Curtain in Upper Flood Swallet. Photo by Bram Lovelace.
2022
has got off to a busy start. YAY, CAVING! We've welcomed even more new
cavers to the club with student membership now standing at 75, and maybe
more to come following a successful Re-Freshers Evening.
For those new to UBSS, we publish a newsletter at the beginning of every
month and your desperately needy editors are always on the scrounge for
material. This could be a trip write up, or even just a short note
about where you went and who you were with, and we can then compile
these into a round-up to give new members an idea of the variety of
trips on offer. Photos underground or overground are always welcome,
too! And we offer prizes, as well. Yep, you heard us, prizes! We have
some nifty little back-up lights just waiting to be distributed to
anyone who curries favour with us, as well as some equally nifty keyring
torches that do perfectly well for a quick nose into any dark holes you
come across unexpectedly on your travels.
And we especially love all the wonderful people who click the link at
the end of each issue to tell us you made it there in one piece! There's
also a prize for the first (and sometimes the last) person to achieve
that! So keep those emails coming. We said we were needy, didn't we?
Once again, many thanks to photographer Mark Burkey who, although not a
UBSS member, generously lets us scrounge photos off him when we need
them.We have a few of his excellent shots in this issue.
The AGM and Annual Dinner are coming up on 12th March, so please save the date and send in your sign ups for the dinner ASAP!
And due to a wealth of material this month, we've even held a couple of
pieces over to the February issue, including some mystery wild swimming
involving a (sort of ) cave and the results of our 'caving trip in 20
words competition'.
Curtain in Upper Flood Swallet. Photo by Bram Lovelace. INDEPENDENT CAVING TALKTUESDAY 1st FEBRUARY 2022
UBSS Safety Officer, Ash Gregg, is giving a talk on Zoom at 7pm on Tuesday 1st February.This
is mainly aimed at those new to the club and will provide an overview
of how we can all cave safely as members of a student club. Ash
recommends that all our student cavers should attend as we want safe
cavers!
As Student Prezz Henry Morgan says: "This is a really important subject
for a student club, so we can all learn from those who are more
experienced and start to think about running our own trips."
Pub as usual at the Eldon House in Clifton after the talk.
AGM, SATURDAY 12th MARCH 2022
The AGM is taking place in the
Department of Geography on University Road at 10.30am. Tea and coffee
(and maybe even biscuits if you're all very very good) will be available
from 10am with the AGM kicking off at 10.30am. This will be followed by
a talk on the summer expedition to the Gouffre Berger given by our very
own Hon Prezz, Elaine Oliver.
The AGM is when we vote in the officers and committee for the coming
year, as well as the non-student members who (under our new
constitution) will have the vote for the coming year. If you are
interested in standing for the committee, please contact Hon. Sec. Merryn Matthews.
ANNUAL DINNER, SATURDAY 12th MARCH 2022
On Saturday the 12th of March UBSS will be holding our Annual
Dinner at the Square Club restaurant in Berkeley Square. This has
traditionally been one of the most fun evenings in the UBSS calendar, so
we'd love everyone to come along.
Menu Starter
- Smoked tomato soup, basil pesto, toasted focacia (ve)
- Duck liver parfait, fruit chutney, brioche (gf on request)
- Citrus cured salmon, cucumber, horseradish creme fraiche (gf) Main
- Cornfed chicken breast, pommes ana, mushroom ketchup, savoy cabbage, crispy pancetta (gf)
- Poached fillet of hake, braised canellini beans, samphire (gf)
- Pecan, lentil and parsnip roast, pomme puree, seasonal greens, muscovado jus (ve) Dessert
- Chocolate and olive oil mousse, hazelnut praline, poached pear (ve, gf)
- Vanilla panna cotta, poached berries, shortbread (gf on request)
- Lemon set cream, yoghurt meringue, passion fruit marscapone (v, gf)
Send payments to the UBSS bank account (if you need the details please email the Hon. Treasurer.)
Please email me or contact me via Facebook if you have any questions!
Hopefully see you lots of you on the 12th!
Sam Bowers
Social Secretary
YORKSHIRE CAVING WEEKEND 18th - 20th FEBRUARY 2022
There will be a Yorkshire weekend on 18th to 20th February.
