Welcome
to our October monthly newsletter! It's been a busy first term for
caving following a successful Welcome Fair on the Downs and you'll be
hearing from some of our new members about their early experience of the
club's famous social events as well as the first couple of weekends
actually getting underground.
Our centenary symposium is almost here, with 9th November only just over
a week away! There are still places left on the symposium, so to
register and book you place, please follow the links below.
And please keep contributions to the newsletter coming! They can be as
short or long as you like, so if you have anything for future
newsletters, please let me know. And don't forget to send us some Memories for the 100 Memories project.
Back issues of this newsletter can be found here.
Linda Wilson
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BONFIRE WEEKEND AT THE HUT - 2nd/3rd NOVEMBER
It's not too late to sign up for
this coming weekend! Our Hon Sec Henry needs to know today if you're
hoping to come along. Henry will explain why you should come along....
It's a great opportunity to get underground, but also provides an excuse
for plenty of non-caving fun. Everyone is welcome, no matter how long
you have or haven't been in the society!
Reasons to come:
Caving!
A spit-roasted lamb! (+ Vegetable lamb)
Beer. We'll get a barrel of Butcombe from down the road to have at the hut.
A big fire.
Fireworks.
We'll be meeting at the Union for 9:00 on Saturday morning, before
driving out to the hut for full day of caving, eating, drinking and
bonfire-ing.
Sunday will bring more caving, before heading back to Bristol.
Food will be provided for dinner on Saturday night and breakfast on
Sunday morning. The weekend should cost around £20 for those not
driving (possibly a bit more depending on how much beer you drink). This
includes the food, hut fees, kit hire and transport. We'll provide a
bunk in the hut for the night, you'll just need to bring a sleeping bag
(Though we have some to lend - let me know if you need one).
If you haven't done already, please fill out this form today if you're hoping to come!
Henry Morgan
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 There are still places available for the symposium and for the field trips, so please check out our webpage, which has details of everything on offer!
To book your place, please email Linda.
And do take a look at the list of available field trips as there are
still a few trips that haven't yet been filled. Please note that for the
trips to Shute Shelve Cavern, GB and Grebe Swallet you will need to
have done a minimum of four caving trips.
Poster presentations are very welcome, and there is a £50 prize for the
best student poster. Submissions should be in some way related to the
UBSS story, including caving, cave science and archaeology.
We hope to see as many of you as possible on 9th November!
Linda Wilson, Gina Moseley, Andy Farrant and David Richards
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NEW CLUB CLOTHING!
Thanks to the ever wonderful Ashley
Gregg, we now have some stylish club clothing coming before the end of
the centenary year, proving that we can faff for a long time but still
get the job done eventually!
This also provided our esteemed president with a good opportunity to
show off her Germanic Philology studies and it's the first time we've
ever had a discussion about runes on the committee email list! There
will be a prize for anyone (committee members and anyone who was part of
those discussions aren't eligible, so no cheating!) who can identify
the type of runes used! So contact me if you think you know.
And Ash wants to know your clothing choices on or before 3rd November so
please get your skates on and don't miss this opportunity, so over to
Ash....
I'm sure you will all be excited about some
new stylish UBSS clothing to help keep you warm this winter. As you are
probably aware by now this year marks 100 years of UBSS caving (and
faffing), hence the "100" design to go on the back of shirts and
hoodies. The runes state "One Hundred Years of Faff". The UBSS Crest
will be embroidered on the front breast of the garments. Hopefully the
pictures give you a good idea!
If you are interested in purchasing an item (or two or several) then
please fill in the following order form. It's fine if you don't want to
include an email, it may just take slightly longer to get your item to
you. The cut off for orders will be after the Bonfire Weekend (3rd
November). Sizes (with measurements) and colours are available following the relevant links in the order form.
At the moment the default print colour is white, but if people want
black print instead then this is possible - please indicate on the form.
If you're happy with everything then please pay me, preferably by online
bank transfer - make sure to include your name in the reference!
The details are: A Gregg, sort code:16-33-11 and account number:10190596
(NB if you have transferred money to me before this is a new, different
account). If you don't use online banking you can go into your bank and
request a transfer the old fashioned way, or pay by cash at the
Symposium/pub.
Any requests for other garments let me know and I'll see what I can do - but no promises! Yay caving!
