Martin Hampton in Dan yr Ogof. Photo by Tess Hopes.
EDITORIAL
It’s been another busy speleo-themed month in UBSS, and we know it because we spent half of it chasing you around the country (and beyond) in hopes of a few write-ups for the newsletter. As ever, you pulled through in style, delivering tales from the depths of the Peaks, Mendips, Iceland and Wales, which included a spectacular film of OFD starring our very own Clive Owen and photography art trips, as well as the normal chaos and faff of any trip… Proof, if any were needed, that this club never sits still for long.
Whether you’re traveling to expedition, or relaxing in a pub somewhere, enjoy this issue celebrating caving trips, history, marriages, birthdays and photography- and head over to the puzzle corner to have a go at the cave-themed alphabet soup, you might even be in for a prize!
As always, thank you to everyone who sent in pieces for this month. Amidst all the hectic summer plans, deadlines were met, photos were found, and amazing, partly unhinged stories came through- keep it up and we might even stop pestering you in the group chat and on email. No promises though.
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!
It’s been another busy speleo-themed month in UBSS, and we know it because we spent half of it chasing you around the country (and beyond) in hopes of a few write-ups for the newsletter. As ever, you pulled through in style, delivering tales from the depths of the Peaks, Mendips, Iceland and Wales, which included a spectacular film of OFD starring our very own Clive Owen and photography art trips, as well as the normal chaos and faff of any trip… Proof, if any were needed, that this club never sits still for long.
Whether you’re traveling to expedition, or relaxing in a pub somewhere, enjoy this issue celebrating caving trips, history, marriages, birthdays and photography- and head over to the puzzle corner to have a go at the cave-themed alphabet soup, you might even be in for a prize!
As always, thank you to everyone who sent in pieces for this month. Amidst all the hectic summer plans, deadlines were met, photos were found, and amazing, partly unhinged stories came through- keep it up and we might even stop pestering you in the group chat and on email. No promises though.
Grace and Linda
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
- Reminder - Photo Competition
- Trip Log
- Puzzle Corner
- Congratulations
- In the News
- 100 Memories - Three Terrifying Tales of Transport
- That Old Sinking Feeling
- A Titanic Trip
- Not a Lot of People Know This
- The OFD 1 Round Trip - A Film
- A Castle with a Mysterious Secret
- Thrupe de Loop
- Underground in Iceland
- The Art of Caving
- Thanks To ...
- Rouffy Rhino Read to the End. Did You?
- Reminder - Photo Competition
- Trip Log
- Puzzle Corner
- Congratulations
- In the News
- 100 Memories - Three Terrifying Tales of Transport
- That Old Sinking Feeling
- A Titanic Trip
- Not a Lot of People Know This
- The OFD 1 Round Trip - A Film
- A Castle with a Mysterious Secret
- Thrupe de Loop
- Underground in Iceland
- The Art of Caving
- Thanks To ...
- Rouffy Rhino Read to the End. Did You?
DIARY DATES
- 31/8/2026. Deadline for final submissions to the UBSS SUMMER PHOTO CONTEST. Remember to submit your photos!!!!
- August 2026.Access to the Richmond Building and the Tackle Stores is available Monday to Friday: 08:00 – 23:00.
- 13 - 20/09/2026 – (Re)freshers’ week! Keep it in mind and keep an eye out for our social secs on WhatsApp!
- 25 - 27/09/2026. Hidden Earth 2026!
- 31/8/2026. Deadline for final submissions to the UBSS SUMMER PHOTO CONTEST. Remember to submit your photos!!!!
- August 2026.Access to the Richmond Building and the Tackle Stores is available Monday to Friday: 08:00 – 23:00.
- 13 - 20/09/2026 – (Re)freshers’ week! Keep it in mind and keep an eye out for our social secs on WhatsApp!
- 25 - 27/09/2026. Hidden Earth 2026!
REMINDER - PHOTO COMPETITION
Don't forget the new photo comp! The winners will feature in the October edition of the monthly newsletter (just in time for freshers to see them and be amazed!).
Don't forget the new photo comp! The winners 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
Cluseau de Terrasson, Dordogne, France.
Another busy month! Thanks to our Trip Sec. Dan Rose for maintaining the log and chasing for trip notes.
1/07/2026. Dan Rose, Ben Morgan, Eoghan Mullan. Tras La Jayarda supply bounce, Ario, Spain.
2/07/2026. Dan Rose, Becka Lawson, Alfie Exall, Ben Morgan, La Jayarda, Ario, Spain, searching for ways on below the snow plug in La Jayarda.
3/07/2026. Dan Rose, Rich Hudson, Ben Morgan. El Morron del Torco, Ario, Spain. Bolt climbing up/pushing a lead.
03/07/2026. Willem Glass, Joe Bidie, Leila Nicholson, Tom Headington, Dylan Tooley. Swinsto Hole pull through to Valley Entrance, Yorkshire
4/07/2026. Dan Rose, Rich Hudon, Ben Morgan, Hiktor Verebelyi. Discovering/descending various undescended shafts in Ario area, Spain.
4/07/2026. Dylan Tooley, Freya Bearn, Sam Easton. Bounce in Rowton Pot, Yorkshire.
4/07/2026. Joe Bidie, Kenneth McIver. Rowton Pot through trip, Yorkshire.
4/07/2026. Tom Headington, Leila Nicholson, Willem Glass, Tommy De Ath. FOUL Pot to Man-o-War, Yorkshire.
6/07/2026. Tom Headington, Dylan Tooley, Leila Nicholson, Joe Bidie, Willem Glass. Titan, Derbyshire.
16.07.2026. Cluseau de Terrasson, Dordogne, France. Linda Wilson and Graham Mullan. Found some more cluseau on top of the hill next to the Mandragora restaurant.
Dan yr Ogof. Photo by Tess Hopes.
17/07/2026 . Tess Hopes, Ned Hopes, Laura Hopes, Martin Hampton. Dan Yr Ogof Round Trip, South Wales
18/07/2026. Tess Hopes, James Harvey, Mono, Ned Hopes, Celie Hopes, David Hopes, Laura Hopes; OFD 1 Upper Series, South Wales.
18/07/2026. Dan Rose, Ben Morgan, Stanley Lewis, Willen Glass. Thrupe Lane Swallet, Mendip, via Withering Heights.
18/07/2026. Kenneth Maciver, Mowgli Palmer. Mungo Palmer. Gaping Gill, Dihedral Bounce, Yorkshire.
19/07/2026. Kenneth Maciver, Mowgli Palmer, Mungo Palmer. It's a Cracker to the bottom, Yorkshire.
19/07/2026. Tess Hopes, Margot, Ned Hopes; OFD 3, South Wales.
21.07.2026. Kenneth Maciver. Rhino Rift, Mendip. Rigging.
Rhino Rift, second pitch. Noah Lewis on the rope, Dyan Tooley seated. Photo by Joshitha Sivakumar.
22.07.2026. Joshitha Sivakumar, Noah Lewis, Dylan Tooley. Rhino Rift, Mendip. Attempted de-rigging foiled by a cursed screwgate on the 2nd pitch.
22/07/2026. Dan Rose, Ben Morgan, George Lawson; Priddy Green Sink - Swildons Hole through trip, Mendip.
25/07/2026. Dan Rose, Lewis Hope. Hunters Hole, Mendip.
26/07/2026. Dan Rose, Willem Glass. Swildons Hole to Sump 2, Mendip.
31/7/2026. Clive Owen, Joshitha Sivakumar, Emily Wormleighton, Grace Smith, Sam Brace.
Cluseau de Terrasson, Dordogne, France.
Another busy month! Thanks to our Trip Sec. Dan Rose for maintaining the log and chasing for trip notes.
1/07/2026. Dan Rose, Ben Morgan, Eoghan Mullan. Tras La Jayarda supply bounce, Ario, Spain.
2/07/2026. Dan Rose, Becka Lawson, Alfie Exall, Ben Morgan, La Jayarda, Ario, Spain, searching for ways on below the snow plug in La Jayarda.
3/07/2026. Dan Rose, Rich Hudson, Ben Morgan. El Morron del Torco, Ario, Spain. Bolt climbing up/pushing a lead.
03/07/2026. Willem Glass, Joe Bidie, Leila Nicholson, Tom Headington, Dylan Tooley. Swinsto Hole pull through to Valley Entrance, Yorkshire
4/07/2026. Dan Rose, Rich Hudon, Ben Morgan, Hiktor Verebelyi. Discovering/descending various undescended shafts in Ario area, Spain.
4/07/2026. Dylan Tooley, Freya Bearn, Sam Easton. Bounce in Rowton Pot, Yorkshire.
4/07/2026. Joe Bidie, Kenneth McIver. Rowton Pot through trip, Yorkshire.
4/07/2026. Tom Headington, Leila Nicholson, Willem Glass, Tommy De Ath. FOUL Pot to Man-o-War, Yorkshire.
6/07/2026. Tom Headington, Dylan Tooley, Leila Nicholson, Joe Bidie, Willem Glass. Titan, Derbyshire.
16.07.2026. Cluseau de Terrasson, Dordogne, France. Linda Wilson and Graham Mullan. Found some more cluseau on top of the hill next to the Mandragora restaurant.
Dan yr Ogof. Photo by Tess Hopes.
17/07/2026 . Tess Hopes, Ned Hopes, Laura Hopes, Martin Hampton. Dan Yr Ogof Round Trip, South Wales
18/07/2026. Tess Hopes, James Harvey, Mono, Ned Hopes, Celie Hopes, David Hopes, Laura Hopes; OFD 1 Upper Series, South Wales.