Haydon Saunders, running the trip, says: "This
is a great opportunity to do some different caving and get out of
Bristol. All SRT abilities are welcome. We have a really good set of
leaders to show you the ropes (pun intended).
Ideally, anyone coming on this trip should at least have visited
Hunter's Hole, but if you want to commit to the weekend, Haydon says
there is time to get some training in first. If you'd like to chat about
the trip, either email Haydon, or message him on Facebook.
JOINT CHARITY YORKSHIRE TRIP 18th to 20th MARCH 2022
Three societies, caving, climbing, and expeditions, have teamed up for a major charity trip and competition in Yorkshire from 18th to 20th March 2022 !
To see which society is the ultimate outdoor sports society of 2022, we
are going up against one another with the winning society donating a
portion of the ticket money to a charity of their choosing!
Join
all of us in Ribblesdale for an action-packed weekend of Climbing,
Hiking, and Caving, with two days of being out in the Yorkshire Dales
and an evening of friendly competition, good food, and awesome company.
Prices: Drivers: £37.50, Members: £57.50
Round One of tickets are being releasedon 31st January at midday (Drivers and Committee only)
From a photo by Steve's colleague Nikolai Koval-Radley, used with his kind permission. It's with great sadness that we
announce the recent death of Dr Steve Trudgill, who joined UBSS as an
undergraduate in the Department of Geography in 1966.
Steve was a keen caver, photographer, artist and conservationist. He
started caving with UBSS in 1966, along with Frank Nicholson and Colin
High. He accompanied then to the Burren in County Clare and joined them
in work putting in micro-erosion studs in Cullaun 1 and 2, to measure
erosion rates in the streamway. he continued to go to the Burren with
Trat at Easter and in Summer. Steve stayed on in Bristol and did a PhD
under Dingle Smith, going to the Aldabra Atoll in the Indian Ocean to
study limestone erosion there.
After obtaining his PhD in 1972, he moved to the University of
Strathclyde as a junior lecturer then spent 20 years at the University
of Sheffield before his move to Robinson College, Cambridge, where he
remained until his retirement. I first connected with Steve when he
returned to Bristol in 2019 for the UBSS centenary celebrations. I was
immediately struck by what a hugely nice man he was, with a huge
generosity of spirit and enthusiasm for life. He was an enormously
talented writer, turning his hand to both prose, poetry and songs,
writing many caving songs. He was also a gifted artist and photographer
and it was always a pleasure to see his posts on Facebook.
Steve was one of the people interviewed as part of centenary oral
history project and he summed up his approach to caving in the following
words: "I think you’ve got to have self-reliance as well as
relying on other people. And, actually, assessing other people about
whether you could rely on them, and looking at yourself to see whether
you could be relied on."
During his interview, Steve rummaged around in his papers and found an
account of his first trip into GB Cavern in October 1966, which I've
given here, with my guess at the line breaks:
Deep breath,
Turn back on lights,
Stumble, cannot see,
Custom boots to glow rock,
Dangle down and wedge and push.
At last, stand up,
Grope hard rock, below the air.
Black caverns yawn open,
Now down on your knees before the hole.
Reverence.
Crawling on sand and walk and drop down rift,
The chamber where water falls.
Is this from heaven?
But heaven is black, dark, unseeable,
And hell is water, drip, cold, shiver, darkness.
Unfortunately, Steve didn't live to see the publication of his book Why Conserve Nature: Perspectives on Meanings and Motivations coming
from Cambridge University Press next month. I'm looking forward to
getting a copy but sad he won't be around to sign it for me.
Steve’s
funeral will be at 2pm on Wednesday the 16th of February at Hinxton
Church, Hinxton, CB10 1RS. Please pass this on to anyone who may wish to
attend. Plans for a memorial at Robinson College are in the very early
stages.
Steve will be much missed by everyone who knew him. A full obituary will appear in our Proceedings.
Linda Wilson
BURNS NIGHT WEEKEND AT THE HUT
The usual Burns Night revelries were organised this year by Zac
Woodford, with 24 people gathering at the Hut. It appears from Zac's
account that some caving was even done at the weekend, but not on
Sunday, naturally, as he recounts ....
The weekend started with us milling around the loading bay waiting for
the key at half eight in the morning. People were understandablly
unamused when we learnt that the SU didn’t open until 9am. Eventually
the key was procured, and stores emptied.