Ash
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WELCOME SOCIALS AND CAVING
One of the groups at the Hut before caving
in the shiny new oversuits and other kit paid for by the club and the
Oliver Lloyd Memorial Fund following the recent re-equipping of the
tackle store by Lauren Manton and Hellie Adams. Henry and Ash are
pictured here in company with Sam, Dan, Imogen, Elliot, Megan and Roman.
Henry and Jenny put in a lot or
work to make the welcome social events and the first two weekends of
caving a great success. New members Mia Jacobs and Merryn Matthews have
provided an account of what's been going on...
Chilli night
This years’ caving got off to a spicy
start. After an exciting wait to enter the Stables, we mingled over
tonnes of dark chocolate chilli whilst looking at pictures of miserable
people in caves. We can surely say that the highlight of the night was
the caving folk music, which gripped the hearts of many.
The freshers were excited to discover free alcoholic delights which
kicked off the games. Big feet stood upon big feet upon tiny pan,
surrounded by tiny sling – it was an intimate way to get to know each
other! More bruises occurred when the night moved on to table traversing
and body traversing. It got competitive when prizes were announced -
top class caving books and backup lights. We don’t remember much else
but we think we squeezed through chairs (or failed to) in attempt to
reach shots of water. Yum.
Pub Crawl
Pre-lash Goulash was served at the Stables,
alongside apple pie and baguettes. Delicious! Henry strapped us
together with slings, ropes and belts before we embarked on our pub
journey.
The first pub was a student favourite, the White Bear. After the
challenge of finding chairs and drinks whilst connected, without
destroying the pub, we learnt that a break in the chain resulted in
shots. Next, we ventured to the Cotham arms selling tasty rhubarb beer
where we delighted in a quick game of Cards Against Humanity.
The final pub was a classic Spoons trip; some other cavers had joined us
at this point and the weakest links went off home. More beer. A
club was suggested, Lola Los: the ceilings are low, people danced, and
it got hot. Ended up with a wine glass and left feeling exhausted. A
good night.
Mendip Caving
Alec, Nathan, Mia, Merryn and Zac. Photo by Jenny Rodgers.
At long last, the Mendips! After a 30
minute drive, which comprised of napping for many, and arguing about the
plot of Ice Age for some, we arrived to the much loved UBSS hut. The
group split into two: the lumberjacks VS the keen freshers. An exciting
combo of a quick slither down Sidcot Swallet, to see the beautiful duck
colony, and Goatchurch cavern. Lobster Pot proved to be a tricky for
many but all survived. Two lucky freshers got to experience the fun that
is Pierre’s slot, and it didn’t even put them off!
Beer had never tasted better after giving birth to ourselves over and
over again though the muddy rocks to be greeted by an already lit
bonfire. The night started early at 5pm and entailed thrilling music
(Henry’s amazing playlist followed by Queen and Taylor Swift – over and
over and over again)!
The highlight of the night was when Darude’s Sandstorm echoed through
the forest as we faced the challenge of the squeeze machine (and had it
loosened when it got to our bums). Some impressive feats of endurance
were displayed in both the squeeze machine and the ladder – but most of
all, the nonstop dancing.
Henry with Mia and Alec after caving. Oops, the new kit isn't quite so shiny now. Photo by Jenny.
On Sunday morning we woke to the sound of
Sioned, the bringer of tea and caves. A hearty fried breakfast lead to
us getting psyched for some more damp fun. A group headed to Rods
and others to the rapids of Swildons upper series. Swildons was a good
sporting trip that included a changing room (!!!) and built in kit
washer, we are excited to visit when less hungover and ill. The squad
set off back to Bristol after some key issues, followed by the option of
a pub trip. It was an epic time.
Mia Jacobs and Merryn Matthews
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Caving in South Wales
Caving in OFD. Merryn, Sam, Jenny, Henry and Ash. Photo by Duncan Hine.
The second trip of the new caving year was over the bridge to South Wales. New member Sam Bowers takes up the story...
To say that the South Wales weekend got off to a fun start would
certainly be an understatement. We arrived at 10pm on the Friday and in
classic UBSS style immediately began a party. With myself, DJ Fresh, on
the decks the lounge area was soon bouncing! The night, however, swiftly
went downhill from there culminating in one very drunk DJ spending the
night curled up in a sleeping bag on the bathroom floor.
