7th June 2015
With Paul Brock
Got an invite to go over and take a look at the very recent discoveries in this cave. the entrance is a descent by fixed ladder through concrete pipes and into a largely blasted passage with a number of fixed aids in the drops. The breakthrough point is a fine 80 foot pitch, rigged for SRT (single rope technique), in dolomitic conglomerate – it’s colourful. From the bottom of the pitch there follows a good deal of walking/stooping/crawling passage. At the the upstream end of an inlet I spent a while digging through a low, wet grovel in gravel and silt to enter a small chamber (c. 3m long x 2m high x 2m wide) that ended in another low grovel that I didn’t follow. We then proceeded to take a look at a couple of leads in a massive boulder collapse (has some similarities to a talus cone), I suggested that an accurate survey of the area would give a better idea of how to approach exploration here. We made our way back towards the pitch stopping on route to follow a longish gnarly passage where the quite considerable sound of falling water can be heard but not seen through a currently impenetrable slot, needs some chemical persuasion. We returned to the pitch and made our way out to the surface.
At the surface we were greeted by Tony Audsley, Chris Batstone, Slug, Alice and Caroline who had prepared tea and scones with jam and cream – very civilized. Tangent arrived on his bike, he was supposed to be joining us underground but was looking somewhat worse for wear. After getting changed and finishing tea we all made our way to the Queen Vic for more refreshment.
An enjoyable Sunday afternoon.