We then went our separate ways, some traveling directly to their caving
trips, some directly to the hut and many of us to ASDA in Bedminster
where we reconvened to plan and acquire food for the weekend.
We set off from ASDA for the hut where we chilled for an hour planning
our trips for the day. We were there at the same time as the people
who’d been using the hut the night before and it was nice to see some
new faces.
Sam led a trip to Sidcots taking Sorcha, Oliver and Morgan (Michael's
friend), meanwhile Elaine led a trip to Pierre’s Pot with me seconding.
We had Michael, Sophie, Dan, and Jake in tow. We had a larger than usual
party for Pierre's but it worked out well in the end as we all made it
to the Hanging Gardens.
Michael, the self-proclaimed claustrophobe, had somewhat of a spiritual
journey. He’d been in Pierre's before but only made it past the slot so
to make it all the way to the Hanging Gardens was incredible, although
Elaine did have to prove that the rift just after the slot was possible.
I must admit I didn’t have overly fond memories of Pierre's. The last
time I had done it was exactly two years ago but after the Burns' Night
revelries and so I was incredibly hungover. Hangovers and exceedingly
tight spaces don’t mix. I had suggested the trip as I wanted to create
some type 1 fun memories of Pierre’s. I've also wanted to assist with
the dig there for quite a while.
The road to the Hanging Gardens was, while not necessarily long, slow
given our party size. I led the way from the stream way and only twice
needed Elaine to correct my route finding. The Horse Collar was as
terrifying as ever but the Hanging Gardens more than made up for it.
We were quicker on the way back, naturally. Having a familiarity with
the cave and also being able to see the hand and footholds ahead of you
instead of beneath you always helps. Most of us went back via the slot
bypass with only Sophie and Elaine going back up the slot.
Back on the surface we made our way to the hut. On the way we saw the
some of the others who’d finished their trip along with people who’d
just arrived, going up Black Down for a walk. Back at the hut we chilled
for a bit while we waited for more people to arrive. A group effort saw
the tatties and neeps skinned and chunked ready for boiling.With the
veg ready we put it aside for an hour while we boiled the haggis.
Unfortunately, Elaine was unable to have the veggie haggis due to its
content of mushrooms. To overcome this, she made her own with a
delicious result.
A mug of Cranachan. Elaine also made Cranachan. Well, Elaine
started making Cranachan but without a whisk to thicken the cream every
able-bodied man, woman and child was given a mug of cream and a fork to
whisk it with. Meanwhile, I conducted a covert mission to ask the Hut
Fairy for a whisk. Unfortunately, Liz wasn’t in but by the time I made
it back to the hut all the cream had been whipped anyway.
With the Haggis now done the veg was put on the boil. When the potatoes
and suede were done, the mashing could begin although a couple of the
party members got the wrong end of the masher when they tried to mash
the Swede. All Jacob could do was cower by the fire while Mia and Kat
went at him with mashers.
Dinner was ceremoniously served with a wonderful rendition of the ode to
haggis performed by Elliot. I’ve certainly heard worse Scottish
accents. I took my meal in the kitchen where it was quiet and peaceful. A
nice break from the evening’s excitement. I even had half a haggis to
myself! Desert was served in the kitchen with me as its unofficial
Guardian.
Elaine was the first to demonstrate the construction of a mug of
Cranachan. I followed and soon people were queuing into the kitchen.
However, before they could serve themselves they first had to pass the
Guardian!
“Thee who approach me must answers questions three 'ere the desert thee
wish to see!” The questions being: “Whats your name?”, “What’s your
favorite colour?” "What is the name of the film this quote is from...?"
The last question changed with each person.
The post dinner party had a more mellow vibe as we played drinking games
late into the night. Or at least the others did. I went to bed at
midnight. Apparently one member had to be hauled into the boot of
Haydon’s car so they could be taken home as they were in no fit state to
do it themselves.
The following morning most of us wanted to make a quick get away to nap
off our hangovers. With this in mind, no caving was organized. Breakfast
was preceded by a systematic washing effort on the part of Oliver, Omri
and Merryn. Oliver washed while Merryn dried and Omri stacked items
away. Breakfast was quick to cook and even more quickly consumed. Bacon
and scrambled eggs were followed by a course of porridge covered in the
night's left over Cranachan cream.
