshitha Sivakumar, Mowgli Palmer and Dylan Tooley.
The prep
The preparation for our first underground camping trip was, to say the least and exactly as you would expect, nothing but faff. We went from a glorious mac-and-cheese together to making an ungodly amount of dhal, wrapped in sandwich bags, duct-tape and bin bags (nothing was coming in the way of us and our dinner) before finally getting round to packing our Daren drums and tackle sacks.
What’s to come. Mowgli Palmer Squirting dhal. Photo by Joshitha Sivakumar. After a good night's sleep and lots of mess, we set of at 10 am the next day to stores. When we get to stores, we are informed (luckily) that one of our tackle sacks doesn’t fit in the Daren crawl. Back to repacking. Yay.
At last, we were on our way!
Let’s pack (again)! Joshitha Sivakumar, Mungo Palmer, Dyland Tooley. Photo by Mowgli Palmer. The crawl
After lunch with the chickens at CSCC, we set off into the crawl, saying goodbye to the sun for the next 30-odd hours. Daren is infamous for its 500-meter crawl. This was my first time, and I was itching to get inside for a good squeeze.
I went in last, after Mowgli. The crawl on the way in was a surprise. Roomier than I had expected and good fun, pulling and pushing our tackle sacks, crawling and squeezing along to whatever banging songs were on, (thanks, Joshitha).
As we finished the crawl, the route on was obvious, opening into welcoming chambers before closing back into tightness. My favourite had to be The Wriggle - a tight wiggly squeeze - that opened into Misfit Passage, with pools to dodge and pretty formations well conserved with tape.
The Crown Jewels. Photo by Mowgli Palmer. Then came the ladder and a solid hour of hauling bags, traversing and nice rope climbs which left us giggling and proper dehydrated. That one is on us for not taking any water through the crawl…
A Classic Stomp
From here on out it was beautiful, easy boulder-hopping and stomping, in huge cave passage. The crawl became a distant memory. We walked, chatted and snacked, admiring the beauty of helictites and straws as we ambled by. The route finding wasn’t really a thing, just one big passage to sing through.
Whenever I’m caving, time always moves differently. Time defiantly got away from us. This part of the journey took us wayyy too long, and I wouldn’t do it any differently. The beauty of camping is the length of the call out. We could chill, chat, admire with absolutely no rush. We just got lost in the time.
Camping
Eventually we made it to Crystal Oxbow - water stop! First time I’d filled my bottle in a cave. I’m not dead yet, although I was warned by a football sized boulder landing on my toe. On that note, onward to camp please.
Very Hungry Mungo Palmer, Mowgli Palmer, Grace Smith and Joshitha Sivakumar. Photo by Dylan Tooley. We got to camp, properly chilly from our snail’s pace, quickly changed and unravelled the dhal-in-bin-bags chaos, we’d been carrying since breakfast. We cooked it up together, with Mowgli not taking an eye off the pot in his hunger-driven state. I think if any got spilt, none of us would’ve been coming back. The rest of the night was spent with a mix of classic sleepover chatter, music and vodka, before finally cuddling up together on piles of yoga mats.
Cuddled up next to Joshitha, giggling under the warmth of vodka-squash, I have never slept better. A banging eight hours. Although I can’t say the same for Dylan who ended up crushed against the wall (sorry, Dyl). The next morning… more DHAL, with a special of coffee, leading to the Daren-special flushing toilet. It was magical really.
Wanna grab a coffee? Grace Smith and Joshitha Sivakumar. Photo by Dylan Tooley.
The Return
The return trip was a lot faster than the way in, although still slow as owt. It was so much fun, retracing our steps, and having a good giggle on the ladder. Back through classic stomping passage and some parkour extravagance when boulder hopping, before finally reaching the crawl.
Less joyed to see the crawl, we started with high energy, high hopes; Dylan beamed ahead, then me and Mowgli singing along happily behind him, and then poor Joshitha and Mungo going through hell behind us.
Mungo’s massive fuck-off sleeping bag, was shoved in the top of the tackle sack, not very well apparently, so as they dragged it through the wet, squeezy crawl, this massive fuck-off sleeping bag slowly began to fill with water. Me and Mowgli then inherited this shitty tackle sack. I do apologise for my language but oh my lord this was painful. As we worked through the crawl, the sleeping bag slowly, absorbing as much water as possible, it started to pop out of the bag with every pull-push. The frustration got to me at one point, lying in the freezing water pushing the floppy sleeping-tackle sack just for it to get stuck again! By the Vice I was shattered, but we continued.
As we came out of that thing, we were greeted by campers! Enjoying the sun, chatting outside their tents, not knowing their camp spot was right next to ours. They seemed very confused as to why we’d chosen to camp under a rock. Honestly fair, because me too.
Mowgli Palmer in the crawl. Photo by Grace Smith.
From prep to the crawl, this was such an amazing trip. Not hard caving, just a beautiful weekend with beautiful people, doing something fun and slightly ridiculous. Would 100% recommend!