The next morning, following hearty breakfast of hash browns and bacon,
UBSS split into two groups and went off to cave in the upper and lower
series of Ogof Ffynnon Ddu. One group made up of Jenny, Henry, Ash,
Duncan, Merryn and I, chose the significantly wetter option and embarked
through the lower entrance and into the streamway that ran down the
hill.
Although it was wet, and we were soon soaking, we enjoyed a brilliant
trip through roundabout chamber and across the edge of a rather
treacherous ravine with the help of our cows tails. We returned to the
SWCC achy and ready for a nap and while some chose to doze by the fire, a
few, keener, people went back out to explore Cwm Dwr.
That evening saw a delicious dinner of spaghetti bolognese, expertly
cooked by our resident chef, Duncan. Following dinner, we were soon back
in the lounge enjoying revolting Tesco’s own brand whisky and
attempting to teach Si how to perfect the worm. I was very honoured to
be appointed worm secretary and am currently working on a secret project
to be unveiled. The night ended with some customary body traversing
before almost all of us decided to retire to bed (Mia enjoyed a night
passed out on the sofa).
More South Wales caving. Photo by Duncan Hine.
Sunday followed with yet more caving this
time in Cwm Dwr, which was a considerably smaller distance from the hut.
To say it was a bit of a squeeze would again be an understatement as we
forced our way through the crawl with the assistance of our worm
training from the previous evening. Following the struggle through the
wet and muddy crawl we soon found ourselves in a series beautiful
caverns filled with stunning formation of stalactites and straws.
Although the boulder choke was ultimately too much for Ash’s navigation
skills, Cwm Dwr was another very enjoyable cave and one that I’m sure
many of us will return to in the future.
When we got back to the hut there was a bit of clearing up to do before
we promptly hit the road back to Bristol and were soon enjoying a spoons
meal to celebrate a weekend of great caving in South Wales.
Sam Bowers
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They
all look so happy in those photos above, don't they? But it's time to
remember that there's an unsung hero/heroine inside every shiny new or
grubby old oversuit... and in this letter to its owner, an unnamed
caver’s body lays bare the torture it must endure trip in, trip out.
Dear cruel owner,
All right, we need to talk. I know you think we’re a team, and that my
sole purpose in life is to help you cave as hard as you can, for as long
as you can, but this whole horrific arrangement is a bit one-sided, if
you ask me. (Which you never do. Hence this letter.)
For a start, you get to enjoy all the stories in the pub after throwing
me down, along, up, over and around these barbaric underground obstacle
courses, but it’s me who has to take the pain. Not to mention the mud.
Who even thought this would be a good idea in the first place? Sadists,
that’s who. Sadists and philistines. And nobody ever stops to say ‘good
job, body!’ It’s always about you.
Sometimes I look at other people’s bodies, ones that get to sit around
all day, and I weep. Other people’s bodies look so happy and relaxed.
I’m so stringy, hard and sore. Why can’t you let me be like them? Why
can’t we just sit around for a bit, eat some snacks, maybe watch some
Game of Thrones?
I know you love being a caver. You love it so much and that’s great.
But, you know, some people love chips. That doesn’t mean they go to a
chip shop and eat chips until they feel like they’re going to die.
There’s a happy medium inhabited by both chip and caving enthusiasts the
world over, and that’s a happy medium I think we need to locate,
pronto.
I try and let you know that things can’t go on like this, but you don’t
listen. When you’re trying to get to sleep but you’re kept awake by the
aching in your legs and shoulders; when you get out of bed in the
morning and see bruises in places you didn't even know could bruise;
when you’re walking to the shops and feel that pain in your knees:
that’s me, telling you I could do with a holiday. Preferably somewhere
flat, where it isn’t dark all the time, where caving is banned and
everyone is happy.
I’ve done this for years. Each trip more bone-crunching, muscle-aching
and back-breaking than the last. And yeah, we’ve done some cool stuff in
our time. The kind of stuff most bodies couldn’t even contemplate. I
can’t even contemplate it. Sometimes we’ll be in the middle of one of
these ridiculous moments and I’ll start contemplating it, and then I
realise I can’t, because it’s too absurd.