After clearing up the hut we got on the road again with a staggered
return to Bristol. Overall, we had a brilliant weekend and a great party
at the hut. Burns' Night is always a favorite of mine as it’s the only
time of year I ever get to have haggis, one of my favorite foods.
I must finally say a big thank you to all the drivers and leaders who
made the weekend possible. And a thank you to all the people who came
for sharing their company.
Zac Woodford
COUNTDOWN TO CAVING WITH .. ELLIOTT McCALL
I am a final year engineering student. I am doing my best to
turn my room into a library; books on every surface that doesn’t already
have one of my 30 mugs on it. I got into caving in my second year and
then stopped in January of that year when Covid first started (ironic as
I’ve only just gotten Covid for the first time…). Started back up this
year and have been enjoying it just as much, if not more.
I spend my time keeping my dying houseplants on life-support,
drawing, reading books, and of course caving. (Yay caving!). You’ll
often find me at the pub, wearing flip-flops, or complaining that I am
either too tired or too warm in a cave.
Ten words to summarise your caving career ...
The singing: bad; the jokes: worse. I am so sorry.
Nine cavers (living or dead) you would like to go for a drink with ...
Guy, Michael, Jenny, Kat, Jakob, Freddy, Alasdair, Henry, and of course who could forget: Theo!
Eight things you never want/wanted to hear underground ...
- Sorry, I am a bit gassy today (the person in front of you on a crawl).
- Turn around we will need to wait for the fire-engines, again.
- Elliott, it is your turn to carry the tackle-sack
- So this next section is all stooping and crawling…
- Looks like we won’t be out in time for the pub.
- This water is juuust deeper than wellie height.
- Elliott, you’ll have to stop singing Taylor Swift for like two minutes can you manage that?
- We have to turn around now or we will run out of time.
Seven public figures you'd least like to go caving with ...
- The London underground “mind the gap” announcer
- Taylor Swift (my singing is offensively bad)
- Hannibal Lecter
- Jeff Vandermeer
- Sir Patrick Stewart (café instead of cave please)
- Jeffrey Bezos
- Boris
Six of the weirdest things you've done, seen or heard of in connection with caving ...
- Scraped a road with a tea tray.
- Had a drunk person carry my wellies home for me held high in the air on their arms.
- Helicopter Henry on a table.
- Any caving game.
- Licked a rock.
- Put on a bad Scottish accent.
Five of your favourite caves ...
Eastwater
OFD
Gaping Gill
Hunters Lodge Inn Sink
Charterhouse
Four pieces of gear you've fallen in love with ...
- Kneepads (great for everyday use!)
- My too small yellow oversuit (it’s yellow!)
- Helmet
- Lights that don’t give me lightmares
Three of the best caving books you've read ...
Not caving books but books that may or may not reference or take place
in a (fictional) cave that I think are good and you should read:-
- Red Rising by Pierce Brown
- Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne
- The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells
Two of your favourite caving regions ...
- Mendips
- South Wales
One thing you'd tell yourself as a fresher ...
Your knees will hurt, why did you wait so long for kneepads?
SEEING THE PRETTIES IN UPPER FLOOD SWALLET
No word of a lie, there are definitely pretties! Photo by Bram Lovelace. Upper Flood Swallet is an
exceptionally pretty Mendip trip, as new member Bram Lovelace discovered
not long after joining the club.
Having just arrived in the UK, I was excited to hear about an
opportunity to go to a longer cave trip advertised as having lots of
pretties. This cave did not disappoint.
After meeting bright and early to check out the necessary equipment from
stores, Merryn, Sara and I met our leaders, Mark and James, at the MCG
hut and walked the relatively short distance to the entrance.
What followed was two hours of somewhat wet crawling and coming upon
rooms that could have been “the formation room” for a number of caves.
This being my first time seeing significant scaffolding brought up
questions: Is it disconcerting that this breakdown needs scaffolding to
hold it in place or is it comforting having it there in case the rocks
need it? At least it means we’re probably on the right track? Am I
overthinking this? (Yes) We continued on...