18/07/2026. Dan Rose, Ben Morgan, Stanley Lewis, Willen Glass. Thrupe Lane Swallet, Mendip, via Withering Heights.
18/07/2026. Kenneth Maciver, Mowgli Palmer. Mungo Palmer. Gaping Gill, Dihedral Bounce, Yorkshire.
19/07/2026. Kenneth Maciver, Mowgli Palmer, Mungo Palmer. It's a Cracker to the bottom, Yorkshire.
19/07/2026. Tess Hopes, Margot, Ned Hopes; OFD 3, South Wales.
21.07.2026. Kenneth Maciver. Rhino Rift, Mendip. Rigging.
Rhino Rift, second pitch. Noah Lewis on the rope, Dyan Tooley seated. Photo by Joshitha Sivakumar.
22.07.2026. Joshitha Sivakumar, Noah Lewis, Dylan Tooley. Rhino Rift, Mendip. Attempted de-rigging foiled by a cursed screwgate on the 2nd pitch.
22/07/2026. Dan Rose, Ben Morgan, George Lawson; Priddy Green Sink - Swildons Hole through trip, Mendip.
25/07/2026. Dan Rose, Lewis Hope. Hunters Hole, Mendip.
26/07/2026. Dan Rose, Willem Glass. Swildons Hole to Sump 2, Mendip.
31/7/2026. Clive Owen, Joshitha Sivakumar, Emily Wormleighton, Grace Smith, Sam Brace.
PUZZLE CORNER
Play our new word search game! All you have to do is find the cave names cunningly hidden in the alphabet soup above. One might look easy, but the rest certainly aren't. The first person to send in a correctly marked up image will get praise and acclaim, and we might even find a prize for you!
Grace Smith
CROSSWORD SOLUTION
Thank you to all those who gave last months puzzle a go, and without further ado, we present the solution!
Thank you to all those who gave last months puzzle a go, and without further ado, we present the solution!
CONGRATULATIONS ...
TO KAT OSEI-MENSAH & JAKOB ANNERDALL …
Kat and Jakob got married on 11th July 2026 with several UBSS friends there to share their day.
A keg of beer taken up to Scotland on the train from Bristol by Haydon Saunders to aid the celebrations. Naturally, the keg was suitable arrayed in a bridesmaid’s outfit.
Left, the beautifully dressed keg, right, Haydon Saunders.
Kat and Jakob also now share a wedding anniversary with Linda and Graham!
AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO STUART ALLDRED …
Play 'spot the UBSS member'. There are plenty to choose from.
Stuart recently turned 40, and got together to mark the occasion with many UBSS friends. Stu has sent in a few words about reaching this milestone …
This year I finally decided it was time to grow up and become an adult, so I had my 40th birthday. As part of the many celebrations surrounding this momentous decision, we organised a weekend camping trip in the Cotswolds for my generation of UBSS.
Despite the glorious (and very hot!) weather, it was a fantastic weekend, with several faces I hadn’t seen for years, including Frank, Debs and Ruth. There was plenty of caterpillar cake, BBQ food, drinks, and an epic water fight to help everyone stay cool.
No, it's not a young Ben Morgan, this is Rupert Howard, son of Stuart and Cayley!
Sadly there was no caving that weekend, but hopefully it won’t be too long before the next trip. Despite not venturing underground, the children seemed determined to practise the muddy part of caving anyway. The next generation of UBSS cavers is clearly already in training.
TO KAT OSEI-MENSAH & JAKOB ANNERDALL …
Kat and Jakob got married on 11th July 2026 with several UBSS friends there to share their day.
A keg of beer taken up to Scotland on the train from Bristol by Haydon Saunders to aid the celebrations. Naturally, the keg was suitable arrayed in a bridesmaid’s outfit.
Left, the beautifully dressed keg, right, Haydon Saunders.
Kat and Jakob also now share a wedding anniversary with Linda and Graham!
AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO STUART ALLDRED …
Play 'spot the UBSS member'. There are plenty to choose from.
Stuart recently turned 40, and got together to mark the occasion with many UBSS friends. Stu has sent in a few words about reaching this milestone …
This year I finally decided it was time to grow up and become an adult, so I had my 40th birthday. As part of the many celebrations surrounding this momentous decision, we organised a weekend camping trip in the Cotswolds for my generation of UBSS.
Despite the glorious (and very hot!) weather, it was a fantastic weekend, with several faces I hadn’t seen for years, including Frank, Debs and Ruth. There was plenty of caterpillar cake, BBQ food, drinks, and an epic water fight to help everyone stay cool.
No, it's not a young Ben Morgan, this is Rupert Howard, son of Stuart and Cayley!
Sadly there was no caving that weekend, but hopefully it won’t be too long before the next trip. Despite not venturing underground, the children seemed determined to practise the muddy part of caving anyway. The next generation of UBSS cavers is clearly already in training.
Stuart Alldred
IN THE NEWS
More news from around the world.
Taphonomic analysis at Liang Bua reveals the behavioral and technological capabilities of Homo floresiensis
Mass burial of women 300 thousand years ago [In this context, it's worth remembering that claims for intentional burial at Rising Star Cave are hotly disputed, see below.]
Buried, or maybe not: adherence to evidential standards in paleoanthropology [If you aren't able to access this, let us know and a download can be provided. It's a very interesting read, especially in the light of the above claims.]
Long-term cultural continuity across the Neanderthal–modern human sequence at Üçağızlı II Cave, northern Levant
100,000 years ago, one of the earliest Homo sapiens outside Africa was stabbed in the face, analysis finds
Marine Isotope Stage 4 glaciation in northern England, UK: Evidence from Victoria Cave, North Yorkshire
Deglaciation of the Burren glacio‐karst, western Ireland, during Termination 1: Implications for North Atlantic climate and karstification
Compiled by Linda Wilson with thanks to Herman de Swart for many of the links
More news from around the world.
Taphonomic analysis at Liang Bua reveals the behavioral and technological capabilities of Homo floresiensis
Mass burial of women 300 thousand years ago [In this context, it's worth remembering that claims for intentional burial at Rising Star Cave are hotly disputed, see below.]
Buried, or maybe not: adherence to evidential standards in paleoanthropology [If you aren't able to access this, let us know and a download can be provided. It's a very interesting read, especially in the light of the above claims.]
Long-term cultural continuity across the Neanderthal–modern human sequence at Üçağızlı II Cave, northern Levant
100,000 years ago, one of the earliest Homo sapiens outside Africa was stabbed in the face, analysis finds
Marine Isotope Stage 4 glaciation in northern England, UK: Evidence from Victoria Cave, North Yorkshire
Deglaciation of the Burren glacio‐karst, western Ireland, during Termination 1: Implications for North Atlantic climate and karstification
Compiled by Linda Wilson with thanks to Herman de Swart for many of the links
100 MEMORIES - THREE TERRIFYING TALES OF TRANSPORT
Tim Hill kindly provided this photo and says: "The Dormobile, 241 DYA (Trat's second Dormobile) that he ran, I think, from 1959 to 1964. I think that by 1966 he had an Anglia estate." The Dormobile is parked in the Kilcorney Depression. The Cave of the Wild Horses is at the base of the cliff in the distance.
UBSS has something of a chequered history with cars and there are plenty of tales to tell on this subject, so to set the ball – or rather the wheel – rolling, Peter and Chris Smart, together with Dick Willis and Graham Mullan recall some early Irish driving experiences:
A key feature of UBSS exploits in Co Clare during the late 60s and early 70s was that Dr Oliver Lloyd and Professor Tratman took groups of students there in their cars. These events are legendary. Trat was always happy for someone else to drive (we never asked about his insurance cover) and all was good, although in the middle of nowhere he would sometime yell out: “Storp the car.”
We would then extract ourselves from the seat in front and ask what was going on.
The answer would often be: “We are immediately adjacent to a late Paleolithic site that…..”
We would get out and if willing, learn something interesting. What a lovely man.
We also made tyre screeching noises when going too fast round blind corners (so Trat couldn’t hear the real tyre screeching noises) and he would declare to our delight: “Oh my Gord, we’ll all be killed!” But then I’m also told that Chris was driving Trats’ blue Escort and took off when going over the bridge by McGann’s and frightened the geese.
Oliver Lloyd preferred to drive but had a right hip problem generating a fearsome approach to emergency stops… This was a seven stage process:
1. Someone tells him to stop as he probably hasn’t noticed.
2. Let go of steering wheel.
3. Lift leg off the accelerator and transfer to brake.
4. Push hard on knee to bring to a discrete halt.
5. Look in rear view mirror to assess nature of hazard.
6. Argue dismissively with need for all that fuss…
You could also go directly from 1 to 6 which saved a lot of unnecessary fuss, and then followed stage 7 in which Oliver would grab the steering wheel to veer out of ditch into oncoming traffic…
Tim Hill kindly provided this photo and says: "This picture of the car park at Ballynalackan will be 1964, I am quite sure. The right hand car in the picture is Trat's Austin A55 (375CHW, I think) which I recollect he acquired in 1963."
Tim Hill has let us have the story of an impromptu race between Trat and Lloyd involving a hayfield near Ballynalackan Castle …
For some reason, both Oliver and Trat had, with a number of student and ex-student members, ended up spending the afternoon at O'Donohue's bar at Fanore. I am not sure why.
Anyway, in due course we all joined Lloyd's car or Trat’s Dormobile (I was in the Dormobile) and we set off back to Ballynalackan with OCL leading. As we arrived at the entrance off the main road, discussion in the Dormobile turned towards how we might put one across Lloyd and someone (maybe me) said: 'Trat, let's go across the field!' so Trat turned off the track and started negotiating the haystooks. In due course we regained the track just before the car park and had come to a stand just as OCL's car was appearing around the bend.