But then we get to the end of the trip and, more often than not, we’ll
have done pretty well for ourselves. And for a moment there, between the
all-encompassing ‘I think I might actually die’ sensation fading away
and the aches and pains setting in, that brief moment where we don’t
have to do anything but recover and bask in the glory of our teamwork, I
get it. I see how happy it makes you. And as much as I grumble, I know
you won’t quit until I quit for you.
So for pity’s sake, if you want to keep me on side, a ‘thank you’ every
now and then wouldn’t go amiss. Nor would that holiday. Let’s get a
couple of massages a week, too. And if you get the Netflix subscription,
I'll get the snacks.
Sincerely, in resolute discomfort and unyielding agony,
Your body
Anon.
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SRT TRAINING
Janine Alexander at SRT training in the stairwell of the Richmond Building, home of the Students' Union.
Rosie Daniels is our new SRT training guru!
Rosie reports that a successful first session has now been held with
four new members getting to grips with the basics of single rope
techniques.
To book a place on a future session, please contact Rosie asap!
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100 YEARS: Oral History, Heritage and Identity
The UBSS in Ballynalackan Hotel, Co Clare,
circa1953. From left to right: (unknown), Trat, Harding Jenkins,
(unknown), Terry Piercy, Angus Watkins, Mike Balister. Photo by Geoff
Fuller. If anyone can provide names for our two unknowns here, please let us know.
The first phase of our oral history
project has been successfully completed and we are now working on the
second phase of getting the transcripts ready for a wider audience. Andy
Flack talks about the work so far...
As most of you will (hopefully!) know, 2019
is UBSS’ centenary year. Over the course of the summer, I, along with
two postgraduate project students, Nick Stromberg and Lena Ferriday,
have undertaken a series of oral history interviews with some of the
Society’s longest-standing members.
Oral histories are, in my view, less about ‘what happened’, and much
more about how people remember and what they feel about the people and
places that have stuck with them. Capturing this kind of historical
information is vital, especially in an organisation such as UBSS, which
has such a potent mix of long-standing members (embodied memory of the
organisation, if you like) and more transient participants.
The project – ‘Travels Beneath the Earth: 100 Years of the UBSS’ – has
now captured in perpetuity a vast array of stories and memories, all of
which can be used to tell a richer, more personal history of the Society
that emphasises relationships, personalities and experiences of
travelling into the darkness below.
It has become clear through these personal testimonies of the importance
of particular personalities – such as Oliver Lloyd and ‘Trat’ and his
‘Tratmobile’ – both of whom became guides and mentors well beyond the
immediate context of caves themselves. Other interviewees spoke of the
influence of places such as the infamous Hut and the stores in the
Geography Department, and the importance of local caves, such as GB Cave
and Goatchurch Cavern, both of which appear as formative places in many
of the testimonies collected.
We also managed to capture the memories of the Society’s oldest
surviving member, Desmond Donovan. Beyond that, though, it also became
clear that cavers had, and continue to have, diverse kinds of
relationships with the underground. Many participants spoke of the
feelings of peace, awe, and exhilaration underground, the excitement of
uncovering new passages, as well as, in some cases, the fear and
trepidation that the unexpected might provoke.
Now that we have started the process of preserving the institutional
memory of such an historic society, it is vital that younger members
take up the mantle of building that resource. It is only through the
preservation of identity in ways like this that the UBSS can look
forward to the next hundred years with one foot firmly planted in the
inspiring dark underground passages of the past.
Dr Andy Flack
Lecturer in Modern and Environmental History
University of Bristol
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100 MEMORIES - THE PREZZ AS A FRESHER
The First Waterfall in White Scar Caves. A photo from Elaine's early trips in Yorkshire.
As part of our 100 Memories project, UBSS president, Elaine Oliver takes a look at her early days as a caver...
This memory is from quite a while before I
ever became a member of UBSS – almost three years before, in fact. Back
in 2010, I was a fresh-faced undergraduate who'd just noticed the caving
club stand at my university's freshers' fair. I was intrigued and the
members seemed friendly, so it was off to a couple of pub meets and then
I signed up to my first trip.