Following this, we got to the area where we needed to doff our oversuits
so as to not spoil the white speleothems. At this point I was very glad
I had opted to put an extra layer on and I think the US has something
to learn about wearing a onesie under the cave suit. Mark had the great
Idea to use a trash bag with head and arm holes as an extra layer which
seemed to keep him warm.
Hon. Sec. Merryn Matthews definitely wins in the most recognisable undersuit category. Photo by Bram Lovelace. We then went through a spectacular set of
rooms filled with pretties that made me wish for a better light but glad
I had a camera. After walking past and through many large pieces of
white flowstone and other speleothems we arrived at a room in which we
could crawl up one at a time to see pork pies and stalactites continuing
in the shrinking passage. After returning to the point where we had
left our oversuits, we continued a short distance to where the cave
outdid itself once again with some absolutely spectacular drapery.
We think this classes as spectacular. Photo by Bram Lovelace. After approximately an hour in the depths
of the cave, we donned our muddy cave suits and headed towards the exit.
We made relatively good time on the way out and were able to catch the
last bit of daylight before joining the Burns Night festivities at the
hut.
I’ve been told that all caves in the Mendips are like this and as such
this cave sets a completely reasonable bar for the rest of the caves in
the area.
Bram Lovelace
MENDIP TRIP ROUND-UP
Hunter's Hole. Photo copyright Mark Burkey and used with his kind permission. Hunter's Hole and Thrupe Lave Swallet have been popular in January!
- Hunter’s Hole: Bram, Sam and Haydon. Doing vertical practice.
- Hunter’s Hole: Elliot, Haydon Jakob and Lucy. Did some derigging practice then pub.
- Thrupe Lane Swallet: Henry, Jakob and Merryn. In at the
top of the pitch and down to the sump(s) (v. muddy at the bottom, Henry
felt like a worm).
- Thrupe Lane Swallet: Elliot, Jakob, Guy and Ash. Down Perseverance Pot, Marble thingy, longer pitch then back.
THE GREAT, BIG WELSH EXTRAVAGANZA
It's Wales, it's wonderful, what
more do you need to know? Well, quite a bit, as it turns out, so grab a
drink and follow Sioned Haughton and others on their epic journeys over
the past couple of months beneath the Welsh hills.
SOUTH WALES REVISITED
OFD II streamway. Photo copyright Mark Burkey and used with his kind permission. As all the self-confessed avid
newsletter readers will no doubt recall, an UBSS contingent went on an
inappropriate South Wales trip earlier in 2021 during which myself, Kat
and Si managed to turn a day of caving into an entire weekend’s worth.
Afterwards we solemnly swore to return ‘within a few weeks’ to cement
our new route-finding knowledge.
So, that's how we found ourselves (with an additional Ash), impressively
only a mere six months later, back at OFD in early December for the
through trip.
We
went in 1 to find the water was considerably higher and colder than it
had been last time. This is due to the changing seasons, something I
completely failed to take into account when I scofffed at Kat’s
suggestion to wear a wetsuit (sorry Kat).
Fortunately,
we had retained much of the route-finding knowledge, and only ended up
spending a few extra glorious minutes exploring the area just before the
Diver’s Pitch. After that it was just battling against the freezing
cold streamway for what seemed like hours, although the thought of
having to carry a stretcher up it boosted our morale somewhat. We
emerged out of Top 4.5 hours after we went in, greeted by howling winds
and sleet.
We
stayed at the SWCC that night; they were having their fireworks do that
had been cancelled because of the rescue. The next day Kat was
caved-out and so elected to go home early. She took Si with her, who
intended to get some work done but actually ended up spending all
afternoon in the pub waiting for us to get home as he’d forgotten his
keys. Myself, Ash and Andrew stayed and took some of CUCC caving with
us, as they had a very sub-optimal novice to leader ratio. We decided to
shelve our original plan to go to 3 and instead do Cwm Dwr to 1, with
the option of going back out Cwm Dwr if a) we didn’t manage to find the
way through, or b) if the freshers didn’t look like they would make it.
Fortunately,
we did find the way through Cwm Dwr (although we couldn’t tell you the
route we took!) and the CUCC contingent were very capable. A most
enjoyable trip was had by all.
BETWIXTMAS INNER CIRCLE TRIP
Main Passage in Aggy. Photo copyright Mark Burkey and used with his kind permission. On 28th December 2022, me, Ash and Si
decided to go to Aggy, with the vague plan to do either the Inner or
Outer circle (we had decided against the Grand Circle as we didn’t
relish the idea of neck deep water in midwinter).