Looking at the site now on Google maps, not much changed apart from the new spaces up close to the hotel. I think that at the time, OCL still had his Hillman car.
Trat was pretty relaxed about students driving the Dormobile. Yes, we had to be 'passed out' but once that was done, we were allowed to drive it and also take it on away trips eg Yorkshire. But we always looked after it.
On Ireland trips, Trat would often share out the driving and take a rear seat although, it was always said that if you went over 50, he would wake up and say 'slow down!'. However, I once managed to get up to nearly 70 on the downhill stretch approaching Clonmel with Trat still asleep.
On the outward journey, it was customary to divert to (I think it is called) Coumshingaun so that members could get exercised after the long run, voyage etc from Bristol.
On hot days, he would want the heater turned on to 'help cool the engine'.
They were really great vehicles, based on the Bedford CA van and, yes, only three forward gears but, with the movable seats that could be turned into beds/bench seats. I would be happy to have one today!
David Savage has provided this photo of Oliver Lloyd (left) with his car, parked outside St Catherine's.
David Savage has also added a very typical Oliver Lloyd anecdote to these collected reminiscences …
Sometime in the early ‘60s Oliver and I drove to Clare from Bristol via Oliver’s ancestral home at Great Dixter. After a very interesting evening talking to Oliver’s brother Christopher (the famous gardener) gardener and his mother Daisy, we set off for the ferry and Eire.
We carried on talking for hours, and then he said: “I haven't got one number from my total, so far too much talking.”
“What do you mean?” said I.
“Well, David, “ Oliver answered, “I always get bored driving on my own, so since I've run out of Arias to sing, I collect car numbers. I start with 1 or 999 and then look out for 998 or 2, and so on and on.”
“How far have you got?” I said.
The answer was: “Well, in ten years, I'm nearly half way there with both.”
So there you have it, a new game to play on those long journeys to Yorkshire! But first, you have to have run out of arias to sing.
Tim Hill kindly provided this photo and says: "The Dormobile, 241 DYA (Trat's second Dormobile) that he ran, I think, from 1959 to 1964. I think that by 1966 he had an Anglia estate." The Dormobile is parked in the Kilcorney Depression. The Cave of the Wild Horses is at the base of the cliff in the distance.
UBSS has something of a chequered history with cars and there are plenty of tales to tell on this subject, so to set the ball – or rather the wheel – rolling, Peter and Chris Smart, together with Dick Willis and Graham Mullan recall some early Irish driving experiences:
A key feature of UBSS exploits in Co Clare during the late 60s and early 70s was that Dr Oliver Lloyd and Professor Tratman took groups of students there in their cars. These events are legendary. Trat was always happy for someone else to drive (we never asked about his insurance cover) and all was good, although in the middle of nowhere he would sometime yell out: “Storp the car.”
We would then extract ourselves from the seat in front and ask what was going on.
The answer would often be: “We are immediately adjacent to a late Paleolithic site that…..”
We would get out and if willing, learn something interesting. What a lovely man.
We also made tyre screeching noises when going too fast round blind corners (so Trat couldn’t hear the real tyre screeching noises) and he would declare to our delight: “Oh my Gord, we’ll all be killed!” But then I’m also told that Chris was driving Trats’ blue Escort and took off when going over the bridge by McGann’s and frightened the geese.
Oliver Lloyd preferred to drive but had a right hip problem generating a fearsome approach to emergency stops… This was a seven stage process:
1. Someone tells him to stop as he probably hasn’t noticed.
2. Let go of steering wheel.
3. Lift leg off the accelerator and transfer to brake.
4. Push hard on knee to bring to a discrete halt.
5. Look in rear view mirror to assess nature of hazard.
6. Argue dismissively with need for all that fuss…
You could also go directly from 1 to 6 which saved a lot of unnecessary fuss, and then followed stage 7 in which Oliver would grab the steering wheel to veer out of ditch into oncoming traffic…
Peter and Chris Smart, Dick Willis, Graham Mullan
Tim Hill kindly provided this photo and says: "This picture of the car park at Ballynalackan will be 1964, I am quite sure. The right hand car in the picture is Trat's Austin A55 (375CHW, I think) which I recollect he acquired in 1963."
Tim Hill has let us have the story of an impromptu race between Trat and Lloyd involving a hayfield near Ballynalackan Castle …
For some reason, both Oliver and Trat had, with a number of student and ex-student members, ended up spending the afternoon at O'Donohue's bar at Fanore. I am not sure why.
Anyway, in due course we all joined Lloyd's car or Trat’s Dormobile (I was in the Dormobile) and we set off back to Ballynalackan with OCL leading. As we arrived at the entrance off the main road, discussion in the Dormobile turned towards how we might put one across Lloyd and someone (maybe me) said: 'Trat, let's go across the field!' so Trat turned off the track and started negotiating the haystooks. In due course we regained the track just before the car park and had come to a stand just as OCL's car was appearing around the bend.
Looking at the site now on Google maps, not much changed apart from the new spaces up close to the hotel. I think that at the time, OCL still had his Hillman car.
Trat was pretty relaxed about students driving the Dormobile. Yes, we had to be 'passed out' but once that was done, we were allowed to drive it and also take it on away trips eg Yorkshire. But we always looked after it.
On Ireland trips, Trat would often share out the driving and take a rear seat although, it was always said that if you went over 50, he would wake up and say 'slow down!'. However, I once managed to get up to nearly 70 on the downhill stretch approaching Clonmel with Trat still asleep.
On the outward journey, it was customary to divert to (I think it is called) Coumshingaun so that members could get exercised after the long run, voyage etc from Bristol.
On hot days, he would want the heater turned on to 'help cool the engine'.
They were really great vehicles, based on the Bedford CA van and, yes, only three forward gears but, with the movable seats that could be turned into beds/bench seats. I would be happy to have one today!
Tim Hill
David Savage has provided this photo of Oliver Lloyd (left) with his car, parked outside St Catherine's.
David Savage has also added a very typical Oliver Lloyd anecdote to these collected reminiscences …
Sometime in the early ‘60s Oliver and I drove to Clare from Bristol via Oliver’s ancestral home at Great Dixter. After a very interesting evening talking to Oliver’s brother Christopher (the famous gardener) gardener and his mother Daisy, we set off for the ferry and Eire.
We carried on talking for hours, and then he said: “I haven't got one number from my total, so far too much talking.”
“What do you mean?” said I.
“Well, David, “ Oliver answered, “I always get bored driving on my own, so since I've run out of Arias to sing, I collect car numbers. I start with 1 or 999 and then look out for 998 or 2, and so on and on.”
“How far have you got?” I said.
The answer was: “Well, in ten years, I'm nearly half way there with both.”
So there you have it, a new game to play on those long journeys to Yorkshire! But first, you have to have run out of arias to sing.
David Savage
THAT OLD SINKING FEELING
The Priddy Green Sink – Swildon's Hole through trip is something that Dan Rose had wanted to do since his first year at university but this always managed to slip onto the backburner of priorities, overshadowed by more exciting prospects elsewhere, and rendered out of bounds throughout much of the year due to the weather and the cave’s rapid response to rainfall. This July, Ben Morgan, George Lawson and Dan finally had the time and weather allowance to go and do it as Dan reports.
Priddy Green Sink constitutes the only entrance into the Swildon’s Hole system other than the main one, comprised of a mostly vertical series of climbs, crawls and shafts that, after gaining over 100 metres of depth, drops into the Swildon’s 4 streamway, just around the corner from Sump 4. From there you can take any one of the many routes possible to Swildon’s 1, completing a varied and exciting through trip. Having mostly traversed Swildon’s via the sensorily exciting but cognitively boring free dives of Sumps 2 and 3 in recent years, for this trip we opted to exit the 4 streamway via Blue Pencil Passage and the final third of the short round trip.
It was 6pm by the time that Ben Morgan, George Lawson and I arrived at the Swildon’s changing barn, sun shining and the beginnings of the warm familiarity of the mid-summer Mendip sunset beginning to breathe above us. Keen to make it back to Bristol before midnight, I leapt out of the car, already in caving gear, and sprinted towards Swildon’s Hole. Straining my legs and lungs under the oppression of the July heatwave, I found myself wheezing at the Swildon’s bunker; the others left back at the barn to pack tackle. Down I plopped, and hurried down the nearly-dry Swildon’s streamway as fast as I could without hurting myself. This stretch of passage is more familiar to me than most members of my family, and having every single move and step memorised to a tee certainly helps when bolting down boulders. I reached the ladder pitch about four minutes after entering, clipped our ladder to a bolt, and sprinted out again, meeting some after-work Wessex cavers upon exit, who seemed bemused at the sight of me exiting Swildon’s solo, panting like a dog. From there I ran across the fields once more. Back at the car it felt like I had already done a full day’s caving. I had certainly done a day’s worth of interval training – or ‘Fartlek’ running, as it was originally called.
We walked to the manhole cover above the Priddy Green Sink entrance pitch, opened it up, and abseiled down the in situ rope that had been left there. Upon reaching the bottom, we unanimously agreed that if the rope had not been there, the pitch would have been easily free climbable. From the bottom of the entrance pitch, Priddy Green Sink descends relatively steeply down a zigzagging mixture of stooping and crawling passage, most of which is most easily tackled feet first. Turning left off what had been the predominant route, we passed a sign telling us to ‘wash our hands’. Thankfully, due to shifts in livestock held at Priddy’s surface farms, most of the caves around the area are much less polluted than they used to be. I do not envy those who braved the wet crawls and ducks that I shall describe in due course when they were filled with cow excrement.