This was a mysterious entity called "CHECC", but nobody from the club
was actually going - they'd decided to spend the weekend at nearby
Bullpot Farm instead. But Alex, an UBSS member who had just moved to
Cambridge, was going to CHECC and agreed to take me. One of my friends
from secondary school had also joined UBSS and would be in attendance,
so he agreed to reserve a space in his tent for me. With transport and
accommodation sorted, I was ready to become a caver!
This was "the CHECC with the marmite t-shirt"; the one where the
campers' gas canisters refused to work because the gas had got too cold
and started to gel. On arrival, with temperatures already dipping below
zero before the night had even got going, I quickly abandoned the idea
of sharing Ryan's tent and moved into the UBSS cabin, where I found a
space for my sleeping bag on a tabletop and a lot of enthusiastic people
fully painted up and dressed as Mr Men characters. Partying ensued.
The next day, I found Alex and we hitched a lift up to Leck Fell with
the Reading minibus; our destination for the day being Notts II. I
climbed carefully down the engineered shaft, splashed along the
streamway, admired the beautifully striped curtains, before emerging
back onto the fell thrilled to have completed my first proper caving
trip. It didn't matter that my oversuit had frozen stiff by the time we
reached the minibus - I already knew this was a sport I would be
returning to.
Back at base, the evening's games were in full swing. As I had no
partner from my own club, Ryan joined up with me to form a school team.
We made valiant efforts at squeezing, fell off the pan too many times
and progressed reasonably well in the beer pong (I recall having to
borrow beverages off others, and rather than six cups of something
reasonable, we ended up with a glass of ale, a glass of cider, a glass
of red wine, a glass of white wine, a glass of Guinness and a glass of
port) but ultimately lost the final to another club. The night was
rounded off dancing on tabletops and huddling around the hobs next to
Alice, Cat and Adam, doing our best to warm our hands.
White Scar Cave, Yorkshire. Another of Elaine's early photos.
The next day dawned white, and after
receiving a prize of a calendar for being my club's sole delegate, my
new UBSS mates and I decided that due to the combination of hangovers
and exciting driving conditions, White Scar would be the pinnacle of our
caving achievements that day. Afterwards, trying to reach Bullpot Farm
to exchange cavers and kit for the drive back south, Alex decided to
abandon the mission before we even got onto the track: in hindsight a
sensible idea, because his was the only car to make it back to Cambridge
that evening.
Elaine Oliver
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MUSEUM NEWS - GUEST BLOG
Aveline's Hole, Burrington Combe, the cave that gave birth to the UBSS.
Tom Booth, a researcher at the
Francis Crick Institute and one of the authors of the recent paper in
Proceedings that shed new light on the prehistoric use of Aveline's
Hole, talks about some of the new advances in DNA studies...
Ten years is a long time in ancient DNA. Advances in DNA sequencing
technology have meant that studies of DNA extracted from the remains of
ancient organisms have become much more viable. Rather than having to
target informative but small parts of an organism’s genome, new DNA
sequencing technologies allow us to obtain DNA sequences distributed
across an organism’s entire genome, providing incredibly rich data that
can be used to produce fresh insights into prehistory and evolution of
both humans and non-human animals.
These technological leaps forward have meant that archives which contain
the remains of ancient organisms have taken on a renewed relevance.
This is particularly true of ancient remains from caves. Through time,
caves have often acted as natural traps for animals as well as places
where human species lived and sometimes disposed of their dead. Caves
also maintain a constant cool environment, ideal for preserving DNA.
Caves can therefore provide a bonanza of ancient bones, rich in DNA, and
distributed over large, sometimes continuous time transects. These
assemblages are potent seams of data which allow molecular biologists to
track the evolution and development of human and non-human animal
populations in real time.
However, context is everything in archaeology, and we can only realise
the full potential of genetic data extracted from caved archives if they
are well curated by organisations like the University of Bristol
Spelaeological Society (UBSS). This point became particularly apparent
during recent analysis of the UBSS assemblage of human remains from the
cave site of Aveline’s Hole in the Mendip Hills.
This site represents the largest assemblage of human remains dating to
the British Mesolithic (‘Middle Stone Age’ – 9600-4000 BC and is
generally regarded to be Britain’s oldest cemetery. Analysis of DNA from
these remains contributed to a recent study found that the
development of Neolithic (‘New Stone Age’) farming practices in Britain
around 4000 BC was influenced by migrations of established farmers from
continental Europe, helping to resolve an age-old archaeological debate.