When we arrived at Whitewalls a passing caver helpfully recommended the
Inner Circle, provided some useful route-finding tips and let me use the
loo.
Thus
prepared, we set off and made it to Turkey Pool with much sliding
around in what must be a contender for slipperiest streamway ever.
Having got this far on a previous recce trip we made good time with no
route-finding issues. Turkey Pool leads off towards the rest of the cave
via a narrow straight-sided rift over an eye-deep channel of water. Cue
much comedy traversing techniques and acrobatic lunging for the in-situ
rope at the other end of the traverse. Fortunately, we all made it over
dry, and next time I might even try it without using the rope
(depending on the time of year, that is...)
Now
in unfamiliar cave passage we promptly failed to find the route into
Selenite Needle passage that we had been warned about. After we all
climbed up a sheer and slick mud slope with no hand or footholds, we
decided this could not possibly be the trade route and slithered back
down. Once back on track, it was fairly straightforward using the survey
to navigate our way round the Circles. We made a brief detour via some
welly-stealing mud to Swiss Village, which was very well worth it, then
on to St Paul’s Dome, which is quite an amazing feature. Si’s
description, ‘It looks a bit like a massive disposable BBQ grill’,
is accurate but doesn’t really do it justice. The rest of the trip was
unremarkable except for the seemingly never-ending streamway - I have
come to the conclusion that if you haven’t thought, ‘Oh my god, when will this end?’ at least once on the trip you cannot possibly be in Llangattock. Total trip time approximately 6.5 hours.
DAREN CILAU THROUGH TRIP
Pretties in Daren. Photo by Sioned Haughton. On 15th January, me and Ash decided to continue our Grand Tour of South Wales with a trip to Daren as he had never been there.
Ash's summation of the infamous 500m entrance series was, ‘Well I wouldn’t describe all of it as crawling’.
Highlight of the trip - the bat hanging out on the biggest helictite in
White Company and then just round the corner, another one on a selenite
needle!! Obviously, we couldn’t take photos of them so you will have to
take our word for it and make do with a blurry Ash instead.
Yep, no word of a lie, it really is a blurry photo of Ash! A nice leisurely trip, 5 hours in total.
Sioned Haughton
TRIP REPORT - ST CUTHBERT'S SWALLET
The Cascade, St Cuthbert's. Photo copyright Mark Burkey and used with his kind permission. St Cuthbert's Swallet is one of the
best sporting trips on Mendip. Access is via a conservation warden
system run by the BEC and the cave is very well worth a visit, as Zac
Woodford describes.
I’d heard many good things about St Cuthbert’s so eagerly jumped on a
trip going in mid-January (just after my exams, conveniently). We were
to be a larger party, except Henry contracted COVID just before the trip
and Merryn dropped out because she wasn’t feeling well. That left just
me Haydon and Lucy, which worked out well in the end.
We got to the BEC hut where we met up with Estelle and Adrian. Adrian
was going to lead the trip while Estelle supervised. We changed swiftly
before stomping off to the entrance. I was very amused by the fact that
the cave had to essentially be “turned off” before we could enter, owing
to the large plume of water gushing out at the bottom of the entrance
ladder. With the sluice gate closed and the water stopped we delved in.
The cave has a particularly interesting entrance rift that is far easier
to go down than come up. Particularly when you’re tired. The rift leads
to a series of passages and chambers connected by fixed ladders. We
descended to Mud Hall and from there went through Column Chamber to the
Boulder Chamber (very bouldery), which even has a mountain in it!
We then passed the Fingers and stopped at several incredibly pretty
chambers on our way to Gour Hall. To get there you have to climb over a
beehive and then haul yourself up a fixed chain. Gour Hall is stunning,
it contains the country’s largest recorded gour pool as well as many
others stepped down a long chamber.
Gour Hall. St Cuthberts. Photo copyright Mark Burkey and used with his kind permission. We then went back via Plantation Junction
until we reached the Lower Boulder Chamber. From there we had the time
to go past the Sentry to the Water Chute, which was a very fun climb,
even if I did slip quite a bit on the way up.