From here, the passage steepened, culminating in a straightforward free climb down to the crawl known as ‘Blasted Bastard’ which, judging from its name, was probably at one time an unpleasant, tight struggle but now, thanks to a tasteful sampling of explosives, is barely noteworthy as an obstacle. It was after descending this ‘bastard’ that we encountered our first spot of hesitation. The crawl leads immediately into a narrow rift that I foolishly decided to tackle feet first. This decision placed me in a position where I could not see ahead of me, yet had to thrutch at exactly the widest point to fit through – all other levels were simply too tight. Hence I spent quite a few minutes strenuously adjusting my height in the rift, eventually finding the way through brutish trial and error. The other two slid through much more quickly, making the sensible decision to go headfirst and therefore chose the way on by actually looking for it, instead of blindly feeling and hoping.
After this came Clitoris Crawl, which had produced some nervous anticipation among us from its description in Mendip Underground as an ‘extremely awkward section of passage’ that is ‘intimidating and very committing’ and is the ‘crux point of the trip’. Memories of Quaking Pot had made me slightly repulsed at the idea of tackling another ‘crux’, though I also quietly (and presumptuously) believed these descriptions to be hyperbolic, and through a decision made perhaps out of experience, or perhaps out of arrogance, I decided to thrutch into Clitoris Crawl headfirst, not wishing to repeat my feet first struggle only a few feet behind; this, despite Mendip Underground specifically recommending a feet first approach.
Thankfully, this paid off, and Clitoris Crawl was passed by all of us without much fanfare. It’s an interesting few metres, in which you climb up into a narrow roof passage and thrutch along for a couple of metres until the rift below you opens up. Here, you must resist the temptation to continue at roof height, and make a headfirst skydive into the rift below, sliding through the opening into a floor level crawl around a right-hand bend. As with the rift before it, the key is to choose the widest point in the rift, which is why, although the skydive down to floor level may feel less scary when feet first, blindly feeling for the correct route would be time consuming, frustrating and exhausting. I therefore recommend anyone doing it to go for it headfirst.
From here, crawling and stooping continued, passing beneath some impressive avens above. After a few minutes, we emerged at the top of Stoned Bat Aven, which carries a surprisingly impressive echo. You stand on a small ledge with a significant drop below you, and a great expanse above. Reaching this impressive place after all the convoluted crawling that had come before, conjured that classic cave-induced elation that comes from the feeling that grandiose beauty exists concealed behind the unlikeliest indents of obscurity. It’s a specific shade of the sublime that underpins the drive to explore, found anywhere from deep-field space photography to Lovecraft’s kid’s stories about Cthulhu and the hidden dangers of certain colours. That feeling that there are beautiful or terrifying things out there, ‘far out’ and hidden enough that nobody who has ever lived before has even contemplated their existence. It’s a euphoric affirmation of individual purpose, if you choose to allow it to be so.
Such euphoria made the unpleasantries that immediately followed tolerable, and even fun. The passage deteriorates into a low, narrow crawl in deep water with a constriction at the end, in which avoiding a full body bathing is impossible. This is then followed by a low crawl along a trench that painfully squeezes your knees and, arguably even more painfully, grabs your tackle sacks. Much dislodging of rope was executed here, as we had brought two 40 metre lengths to ensure that we had enough to complete the trip regardless of faffy mishap. Once through here, we emerged to more avens, which, after spending a few confused minutes searching for the way on, we slid under a hidden slot at the bottom of the second aven into yet more crawling, which soon reached a short pitch with a constricted pitch head. Rigging this initially felt slightly intimidating, as there were no bolts before the pitch head, and I could not see any places to stand to rig the pitch. I soon found some ledges by feeling with my feet, however, and rigged the pitch as a short pull through, which Ben and I promptly descended, while George opted to free climb it.
Continuing on at the bottom, we finally joined a streamway and abseiled down another short pitch – El Crapitan. From here we made quick progress to a traverse around the top of some more large avens, which led to a pleasant phreatic crawl, ending at the top of a series of pitches that lead into the Swildon’s 4 streamway. The largest of these was Bladder Pot which, at 17m high, constitutes a decent abseil down into an impressive chamber. Pulling through, we then continued down the next two pitches, Boss Pot and Little Pot, and then, after some scrambling down, descended the final pitch into the Swildon’s four streamway. Pulling through the rope on this final pitch, we suddenly felt at home, in the cozy familiarity of Swildon’s Hole.
From here, all we had to do was complete the short round trip via Blue Pencil Passage. The four ducks on route all had plenty of airspace without requiring any bailing. I took off my SRT kit to pass the Not Birthday Squeeze, though with some determination I probably could have kept it on – George and Ben kept theirs on for it. The same was true for Sump 1, which I also removed my harness for, though it had enough airspace for entire conversations to be possible on either side of the sump. Once in Swildon’s 1 it was only a short time before we were out the entrance, exiting at about 11:30pm. We had missed the Hunters, but had completed an excellent evening of caving.
The Priddy Green Sink through trip is a great opportunity to experience a wide range of caving situations in a relatively short and densely packed trip. Awkward rifts, chilly ducks and impressive abseils, all feeding into a grand master cave, make it a trip that I heartily recommend to anyone with an impulse to explore the lesser traveled corners of Swildons Hole.
The Priddy Green Sink – Swildon's Hole through trip is something that Dan Rose had wanted to do since his first year at university but this always managed to slip onto the backburner of priorities, overshadowed by more exciting prospects elsewhere, and rendered out of bounds throughout much of the year due to the weather and the cave’s rapid response to rainfall. This July, Ben Morgan, George Lawson and Dan finally had the time and weather allowance to go and do it as Dan reports.
Priddy Green Sink constitutes the only entrance into the Swildon’s Hole system other than the main one, comprised of a mostly vertical series of climbs, crawls and shafts that, after gaining over 100 metres of depth, drops into the Swildon’s 4 streamway, just around the corner from Sump 4. From there you can take any one of the many routes possible to Swildon’s 1, completing a varied and exciting through trip. Having mostly traversed Swildon’s via the sensorily exciting but cognitively boring free dives of Sumps 2 and 3 in recent years, for this trip we opted to exit the 4 streamway via Blue Pencil Passage and the final third of the short round trip.
It was 6pm by the time that Ben Morgan, George Lawson and I arrived at the Swildon’s changing barn, sun shining and the beginnings of the warm familiarity of the mid-summer Mendip sunset beginning to breathe above us. Keen to make it back to Bristol before midnight, I leapt out of the car, already in caving gear, and sprinted towards Swildon’s Hole. Straining my legs and lungs under the oppression of the July heatwave, I found myself wheezing at the Swildon’s bunker; the others left back at the barn to pack tackle. Down I plopped, and hurried down the nearly-dry Swildon’s streamway as fast as I could without hurting myself. This stretch of passage is more familiar to me than most members of my family, and having every single move and step memorised to a tee certainly helps when bolting down boulders. I reached the ladder pitch about four minutes after entering, clipped our ladder to a bolt, and sprinted out again, meeting some after-work Wessex cavers upon exit, who seemed bemused at the sight of me exiting Swildon’s solo, panting like a dog. From there I ran across the fields once more. Back at the car it felt like I had already done a full day’s caving. I had certainly done a day’s worth of interval training – or ‘Fartlek’ running, as it was originally called.
We walked to the manhole cover above the Priddy Green Sink entrance pitch, opened it up, and abseiled down the in situ rope that had been left there. Upon reaching the bottom, we unanimously agreed that if the rope had not been there, the pitch would have been easily free climbable. From the bottom of the entrance pitch, Priddy Green Sink descends relatively steeply down a zigzagging mixture of stooping and crawling passage, most of which is most easily tackled feet first. Turning left off what had been the predominant route, we passed a sign telling us to ‘wash our hands’. Thankfully, due to shifts in livestock held at Priddy’s surface farms, most of the caves around the area are much less polluted than they used to be. I do not envy those who braved the wet crawls and ducks that I shall describe in due course when they were filled with cow excrement.
From here, the passage steepened, culminating in a straightforward free climb down to the crawl known as ‘Blasted Bastard’ which, judging from its name, was probably at one time an unpleasant, tight struggle but now, thanks to a tasteful sampling of explosives, is barely noteworthy as an obstacle. It was after descending this ‘bastard’ that we encountered our first spot of hesitation. The crawl leads immediately into a narrow rift that I foolishly decided to tackle feet first. This decision placed me in a position where I could not see ahead of me, yet had to thrutch at exactly the widest point to fit through – all other levels were simply too tight. Hence I spent quite a few minutes strenuously adjusting my height in the rift, eventually finding the way through brutish trial and error. The other two slid through much more quickly, making the sensible decision to go headfirst and therefore chose the way on by actually looking for it, instead of blindly feeling and hoping.
After this came Clitoris Crawl, which had produced some nervous anticipation among us from its description in Mendip Underground as an ‘extremely awkward section of passage’ that is ‘intimidating and very committing’ and is the ‘crux point of the trip’. Memories of Quaking Pot had made me slightly repulsed at the idea of tackling another ‘crux’, though I also quietly (and presumptuously) believed these descriptions to be hyperbolic, and through a decision made perhaps out of experience, or perhaps out of arrogance, I decided to thrutch into Clitoris Crawl headfirst, not wishing to repeat my feet first struggle only a few feet behind; this, despite Mendip Underground specifically recommending a feet first approach.