Grace Smith
RETURN TO LITTLE NEATH
Little Neath River Cave, discovered by UBSS member Chris Gilmore on 27 January 1967, by diving through from Bridge Cave, seems to have fallen out of favour over the past few years, with attention switching to Daren and Aggy, but Stu Alldred and Clive Owen decided to buck the trend, as Stu recounts ...
I hadn't been down Little Neath River Cave in years, so was very happy when Clive got in touch to say he was planning a trip and asked whether I would like to join. After arriving at the car park a few minutes late, having stopped to help pull a car out of a ditch on the way, I found Clive on his own. Joshitha had not turned up and could not be reached*.
Clive Owen in Little Neath.
Clive and I had an excellent, if rather slippery, trip down to the sump. We even did a bit of nature spotting, finding both a frog and some fish near the bottom of the cave. As we approached the bypass on the way out, we bumped into Elaine, Simon and Sioned, who were heading towards the sump. We also had a quick explore into a few of the side passages to see the gour pools before heading out. A very enjoyable return visit to the cave.
Gour pools, Little Neath.
*We later learned that Joshitha was alive and well, but had double-booked herself and was underground in Daren.
Stuart Alldred
IN OLDER NEWS
Dick Marsh came across this old newspaper cutting and sent it in with this comment: " I found this cut-out the other day from the Western Daily Press on 23/2/1970 following a flooding incident in LNRC a day or two before. The article, not entirely accurate, includes several well known names! Hopefully it is of interest."
If Stuart's account of his recent trip with Clive rekindles interest in the Little Neath, there's a surveying project in there that needs doing (contact Graham Mullan for details) but do remember to check the weather forecast first, as the cave is very flood prone, and you won't want your exploits trotted out in another 57 years for the amusement of the then membership!
Dick Marsh came across this old newspaper cutting and sent it in with this comment: " I found this cut-out the other day from the Western Daily Press on 23/2/1970 following a flooding incident in LNRC a day or two before. The article, not entirely accurate, includes several well known names! Hopefully it is of interest."
If Stuart's account of his recent trip with Clive rekindles interest in the Little Neath, there's a surveying project in there that needs doing (contact Graham Mullan for details) but do remember to check the weather forecast first, as the cave is very flood prone, and you won't want your exploits trotted out in another 57 years for the amusement of the then membership!
I MADE IT, DARLING TOAD!
Look who Clive and Stu met at the bottom of Little Neath! In the photo, left to right, Stuart Alldred, Si Hadfield, Sioned Haughton, Clive Owen, Elaine Oliver. Original photo by Stuart Alldred.
Thank you once again to all our lovely correspondents! We really do love hearing from you either here on or WhatsApp, so please keep the messages coming. If there's an article or report that really grabs your attention, let us know and if there's anything you'd like to see us do, we're very open to suggestions.
The first person to get to the end last month was Hans Friederich in Malta, who might have had an advantage being an hour ahead, but hey, no one ever said life was fair!
- Another action-packed newsletter. Keep it going! [Hans Friederich]
- All good stuff. Thanks. The Nullabor piece was interesting, and it was fascinating to read about a gas event that was different to the normal one experienced by cavers Good film of Swildon’s too, that made me really nostalgic. [Dick Willis]
- Excellent Newsletter with lovely photos and some amazing trips. Yay for great finds from Fishmonger’s! [Jan Walker]
- Fascinating piece on the filming techniques. And I want to know whether George Nash still has his fan club of laydeez of a certain age following him around! [Sharon Wheeler and the not easily shocked FT Bear]
- The newsletter of sunrises and sunsets, and an excellent record of ancient graffiti. [Chris Howes]
- Lovely newsletter, worth the wait. [Mungo Palmer]
I made it, darling toad!
THE END
Look who Clive and Stu met at the bottom of Little Neath! In the photo, left to right, Stuart Alldred, Si Hadfield, Sioned Haughton, Clive Owen, Elaine Oliver. Original photo by Stuart Alldred.
Thank you once again to all our lovely correspondents! We really do love hearing from you either here on or WhatsApp, so please keep the messages coming. If there's an article or report that really grabs your attention, let us know and if there's anything you'd like to see us do, we're very open to suggestions.
The first person to get to the end last month was Hans Friederich in Malta, who might have had an advantage being an hour ahead, but hey, no one ever said life was fair!
- Another action-packed newsletter. Keep it going! [Hans Friederich]
- All good stuff. Thanks. The Nullabor piece was interesting, and it was fascinating to read about a gas event that was different to the normal one experienced by cavers Good film of Swildon’s too, that made me really nostalgic. [Dick Willis]
- Excellent Newsletter with lovely photos and some amazing trips. Yay for great finds from Fishmonger’s! [Jan Walker]
- Fascinating piece on the filming techniques. And I want to know whether George Nash still has his fan club of laydeez of a certain age following him around! [Sharon Wheeler and the not easily shocked FT Bear]
- The newsletter of sunrises and sunsets, and an excellent record of ancient graffiti. [Chris Howes]
- Lovely newsletter, worth the wait. [Mungo Palmer]
I made it, darling toad!
THE END