Radiocarbon dating of several human bones from the Aveline’s Hole
assemblage undertaken as part of this research found unexpectedly that
some of the people interred in Aveline’s Hole died in the Neolithic
period, rather than during the Mesolithic. This was incredibly important
to the study of genetic change in Neolithic Britain, as it meant that
we had samples from the same site which sat on either side of the
Neolithic ‘transition’ and replicated our broader results.
We could not have conducted this research without UBSS having so
carefully curated the Aveline’s Hole assemblage over several decades. In
particular we would not have obtained such a secure result from a
single site without the UBSS’s detailed archival information proving
that the Neolithic bones from Aveline’s Hole could not have come from
any other site. As methods of ancient DNA analysis continue to progress
and other biomolecular techniques mature (e.g. ancient proteins), the
careful curation of cave ‘bioarchives’ will become increasingly
important.
Dr. Tom Booth
Senior Research Scientist
Pontus Skoglund Laboratory
The Francis Crick Institute
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100 MEMORIES - YOGURT WARS, COURTSHIP UBSS STYLE
The Bridge in GB. Photo courtesy of Peter Glanvill.
Eve Gilmore continues the entertaining stories of courtship under the auspices of the caving club.
I started caving in 1965, in my Fresher
year at Bristol University (Geography Department). Towards the end of my
first year I met a very rude young man who was a much "harder" caver
than me called Chris. He had the audacity to throw yogurt in my face as I
continued talking and laughing after he had asked me to be quiet, in
the speleo rooms....as apparently he had a hangover.
A few weeks later I was mortified to have to ask him to help me out of
the entrance to GB cave...which at the time was rather tight. He
remarked that I "obviously had good child bearing hips" which was why I
was stuck....Not at all PC I think. Oliver Lloyd (OCL) was present at
the time and was very amused!
Chris and I are due to celebrate our Golden Wedding anniversary next year!
Eve Gilmore (nee Wheeler)
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CAVES OF MID-WEST CLARE LAUNCHES AT SUICRO SYMPOSIUM IN LEITRIM
Our Hon. Treasurer, Graham Mullan, getting ready to start running his fingers through the incoming dosh.
Fifteen years after the launch of
Caves of County Clare and South Galway at the Speleological Union of
Ireland's annual symposium in Carrick on Shannon in Leitrim, the UBSS
returned to the county for the launch of the society's new guidebook as
Linda Wilson reports...
Last Thursday afternoon, Graham and I
loaded the back of our Volvo with 25 boxes of the newly delivered book,
hot off the press from India, via an unfortunate but mercifully brief
stay in customs whilst awaiting a code number from the Inland Revenue,
which said problem Graham solved in a typically inventive UBSS
fudge. So with the books taking up most of the room in the car, we
headed off to Pembroke and the ferry.
After a relaxed afternoon and evening in the bar after our arrival in
Leitrim village where we allowed anticipation levels to mount on the run
up the Launch day, we finally allowed people to start buying books
after breakfast. Graham dealt with a steady stream of buyers throughout
the day, while Tony Boycott and I headed off for a walk to the Caves of
Keish.
By the time evening came round, Graham had already sold several boxes.
He then said a few words about the book at the start of the evening
talks and by then the book was well and truly launched! In the course of
Saturday and Sunday, we sold 58 books at the special symposium price of
£15 or 17.50 Euros. We're very grateful to both SUI and Ailwee Caves
Ltd for their financial support of the book, and huge thanks are due to
everyone who has worked on this project over the last few years!
The UK launch will take place at 4pm at the Symposium on 9th November
where the book will also be available at the special conference price of
£15, which is the rate the book sells for to members. The full price is
£20. We are able to take card payments as well as cash, so there are no
excuses for not getting your copy next Saturday so you can avoid
postage costs!
Graham has put a massive amount of work into the edition and production
of the book and I think he was very happy to see how well it was
received at SUICRO!
Linda Wilson
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4G IN BURRINGTON
Maxime in Rod's Pot. Photo by Mark Tringham.
The title refers to generations of
Tringham cavers rather than mobile phones! Here Mark Tringham talks
about his family's relationship with the caves in Burrington spanning
nearly nine decades...