Thankfully, this paid off, and Clitoris Crawl was passed by all of us without much fanfare. It’s an interesting few metres, in which you climb up into a narrow roof passage and thrutch along for a couple of metres until the rift below you opens up. Here, you must resist the temptation to continue at roof height, and make a headfirst skydive into the rift below, sliding through the opening into a floor level crawl around a right-hand bend. As with the rift before it, the key is to choose the widest point in the rift, which is why, although the skydive down to floor level may feel less scary when feet first, blindly feeling for the correct route would be time consuming, frustrating and exhausting. I therefore recommend anyone doing it to go for it headfirst.
From here, crawling and stooping continued, passing beneath some impressive avens above. After a few minutes, we emerged at the top of Stoned Bat Aven, which carries a surprisingly impressive echo. You stand on a small ledge with a significant drop below you, and a great expanse above. Reaching this impressive place after all the convoluted crawling that had come before, conjured that classic cave-induced elation that comes from the feeling that grandiose beauty exists concealed behind the unlikeliest indents of obscurity. It’s a specific shade of the sublime that underpins the drive to explore, found anywhere from deep-field space photography to Lovecraft’s kid’s stories about Cthulhu and the hidden dangers of certain colours. That feeling that there are beautiful or terrifying things out there, ‘far out’ and hidden enough that nobody who has ever lived before has even contemplated their existence. It’s a euphoric affirmation of individual purpose, if you choose to allow it to be so.
Such euphoria made the unpleasantries that immediately followed tolerable, and even fun. The passage deteriorates into a low, narrow crawl in deep water with a constriction at the end, in which avoiding a full body bathing is impossible. This is then followed by a low crawl along a trench that painfully squeezes your knees and, arguably even more painfully, grabs your tackle sacks. Much dislodging of rope was executed here, as we had brought two 40 metre lengths to ensure that we had enough to complete the trip regardless of faffy mishap. Once through here, we emerged to more avens, which, after spending a few confused minutes searching for the way on, we slid under a hidden slot at the bottom of the second aven into yet more crawling, which soon reached a short pitch with a constricted pitch head. Rigging this initially felt slightly intimidating, as there were no bolts before the pitch head, and I could not see any places to stand to rig the pitch. I soon found some ledges by feeling with my feet, however, and rigged the pitch as a short pull through, which Ben and I promptly descended, while George opted to free climb it.
Continuing on at the bottom, we finally joined a streamway and abseiled down another short pitch – El Crapitan. From here we made quick progress to a traverse around the top of some more large avens, which led to a pleasant phreatic crawl, ending at the top of a series of pitches that lead into the Swildon’s 4 streamway. The largest of these was Bladder Pot which, at 17m high, constitutes a decent abseil down into an impressive chamber. Pulling through, we then continued down the next two pitches, Boss Pot and Little Pot, and then, after some scrambling down, descended the final pitch into the Swildon’s four streamway. Pulling through the rope on this final pitch, we suddenly felt at home, in the cozy familiarity of Swildon’s Hole.
From here, all we had to do was complete the short round trip via Blue Pencil Passage. The four ducks on route all had plenty of airspace without requiring any bailing. I took off my SRT kit to pass the Not Birthday Squeeze, though with some determination I probably could have kept it on – George and Ben kept theirs on for it. The same was true for Sump 1, which I also removed my harness for, though it had enough airspace for entire conversations to be possible on either side of the sump. Once in Swildon’s 1 it was only a short time before we were out the entrance, exiting at about 11:30pm. We had missed the Hunters, but had completed an excellent evening of caving.
The Priddy Green Sink through trip is a great opportunity to experience a wide range of caving situations in a relatively short and densely packed trip. Awkward rifts, chilly ducks and impressive abseils, all feeding into a grand master cave, make it a trip that I heartily recommend to anyone with an impulse to explore the lesser traveled corners of Swildons Hole.
Dan Rose
A TITANIC TRIP
Yep, looks like a cave, folks! Screenshot by Tom Headington from video by Joe Bidie.
Tom Headington reports on an epic journey to the centre of Derbyshire.
We awoke to a peaceful day in the peaks (or maybe it was to Nico barking), after a late-night driving home from Yorkshire from a successful Swinsto pull-through trip. A trip to the bottom of Titan has been the top of my bucket list for as long as I knew what caving was, and I was especially looking forward to returning underground on home turf, not since my first ever caving trip in Giant’s Hole three years prior. In spite of the names, Giant’s is just an ant in comparison to Titan.
A bit of faff later (nothing in comparison to the previous day though), I trundled my way to Titan along with Dylan Tooley, Leila Nicholson, Joe Bidie and Willem Glass via a handy Co-Op and the TSG. Avoiding the newly painted double red lines up on the hill, we parked in a layby and started on the 20 min ish walk over the hills to the top of the shaft. On this walk we passed two DofE groups, the first one looking rather miserable looking at their phones (pretty sure that’s not allowed but whatever), and the second one in better spirits with one individual stopping us to ask what the hell we were doing, adding “Isn’t it really scary?”, which me and Joe proceeded to laugh off (though maybe she was onto something…)
The first descent. Screenshot by Tom Headington from video by Joe Bidie.
Eventually finding the barren manhole cover and opening it up, I was the first to descend the 45 m deep borehole, which took us to just a short hop away from “the window”, where I got my first view (or at least what my light would allow me to see) of Titan. I don’t think words or even images can describe the scale of this place, it’s just immense.
From here, under close supervision, I rigged the second pitch, which was a little traverse then a Y-hang into the abyss, off the most bomber bolt I’ve ever seen. I was slightly nervous descending first, especially as it was my first time rigging in a cave, but I made it to the ledge about halfway down the shaft in one piece.
Tom Headington at the Window at the head of the second pitch. Screenshot by Tom Headington from video by Joe Bidie.
From here Joe rigged the next pitch, with a criminally short loop on the re-belay at the event horizon. Descending this pitch was far more enjoyable, as my right glove had worn enough for the rope to slide smoothly through it, allowing a speedy decent to the bottom of this goliath. While waiting for the others to descend we searched for the through route down towards Peak Cavern, a trip that’s on our bucket list.
Now it was time for the slog back up the rope, where the only enjoyable part was that this warmed me up nicely, as I’d been starting to get quite chilly. Once at the top of pitch three, we took the in-situ traverse round the hole towards the cascades, which lead to Absolution. After some enjoyable climbs through the crystal clear water, we started our search for this chamber, though some point we took the wrong turn and ended up at a choke. With time and energy against us we decided to head back.
Yep, looks like a cave, folks! Screenshot by Tom Headington from video by Joe Bidie.
Tom Headington reports on an epic journey to the centre of Derbyshire.
We awoke to a peaceful day in the peaks (or maybe it was to Nico barking), after a late-night driving home from Yorkshire from a successful Swinsto pull-through trip. A trip to the bottom of Titan has been the top of my bucket list for as long as I knew what caving was, and I was especially looking forward to returning underground on home turf, not since my first ever caving trip in Giant’s Hole three years prior. In spite of the names, Giant’s is just an ant in comparison to Titan.
A bit of faff later (nothing in comparison to the previous day though), I trundled my way to Titan along with Dylan Tooley, Leila Nicholson, Joe Bidie and Willem Glass via a handy Co-Op and the TSG. Avoiding the newly painted double red lines up on the hill, we parked in a layby and started on the 20 min ish walk over the hills to the top of the shaft. On this walk we passed two DofE groups, the first one looking rather miserable looking at their phones (pretty sure that’s not allowed but whatever), and the second one in better spirits with one individual stopping us to ask what the hell we were doing, adding “Isn’t it really scary?”, which me and Joe proceeded to laugh off (though maybe she was onto something…)
The first descent. Screenshot by Tom Headington from video by Joe Bidie.Eventually finding the barren manhole cover and opening it up, I was the first to descend the 45 m deep borehole, which took us to just a short hop away from “the window”, where I got my first view (or at least what my light would allow me to see) of Titan. I don’t think words or even images can describe the scale of this place, it’s just immense.
From here, under close supervision, I rigged the second pitch, which was a little traverse then a Y-hang into the abyss, off the most bomber bolt I’ve ever seen. I was slightly nervous descending first, especially as it was my first time rigging in a cave, but I made it to the ledge about halfway down the shaft in one piece.
Tom Headington at the Window at the head of the second pitch. Screenshot by Tom Headington from video by Joe Bidie.
From here Joe rigged the next pitch, with a criminally short loop on the re-belay at the event horizon. Descending this pitch was far more enjoyable, as my right glove had worn enough for the rope to slide smoothly through it, allowing a speedy decent to the bottom of this goliath. While waiting for the others to descend we searched for the through route down towards Peak Cavern, a trip that’s on our bucket list.
Now it was time for the slog back up the rope, where the only enjoyable part was that this warmed me up nicely, as I’d been starting to get quite chilly. Once at the top of pitch three, we took the in-situ traverse round the hole towards the cascades, which lead to Absolution. After some enjoyable climbs through the crystal clear water, we started our search for this chamber, though some point we took the wrong turn and ended up at a choke. With time and energy against us we decided to head back.
Tom's descent down the third pitch in Titan. Filming by Joe Bidie. Click photo to watch video.
Ascending the last two pitches was uneventful, with the metal wires in the borehole aiding my accent as they allow you to pull your centre of gravity over your feet making prusiking up easier.
Once we got back to the car, I had to break the news to Joe that there is nothing open at midnight on a Monday in the Peak District, though overall we were happy with the trip, and it concluded a good weekend of caving.
Once we got back to the car, I had to break the news to Joe that there is nothing open at midnight on a Monday in the Peak District, though overall we were happy with the trip, and it concluded a good weekend of caving.
Tom Headington
NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THIS …
Peter Harvey in the OFD1 entrance dig in 1946. Photographer unknown/SWCC archives.