We then evacuated up the numerous fixed ladders to the entrance rift
where I struggled at the top and spurted numerous profanities. Exiting
the entrance tube, it was a little scary to see how much the water level
in the feeding pond had risen by. The sluice gate was completely
submerged.
That aside, we changed quickly and then packed off to the Hunters. The
trip was brilliant! I am very thankful to Estelle and Adrian for taking
us. St Cuthbert’s is stunning, I would highly recommend getting on a
trip there at some point in the future.
Zac Woodford
CCC LTD NEWS
AGE LIMITS LOWERED FOR VISITING CAVERS
Following discussions with
landowner Somerset Wildlife Trust and Natural England, Charterhouse
Caving Company Ltd (of which UBSS is a member) has announced that the
age limit for visiting cavers has been lowered from 16 to 12, with
immediate effect.
A Parental Waiver will still be required for all cavers under the age of
18. Copies of this can be found on the CCC Ltd website. The
Safeguarding Guidelines on the website must be followed and any party
with cavers under the age of 18 will need to contain two adults. All
cavers under the age of 18 need to hold BCA insurance. BCA membership is
currently free for under 18s.
Novices must not be introduced to caving in CCC Ltd caves, and that
requirement has not changed with the reduction of the age limit.
Natural England flagged up the possibility that younger children might
be more excitable underground with a greater tendency to shine lights at
anything of interest, including bats, and so they have stressed the
need to educate younger cavers about the importance of not disturbing
bats. A short guide to some things to bear in mind when encountering
bats underground was included in our November newsletter.
Fallen block with rogue bolt still in place. Photo by Andrew Atkinson. At the request of CCC Ltd, CSCC
Equipment Officer Andrew Atkinson visited the cave with the support of
Sioned Haughton to check this out the day after the report was received.
One of the rogue bolts placed without permission last year appears to
have caused instability in a section of rock, which has now been made
safe by Andrew. The fallen block, with the bolt still in place, was
found in the gully between the first and second pitches and was dealt
with.
Please note that no bolts or other fixed aids are to be placed in any
CCC Ltd controlled caves without express permission of the company, as
any such must be carefully considered with regard to both conservation
and safety, Please also note that the Right Hand Route in the cave has
always presented a greater level of technical difficulty and should only
be undertaken by cavers with a suitable level of SRT experience.
PIRATE RED PANDA READ TO THE END ... DID YOU?
Image from www.freepik.com And the winners of a bowl of
porridge from last month for letting the family of bears know they'd
reached the end were ... drum roll ... Jan Walker and Guy Maalouf!
Congratulations, and we hope to hear from you both again!
- I can’t think of a punishment strong enough for the vandals! The
trip reports had me giggling throughout. Great newsletter. [Jan Walker]
- Happy New Year! May we all get stuck in a cave and be rescued by fire engines! 🙌 [Guy Maalouf]
- Good as always. I must do a return trip to Padirac some
time soon. We watched The Rescue yesterday evening - brilliant! Happy
New Year! [Carol Walford]
- ...and I want to go to Padirac. [Hans Friederich]
- Great photos, especially of Padirac. No witty comment to offer: just happy new year to all. [Chris Howes]
- Of course me and the blessed FT Bear got to the end! Spiffing
newsletter. I enjoyed the review of The Rescue and remembered what a fab
time I'd had at the gert big 'ole some years back. [Sharon Wheeler]
- I read to the end! Loved Dick's comment about CHECC being an alternative to just driving north to get shitfaced 😋Thanks for another great newsletter! [Kat Osei-Mensah]
- Read it. Padirac, 103m… Pah, chickenfeed. Xiaozhai Tiankeng
in China is over 600m deep with a 2,800-step staircase, that’ll make
you sweat. The track was pretty interesting when we first went down. A
river crosses the base of the doline and the upstream section has never
been fully explored from the sink (The Great Crack). There’s a bit in
the middle of about 500m that hasn’t been traversed. It’s a tad damp and
noisy though, Padirac is probably a bit calmer. [Dick Willis]
- A happy 2022 from the snows of Scotland….(although some even do a
“loony dook” here too!) I am pleased traditions of UBSS continue!
[Eve Gilmore]
- I read to the end! Better late than never! I think an 8:45
release might still be early for some students on their Christmas
holidays.... [Imogen Clement]