My Dad had a scout trip in late 1930s to Charterhouse, I and two of my
brothers spent many a spare day caving in the Mendips in 1960s and 70s
and then my two sons Matthew and Nicholas, now aged in their 30s, did
quite a bit of caving too. So it was with a strong sense of ‘deja vus’
that in late August this year I brought my grandson Maxime aged seven to
stay at the UBSS Hut with me and explore some Burrington caves. Maxime
had already enjoyed trips to Porth yr Ogof in South Wales and two trips
into Forest of Dean Iron Mines and so he has been building up quite a
bit of experience even though still a tender age.
After settling in at the hut we settled on a trip into Rods Pot which I
had been to recently during the Centenary BBQ weekend. This cave was my
own first real underground trip at age eight in 1962 when my older
brother Derek brought me here.
The only special provision this time with Maxime was to have a long
sling and a top rope available for reassurance and safety when
crawling around the potholes which can be quite scary and when climbing
down the slippery slope into the Main Chamber. Maxime appreciated this
and despite being a bit scared by the steep nature of the cave he
enjoyed everything to the full. We took a look down towards the Bear Pit
below the Main Chamber and reached a point where you can peer down more
or less to the deepest point without actually having to go there. Also
off from the Main Chamber I tried an ascending passage which goes off
from the left (west) side after a crawl, while Maxime waited below I
chimneyed up about 7m until a pinch point where I lost enthusiasm.
Celebratory photos were taken in the Main Chamber and how I wish we'd
had a camera with us in 1962 for comparison! On the way out when
assisting a youngster you really appreciate how steep this cave is with
so many short climbs and scrambles. Anyway after about two and a half
hours in the cave we completed all that we wanted and emerged into late
afternoon rain. For Maxime a cozy stay at the hut was all part of the
adventure with Grandpa. Hot food and chatting around the fire completed a
very memorable first day.
Maxime in Goatchurch. Photo by Mark Tringham.
With a second morning in front of us we had
plenty of time for a walk over to Goatchurch Cavern and see where we
could get to in there. I remember having many trips into Goatchurch with
school friends during my early teenage years before we ‘graduated’ onto
Swildons Hole and GB Cave, to name but a few Mendip favourites and I
think this was my first return to Goatchurch for at least 45 years! I
had forgotten how steep most of the passages are and also realised how
much more polished the rock and holds have become.
Maxime enjoyed seeing the formations along the Entrance Gallery and we
slithered on down the Giants Stairs to the lower levels in the cave. The
top rope came in useful again when we came to the Coffin Lid and quite
quickly we were in the Water Chamber and exploring around as far as the
Drainpipe and Hellish Tight. We took plenty of photos in the Water
Chamber and Maxime was chuffed to be the first of us to spot the small
stream in the upper part of the Water Chamber and wonder where it came
from and where it went to.
After a slippery struggle ascending again to the Boulder Chamber we had a
really good explore around further on and up (another name for Grandpa
getting lost!) towards the Coal Chute and Back Door. Fortunately another
party we met had put in a sling on the difficult slope leading up to
the Back Door which otherwise might have been too difficult with only
scant and polished holds available. So another caving trip for Maxime
was complete and his fascination has been further developed and his
technical ability grown in these two not easy Burrington caves. He wants
to come back for more and perhaps we’ll get to Swildons as well as
polishing off the other main Burrington caves.
Mark Tringham
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DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
22th - 24th November - CHECC.
Calling all students and recent graduates! The Council of Higher
Education Caving Clubs weekend is a great way to get to know students
from other clubs and do some caving in a different part of the country.
This years' event will be held at the Dolgaer Outdoors Centre in South
Wales. Tickets are £27, plus costs of food, booze and transport. More details will follow, but if you'd like to reserve a place, email Henry now!
13th - 15th December - Christmas trip to Yorkshire with Durham University Speleological Association (DUSA). Again, details to follow, but contact Henry now if you'd like to reserve a place early.
Date to be Confirmed - Xmas Dinner at the Hut.
31st December - New Year's Dinner at the Hut. A full
turkey dinner (and veggie alternative) with all the trimmings. Learn the
century old rituals and why the sun continues to rise on New Year's Day
and sing some caving songs. All welcome! Let Linda know if you're coming!
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