A little known piece of caving history recently emerged during research for Michael Perryman’s latest film, as Graham Mullan relates …
Michael Perryman, well known for his excellent caving videos, has now made a film of the Ogof Ffynnon Ddu One (OFD1) round trip, via Lowe’s Chain and the Escape Route. While carrying out his research into the history of the cave, he asked for help in tracking down the details of some of the people involved. This led me down a series of interesting rabbit holes which disclosed a hitherto unknown (to me!) UBSS connection with the discovery of the cave.
It is well known that OFD was discovered by Peter Harvey in 1946, shortly after the formation of the South Wales Caving Club (SWCC), that Easter. The official SWCC club history states: “… Ogof Ffynnon Ddu was entered by members Peter Harvey and Ian Nixon in August.” Peter was the long-time President of SWCC but in the context of his film, Michael was asking around for information and hopefully a photo of Ian Nixon.
Ian Nixon in the OFD1 streamway in 1949 or 50. Photo: Peter Harvey/SWCC archives.
From the UBSS logbooks, I was able to show that both Peter Harvey and Ian Nixon caved with UBSS in 1946, but could not prove any more. However, Jem Rowland of SWCC was able to both locate a picture of Ian, taken by Peter somewhere in the OFD streamway, and he pointed us at an account of the cave’s discovery written by Peter Harvey himself which has filled in all the gaps in our knowledge. From this, I've picked out the highlights relating to UBSS.
To begin with, Peter states “Ian Nixon had come over with several other members of the UBSS.” (My emphasis.) So from this Ian appears to have been a member. The dig which eventually entered the cave was started by Peter, Ian and Bill Weaver. Philip ‘Bill’ Weaver was a member of the Wessex Cave Club (WCC) and had been caving on Mendip since before the war. The dig began on the first weekend of July and only halted when the unstable fill required shuttering. They returned with wood for the purpose (still subject to wartime rationing at this time) on the August Bank Holiday weekend.
As far as I can tell from Peter’s account, the breakthrough took place on Sunday 25 August, and the digging team consisted of Peter, Ian, Bill, a woman called Joan and “a caver from Yorkshire, whose name I never knew.” A much larger party continued the exploration presumably including those UBSS members who were camping at the Gwyn Arms for the remainder of the week. Apart from Ian, these aren’t named, but Rod Pearce (of Rod’s Pot fame) was mentioned as being there at Easter and Johnny Parkes in September. It’s possible that Joan was Joan Light, who later married John Pitts.
Graham Balcombe (left) helping Bill Weaver prepare for diving in Ffynnon Ddu (resurgence). Photo: Peter Harvey/SWCC archive. Date: late 1940s.
Peter’s account says that “During this week they managed to complete a survey of the cave as it was known then. … From their figures I drew out the first survey of the cave. This showed that only a short distance had been made towards the swallet at Pwll Byfre, about 2000ft at the most.” Sadly, nothing of this survey seems to have survived, neither data nor drawings. What is more surprising is that there is absolutely no record of any of this activity in the Society’s logbooks nor any mention in our Proceedings.
My thanks to Jem Rowland for allowing the use of the photos and for pointing me at Peter Harvey’s article.
Peter Harvey in the OFD1 entrance dig in 1946. Photographer unknown/SWCC archives.
A little known piece of caving history recently emerged during research for Michael Perryman’s latest film, as Graham Mullan relates …
Michael Perryman, well known for his excellent caving videos, has now made a film of the Ogof Ffynnon Ddu One (OFD1) round trip, via Lowe’s Chain and the Escape Route. While carrying out his research into the history of the cave, he asked for help in tracking down the details of some of the people involved. This led me down a series of interesting rabbit holes which disclosed a hitherto unknown (to me!) UBSS connection with the discovery of the cave.
It is well known that OFD was discovered by Peter Harvey in 1946, shortly after the formation of the South Wales Caving Club (SWCC), that Easter. The official SWCC club history states: “… Ogof Ffynnon Ddu was entered by members Peter Harvey and Ian Nixon in August.” Peter was the long-time President of SWCC but in the context of his film, Michael was asking around for information and hopefully a photo of Ian Nixon.
Ian Nixon in the OFD1 streamway in 1949 or 50. Photo: Peter Harvey/SWCC archives.
From the UBSS logbooks, I was able to show that both Peter Harvey and Ian Nixon caved with UBSS in 1946, but could not prove any more. However, Jem Rowland of SWCC was able to both locate a picture of Ian, taken by Peter somewhere in the OFD streamway, and he pointed us at an account of the cave’s discovery written by Peter Harvey himself which has filled in all the gaps in our knowledge. From this, I've picked out the highlights relating to UBSS.
To begin with, Peter states “Ian Nixon had come over with several other members of the UBSS.” (My emphasis.) So from this Ian appears to have been a member. The dig which eventually entered the cave was started by Peter, Ian and Bill Weaver. Philip ‘Bill’ Weaver was a member of the Wessex Cave Club (WCC) and had been caving on Mendip since before the war. The dig began on the first weekend of July and only halted when the unstable fill required shuttering. They returned with wood for the purpose (still subject to wartime rationing at this time) on the August Bank Holiday weekend.
As far as I can tell from Peter’s account, the breakthrough took place on Sunday 25 August, and the digging team consisted of Peter, Ian, Bill, a woman called Joan and “a caver from Yorkshire, whose name I never knew.” A much larger party continued the exploration presumably including those UBSS members who were camping at the Gwyn Arms for the remainder of the week. Apart from Ian, these aren’t named, but Rod Pearce (of Rod’s Pot fame) was mentioned as being there at Easter and Johnny Parkes in September. It’s possible that Joan was Joan Light, who later married John Pitts.
Graham Balcombe (left) helping Bill Weaver prepare for diving in Ffynnon Ddu (resurgence). Photo: Peter Harvey/SWCC archive. Date: late 1940s.
Peter’s account says that “During this week they managed to complete a survey of the cave as it was known then. … From their figures I drew out the first survey of the cave. This showed that only a short distance had been made towards the swallet at Pwll Byfre, about 2000ft at the most.” Sadly, nothing of this survey seems to have survived, neither data nor drawings. What is more surprising is that there is absolutely no record of any of this activity in the Society’s logbooks nor any mention in our Proceedings.
My thanks to Jem Rowland for allowing the use of the photos and for pointing me at Peter Harvey’s article.
Graham Mullan
THE OFD 1 ROUND TRIP - A FILM
Filmmaker Michael Perryman latest project features the round trip in OFD 1, via Lowe's Chain and the Esape Route and UBSS member Clive Owen plays a starring role!.
Filmmaker Michael Perryman latest project features the round trip in OFD 1, via Lowe's Chain and the Esape Route and UBSS member Clive Owen plays a starring role!.
Click the image above to view the film.
A CASTLE WITH A MYSTERIOUS SECRET
Photo by Ken Day from Wikipedia licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Clive Owen takes us on a trip into a cave below a castle …
A couple of years ago Wanda and I were returning from a trip to south west Wales by a mountain road when we saw a castle in the distance perched high on a limestone crag. It wasn’t one that I recognised, so when we got home I looked it up on a map. Its name is Castell Carreg Cennen and it was built in the late 13th century at the time of Edward 1’s conquest of Wales. We decided to visit it at the next opportunity – which wasn’t until very recently.
Interpretation board. Photo by Clive Owen.
Now this article is not meant as a travelog; there has to be a spelaeological angle, and there is. Whilst researching the castle I discovered that it had a cave beneath it so we took lights, which was just as well. Caves beneath castles are comparatively rare and seldom very impressive. This one is a lot more interesting.
Left: the way to the gallery. Right: the start of the gallery. Photos by Clive Owen.
The cave is accessed by a gallery carved into the face of a 90m high cliff on the castle’s south side. The floor of this section is ridged concrete and has a good, grippy surface. It reminded me of WW1 tunnels in the Dolomites.
Entrance to the natural cave. Photo by Nilfanion from Wikipedia, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
At the end of the gallery, which has natural light from ‘windows’ opening out onto the cliff, there’s a 3m drop down some uneven steps into the start of the cave, a keyhole shaped passage 2-3m high with stal covering most of the walls. There are warning notices about how dark and slippery the cave is and they aren't exaggerating. The cave runs for about 50m before pinching out, though with an enticing aven above, which could be climbed for a few metres.
Graffiti in the natural cave. Photos by Clive Owen.
In several places, graffiti has been engraved or (more recently) written in marker pen. The best quality markings date from the 19th century, when the castle was widely known as a romantic ruin and was sketched by Turner, but there are others dating to the 18th century.
Graffito halfway down the cave. Photo by Clive Owen.
The obvious question is why anyone would construct the gallery to reach a cave that is sufficiently deep beneath the castle to offer no threat to its integrity. The probable answer can be seen at the end of the gallery where it drops into the cave. Here, still in daylight, is a wall of limestone blocks with built-in recesses. This was almost certainly a dovecote, which would have been a source of eggs and meat for the castle’s constable. There aren’t any pigeons there now, they have found better quarters under people’s solar panels.
The privately owned castle is open every day except Christmas Day and is managed by Cadw. There is a tea room on site.
Photo by Ken Day from Wikipedia licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Clive Owen takes us on a trip into a cave below a castle …
A couple of years ago Wanda and I were returning from a trip to south west Wales by a mountain road when we saw a castle in the distance perched high on a limestone crag. It wasn’t one that I recognised, so when we got home I looked it up on a map. Its name is Castell Carreg Cennen and it was built in the late 13th century at the time of Edward 1’s conquest of Wales. We decided to visit it at the next opportunity – which wasn’t until very recently.
Interpretation board. Photo by Clive Owen.
Now this article is not meant as a travelog; there has to be a spelaeological angle, and there is. Whilst researching the castle I discovered that it had a cave beneath it so we took lights, which was just as well. Caves beneath castles are comparatively rare and seldom very impressive. This one is a lot more interesting.
Left: the way to the gallery. Right: the start of the gallery. Photos by Clive Owen.
The cave is accessed by a gallery carved into the face of a 90m high cliff on the castle’s south side. The floor of this section is ridged concrete and has a good, grippy surface. It reminded me of WW1 tunnels in the Dolomites.
Entrance to the natural cave. Photo by Nilfanion from Wikipedia, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
At the end of the gallery, which has natural light from ‘windows’ opening out onto the cliff, there’s a 3m drop down some uneven steps into the start of the cave, a keyhole shaped passage 2-3m high with stal covering most of the walls. There are warning notices about how dark and slippery the cave is and they aren't exaggerating. The cave runs for about 50m before pinching out, though with an enticing aven above, which could be climbed for a few metres.
Graffiti in the natural cave. Photos by Clive Owen. In several places, graffiti has been engraved or (more recently) written in marker pen. The best quality markings date from the 19th century, when the castle was widely known as a romantic ruin and was sketched by Turner, but there are others dating to the 18th century.
Graffito halfway down the cave. Photo by Clive Owen.
The obvious question is why anyone would construct the gallery to reach a cave that is sufficiently deep beneath the castle to offer no threat to its integrity. The probable answer can be seen at the end of the gallery where it drops into the cave. Here, still in daylight, is a wall of limestone blocks with built-in recesses. This was almost certainly a dovecote, which would have been a source of eggs and meat for the castle’s constable. There aren’t any pigeons there now, they have found better quarters under people’s solar panels.
The privately owned castle is open every day except Christmas Day and is managed by Cadw. There is a tea room on site.
Clive Owen
THRUPE DE LOOP
Thrupe Lane Swallet entrance taking a stream. Photo courtesy of Dave King, MNRC.
In preparation for the upcoming Montenegro expedition, Sam Brace, Willem Glass, Stanley Lewis, Ben Morgan and Dan Rose embarked on what they hoped to be a fun and easy trip down Thrupe Lane Swallet. Little did they know, Atlas Pot has other plans for them, Sam reports.
After a classic key mishap (the lock having been put on the cave some time after our copy of Mendip Underground was published). I was rigging the entrance pitch about an hour later than planned. After convening at the bottom of the shaft, we were then faced with our riddle-esque route description, which divided us into two teams, each pushing different leads towards the chimney and High Atlas, proper expo caving! However another short hour later, pulling myself out of yet another abandoned dig, I heard a shout of joy as Ben had finally found the way on. Luckily, Dan, Willem and Stan were right around the corner, and so myself and Ben quickly descended the chimney in the hopes to rig and descend from High Atlas at breakneck speeds to get out for dinner at the Hunters.
But the odds, yet again, were not in our favour. I watched on in dismay from my belay position as Ben slid through the squeeze above the pitch head, and spent another unmentionable amount of time looking for the second spit to rig off. Trusting a single spit wasn’t an option, as Ben reported rub bad enough to cut right though the rope. However we were determined (what fools, what ignorant fools) and convinced that the second spit must be just out of sight. Only after much toil at the pitch head did we give up, and resort to rigging Wuthering Heights, the alternative (and certainly less impressive) way down Atlas Pot. Alas, upon Ben’s return through the squeeze we came to a horrifying realisation: bottoming Atlas Pot would certainly mean missing dinner at the Hunters.
Ben’s mind was made up (as an underpaid PhD student there are few things he treasures more in this life than dinner) and having done Wuthering Heights before, Dan was keen to go with him, and was joined by Willem. However Stan and I remained, fueled by a desire not to let the cave beat us, and began to rig the pitches down Wuthering Heights.
The going was nowhere near easy, and an outdated topo did nothing to help. We spent frustratingly long working out where natural deviations should go, and to add to the expo style of caving we’d had to tie together several shorter ropes and resort to using maillons as all of the club rope and krabs were in Yorkshire. Eventually, we made it to the bottom, and descending the large pitch to the bottom did satisfy me greatly.
All that was left to do was de rig and get out, and we did so (thankfully) without much of a hitch. Finally, after many many more hours than any sensible cavers would spend, we emerged into the dark Mendip night and set off tired and hungry back towards Bristol. Crashing down onto my bed, I put the last nail in the coffin by setting alarm for three hours time in order to get an early bus to Leeds the next day!
Thrupe Lane Swallet entrance taking a stream. Photo courtesy of Dave King, MNRC.In preparation for the upcoming Montenegro expedition, Sam Brace, Willem Glass, Stanley Lewis, Ben Morgan and Dan Rose embarked on what they hoped to be a fun and easy trip down Thrupe Lane Swallet. Little did they know, Atlas Pot has other plans for them, Sam reports.
After a classic key mishap (the lock having been put on the cave some time after our copy of Mendip Underground was published). I was rigging the entrance pitch about an hour later than planned. After convening at the bottom of the shaft, we were then faced with our riddle-esque route description, which divided us into two teams, each pushing different leads towards the chimney and High Atlas, proper expo caving! However another short hour later, pulling myself out of yet another abandoned dig, I heard a shout of joy as Ben had finally found the way on. Luckily, Dan, Willem and Stan were right around the corner, and so myself and Ben quickly descended the chimney in the hopes to rig and descend from High Atlas at breakneck speeds to get out for dinner at the Hunters.
But the odds, yet again, were not in our favour. I watched on in dismay from my belay position as Ben slid through the squeeze above the pitch head, and spent another unmentionable amount of time looking for the second spit to rig off. Trusting a single spit wasn’t an option, as Ben reported rub bad enough to cut right though the rope. However we were determined (what fools, what ignorant fools) and convinced that the second spit must be just out of sight. Only after much toil at the pitch head did we give up, and resort to rigging Wuthering Heights, the alternative (and certainly less impressive) way down Atlas Pot. Alas, upon Ben’s return through the squeeze we came to a horrifying realisation: bottoming Atlas Pot would certainly mean missing dinner at the Hunters.
Ben’s mind was made up (as an underpaid PhD student there are few things he treasures more in this life than dinner) and having done Wuthering Heights before, Dan was keen to go with him, and was joined by Willem. However Stan and I remained, fueled by a desire not to let the cave beat us, and began to rig the pitches down Wuthering Heights.
The going was nowhere near easy, and an outdated topo did nothing to help. We spent frustratingly long working out where natural deviations should go, and to add to the expo style of caving we’d had to tie together several shorter ropes and resort to using maillons as all of the club rope and krabs were in Yorkshire. Eventually, we made it to the bottom, and descending the large pitch to the bottom did satisfy me greatly.
All that was left to do was de rig and get out, and we did so (thankfully) without much of a hitch. Finally, after many many more hours than any sensible cavers would spend, we emerged into the dark Mendip night and set off tired and hungry back towards Bristol. Crashing down onto my bed, I put the last nail in the coffin by setting alarm for three hours time in order to get an early bus to Leeds the next day!
Sam Brace
UNDERGROUND IN ICELAND
Inside the lava tube. Photo by Helen Rossington.
On a short, sharp five-dayer to Iceland, Richard & Helen Rossington visited a show-cave with a difference - Raufarhólshellir Lava Tunnel. Ahead of two full-day trips to gawp at huge waterfalls and other Icelandic pretties, they signed up for a bus out to Raufarhólshellir - under an hour’s drive from Reykjavik. Richard recounts their underground experience.
Raufarhólshellir is the fourth largest and the most visually impressive lava cave in Iceland. Walking through the 1360 m (4,461 ft) long tube or tunnel, 30 m wide at its widest and about 10m high, was a great experience. The huge number of clear glass-like Ice Stalagmites (‘Iceagmites’?) and vivid wall colourings were all really impressive.
Iceagmites. Photo by Helen Rossington.
This lava tunnel is a feature of the Leitahraun lava field - a monogenetic Icelandic shield volcano, formed by one single eruption around 5,200 years ago (from carbon dating). This spread far out - to the coast southwards 12 km away, with a narrow northern flow extending to the coast at Reykjavik 30 km off. Lava tubes are commonly created by most effusive volcanoes, forming where the lava flows continuously. They commonly start as open lava channels, running from the eruption site. Gradually, the lava forms a crust as it cools differentially on the surface. As this thickens and spreads across the top of the flow it forms a solid roof. Once the lava flow ends and clears the channel the roofed-over tube is left. See below for the process. Over time there can be collapses, opening the cave to the surface. Raufarhólshellir has three large collapses near the entrance.
Lava cave formation (from the entrance kiosk displays, citing Grimes 2005). Photo by Richard Rossington.
While this lava cave has been known about for a long time, there is no firm record of its existence or exploration until five people from Reykjavik in 1909 made the first recorded attempt to measure its dimensions. American engineer, Harold H. Munger, on a 1954 visit, did the first outline survey work, using his compass and telemeter. Then a major expedition by the Spanish speleologists of Club Montañés Barcelonés in 1967-8 surveyed and explored 13 volcanic lava tubes across Iceland. They focused most on Raufarhólshellir, however, because of its size and prominence. Their work was only published in some Spanish speleological journals. Finally, enter our near neighbours, Shepton Mallet Caving Club, who surveyed the whole tube in 1970 and published their full survey, which the cave still uses today.
SMCC cave survey (Prior T. A.) from cave noticeboard. Photo by Richard Rossington.
Once we got home again, we discovered that until late 2016, the cave had completely open access. Since the 1950s visitor numbers had grown steadily, chiefly because it was close to the nearby capital city, Reykjavik. In 2015, 20,000 people had visited the cave. There had been a huge build-up of rubbish left by visitors and severe damage to the fragile lava straws, with only a very few still remaining. We didn’t see any of these, only seasonal Iceagmites. Rescuing visitors was also costly. The cave reopened in mid-2017 with lighting, metal walkways and several metric tons of rubbish cleared out. Only guided groups are now allowed.
Iceagmites. Photo by Helen Rossington.
Our trip, with the obligatory helmets and lights for the group, set out through the driving snow from the entrance kiosk, down the path from reception into the entrance door. We went past the three huge holes in the ceiling early on. These are apparently unique in the Icelandic lava tubes and they were particularly impressive with snow falling in against the leaden sky and piling up on the collapse rock mounds below. Then followed a lot of Iceagmites either side of and below the metal walkway (some of our photos are with this article). All sizes and all ‘live’, fed by drips from above. They melt away in high summer and reform differently each winter. There are never any corresponding ‘Iceactites’ on the ceiling, however. The water drips down way too fast, before it can freeze, building only the Iceagmites below. It is obviously better to visit in winter, or the ice is a lot less impressive. Incidentally, there are no bats native to Iceland, only ship stowaways and ‘blown off course’ individuals, so its caves are bat-free.
Colours in the rock. Photo by Helen Rossington.
Further into the tube we were shown the rainbow-colours in the lava walls, brought out by the steam and gas reacting with chemicals in the lava. We also saw impressive formations made by the lava where the tube’s flow slowed and stopped. Red, orange, yellow, black, and blue colours are all present in the rocks. Being a tube, the tour is in then out the same way but overall a really good tour and an unusual show-cave trip – not a trace of limestone!
Inside the lava tube. Photo by Helen Rossington.
On a short, sharp five-dayer to Iceland, Richard & Helen Rossington visited a show-cave with a difference - Raufarhólshellir Lava Tunnel. Ahead of two full-day trips to gawp at huge waterfalls and other Icelandic pretties, they signed up for a bus out to Raufarhólshellir - under an hour’s drive from Reykjavik. Richard recounts their underground experience.
Raufarhólshellir is the fourth largest and the most visually impressive lava cave in Iceland. Walking through the 1360 m (4,461 ft) long tube or tunnel, 30 m wide at its widest and about 10m high, was a great experience. The huge number of clear glass-like Ice Stalagmites (‘Iceagmites’?) and vivid wall colourings were all really impressive.
Iceagmites. Photo by Helen Rossington.
This lava tunnel is a feature of the Leitahraun lava field - a monogenetic Icelandic shield volcano, formed by one single eruption around 5,200 years ago (from carbon dating). This spread far out - to the coast southwards 12 km away, with a narrow northern flow extending to the coast at Reykjavik 30 km off. Lava tubes are commonly created by most effusive volcanoes, forming where the lava flows continuously. They commonly start as open lava channels, running from the eruption site. Gradually, the lava forms a crust as it cools differentially on the surface. As this thickens and spreads across the top of the flow it forms a solid roof. Once the lava flow ends and clears the channel the roofed-over tube is left. See below for the process. Over time there can be collapses, opening the cave to the surface. Raufarhólshellir has three large collapses near the entrance.
Lava cave formation (from the entrance kiosk displays, citing Grimes 2005). Photo by Richard Rossington.
While this lava cave has been known about for a long time, there is no firm record of its existence or exploration until five people from Reykjavik in 1909 made the first recorded attempt to measure its dimensions. American engineer, Harold H. Munger, on a 1954 visit, did the first outline survey work, using his compass and telemeter. Then a major expedition by the Spanish speleologists of Club Montañés Barcelonés in 1967-8 surveyed and explored 13 volcanic lava tubes across Iceland. They focused most on Raufarhólshellir, however, because of its size and prominence. Their work was only published in some Spanish speleological journals. Finally, enter our near neighbours, Shepton Mallet Caving Club, who surveyed the whole tube in 1970 and published their full survey, which the cave still uses today.
SMCC cave survey (Prior T. A.) from cave noticeboard. Photo by Richard Rossington.
Once we got home again, we discovered that until late 2016, the cave had completely open access. Since the 1950s visitor numbers had grown steadily, chiefly because it was close to the nearby capital city, Reykjavik. In 2015, 20,000 people had visited the cave. There had been a huge build-up of rubbish left by visitors and severe damage to the fragile lava straws, with only a very few still remaining. We didn’t see any of these, only seasonal Iceagmites. Rescuing visitors was also costly. The cave reopened in mid-2017 with lighting, metal walkways and several metric tons of rubbish cleared out. Only guided groups are now allowed.
Iceagmites. Photo by Helen Rossington.
Our trip, with the obligatory helmets and lights for the group, set out through the driving snow from the entrance kiosk, down the path from reception into the entrance door. We went past the three huge holes in the ceiling early on. These are apparently unique in the Icelandic lava tubes and they were particularly impressive with snow falling in against the leaden sky and piling up on the collapse rock mounds below. Then followed a lot of Iceagmites either side of and below the metal walkway (some of our photos are with this article). All sizes and all ‘live’, fed by drips from above. They melt away in high summer and reform differently each winter. There are never any corresponding ‘Iceactites’ on the ceiling, however. The water drips down way too fast, before it can freeze, building only the Iceagmites below. It is obviously better to visit in winter, or the ice is a lot less impressive. Incidentally, there are no bats native to Iceland, only ship stowaways and ‘blown off course’ individuals, so its caves are bat-free.
Colours in the rock. Photo by Helen Rossington.
Further into the tube we were shown the rainbow-colours in the lava walls, brought out by the steam and gas reacting with chemicals in the lava. We also saw impressive formations made by the lava where the tube’s flow slowed and stopped. Red, orange, yellow, black, and blue colours are all present in the rocks. Being a tube, the tour is in then out the same way but overall a really good tour and an unusual show-cave trip – not a trace of limestone!
Richard Rossington
THE ART OF CAVING
Formations, OFD. Photo by Tess Hopes.
Tess Hopes reports on a recent weekend spent underground in South Wales.
Inspired by a growing fascination with the underground, artist Laura Hopes brought together seven artists for a unique weekend exploring the Ogof Ffynnon Ddu cave system.
Straws in OFD, photo by Tess Hopes.
Guided underground by experienced cavers, including Ned Hopes, James Harvey and myself, the group experienced the caves for the first time before taking part in discussions about their impressions of the underground. The weekend also included a fascinating talk by Andy and Antonia Freem on the art of caving, giving the artists a chance to reflect on how their perceptions changed before and after their underground experience.
Tess Hopes
THANKS TO ...
Tess Hopes for the lovely photo taken on the zip-line in Croesor-Rhosydd, north Wales that we used for last month's header, and apologies for missing out the credit for this in the last issue.
Tess Hopes for the lovely photo taken on the zip-line in Croesor-Rhosydd, north Wales that we used for last month's header, and apologies for missing out the credit for this in the last issue.
ROUFFY RHINO READ TO THE END, DID YOU?
As one of your hard-working editors is in the Dordogne at the moment, home to many, many wonderful decorated caves, we have a rhino as our mascot this month, as we aren't far from the fantastic cave of Rouffignac, where there are several rhinos. Thank you as ever, to the lovely folks who provide some motivational feedback, we luvs you all!
- A really excellent newsletter, best it's ever been by far, thanks as always. [Bob Churcher]
- Super newsletter, as always! It’s great that our small UBSS museum can be so important for research. Sam and Joe were so lucky with the weather on the Eastwater trip, and a very loud laugh for Marty and the zipline bang! Some wonderful trips were had by all! [Jan Walker]
- This time, a newsletter of excellently muddy faces and lots and lots of photos. [Chris Howes]
- I won't be the first this time! [Hans Friederich]
- Very interesting read, particular the piece on the researchers visiting the museum. And the photos throughout are excellent. I hope the chair in one of them was charging union rates! [Sharon Wheeler and Comrade FT Bear]
- Yay caving! [Stuart Alldred]
- So, why are all the skeletons female (the articles is behind a paywall). Agen Alwedd is a good spirit cave choice. I did several attempts at the left-hand wall series with Tim Atkinson back in the 70s, we failed each time. [Dick Willis]
- A good read, as ever, and some brilliant pictures. Keep up the good work. [Carol Walford]
Rouffy, you are adorable, of course I read to the end!
THE END
As one of your hard-working editors is in the Dordogne at the moment, home to many, many wonderful decorated caves, we have a rhino as our mascot this month, as we aren't far from the fantastic cave of Rouffignac, where there are several rhinos. Thank you as ever, to the lovely folks who provide some motivational feedback, we luvs you all!
- A really excellent newsletter, best it's ever been by far, thanks as always. [Bob Churcher]
- Super newsletter, as always! It’s great that our small UBSS museum can be so important for research. Sam and Joe were so lucky with the weather on the Eastwater trip, and a very loud laugh for Marty and the zipline bang! Some wonderful trips were had by all! [Jan Walker]
- This time, a newsletter of excellently muddy faces and lots and lots of photos. [Chris Howes]
- I won't be the first this time! [Hans Friederich]
- Very interesting read, particular the piece on the researchers visiting the museum. And the photos throughout are excellent. I hope the chair in one of them was charging union rates! [Sharon Wheeler and Comrade FT Bear]
- Yay caving! [Stuart Alldred]
- So, why are all the skeletons female (the articles is behind a paywall). Agen Alwedd is a good spirit cave choice. I did several attempts at the left-hand wall series with Tim Atkinson back in the 70s, we failed each time. [Dick Willis]
- A good read, as ever, and some brilliant pictures. Keep up the good work. [Carol Walford]
Rouffy, you are adorable, of course I read to the end!
THE END