Category: 2015

20th June 2015: A personal account of the trip.

With Alan Gray, Nick Harding and Doug Harris (all Axbridge Caving Group members).

The ACG team were already underground when I arrived at 10:00 although AG appeared to carry some kit to the T Junction for me. The wire was also at the junction so that saved me having to go and get it. I took two bags of kit up into Upper Glebe to open the Barn Door while the others went digging in the lower end. I didn’t particularly rush as it is a bit awkward in places especially up through the blasted slot. I arrived at my place of work where there was room to lay out all the kit and quickly set about drilling five holes – 2 each into the slabs either side of the Barn Door and one in the nose of the keystone itself – used the 400mm drill bit to extend the holes on either side and fully discharged the batteries. Holes charged and wire laid out to the downside of the blasted slot I went down to the team in Lower Glebe. After a bit of scratching around there AG and myself went back to Upper Glebe, DH and NH remained at the junction. After the bang a satisfying rumble of falling rock and I suspect the Barn Door is now open. We all exited the cave and I think a return will be made on Thursday to look at the results. I even made it to the Hunter’s to meet up with the Hallowe’en team – marvellous!

13th June 2015: A personal account of today’s trip over to Hutton.

With Alan Gray and Nick Harding (Axbridge Caving Group diggers).

A break from the usual Saturday routine of digging Hallowe’en Rift,
nr. Wookey hole to help out over at Upper Canada Cave (UCC). They had
asked if I could look at a few rocks preventing access to a further
extension to the newly discovered ‘Paddock’ in Upper Glebe Passage and
to apply some chemical persuasion to a large boulder hampering progress
in Lower Glebe Passage. After a chat with the landowner, Bernard, we
changed and made our way underground.

We quickly made our way
through UCC to the junction at the end of The Field where it leads into
Glebe Passage. I left the drill and other kit here and collected some
tools and we headed into Upper Glebe. Up through the slot where I had
previously some applied chemical persuasion to enter the Paddock,
apparently I was the fifth person to see it. Got to the constriction –
the Barn Door – where with a little judicious prodding with the bar it
was obvious that a more considered approach at a distance from the quite
loose roof slabs would be more appropriate. The Barn Door is in fact a
keystone holding a number of large fractured boulders and rock in place,
this was clear when I slightly moved it and rocks around it also moved.
We moved back and I will revisit the site soon with the necessary
materials and kit. I then joined Alan who was poking at a another spot
to see if there was a way to by-pass the Barn Door and gain access to
the space beyond. Alan went back to get a hammer while I tried to shift a
number a rock blocking a squeeze through. when the hammer arrived I was
able to take the ‘nose’ of a boulder and with some effort and a lot of
wiggling I eventually got the rock out of the way, some gardening and it
was just about possible to get through. Unfortunately a slab of rock to
one side of squeeze prevented the tight and committing corkscrew move
to get into the space beyond. There was also the stack of precarious
looking rocks that formed one side of the move. Discretion being the
better part of valour we decided to revert to our original prognosis and
remove the Barn Door. Alan and Nick remained to take some photographs
while I made my way to Lower Glebe.

Picked up the wire on the way
down, soon arrived at the junction where I left the tools and collected
my two tackle bags and headed down to the dig. When I got there the
boulder barring progress was obvious and I set about drilling the holes,
Nick and Alan arrived just as I had completed the drilling. Nick had to
leave due to a prior arrangement and took the drill out with him. I
proceeded to charge the holes, connected up and Alan laid out the wire
to a safe distance. After a successful and satisfying conclusion to the
mission and it was time to exit the cave. Unfortunately it was now too
late to make the Hunter’s and meet up with the Hallowe’en Team.

A enjoyable morning and will try and arrange something for next Saturday and a return to the quest to open the Barn Door.

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.

Early-purple orchids (Orchis mascula) in the wood above Hallowe’en Rift. A widespread and locally common orchid of woodland, scrub and grassland, especially on neutral or calcareous soils.

Paris quadrifolia (Latin); the common names are herb paris,
true lover’s knot, devil-in-a-bush (English); cwlwm cariad (Welsh). All
parts are poisonous. Photographed in Harptree Combe. It doesn’t always
have paired [or four] leaves.

Spent the morning at Priddy Circles with Adam Stanford of Aerial-Cam taking a photographic record using a quad-copter. Just fantastic to see it work and the resulting images!

In Blackrock, Cheddar a squirrel torments the dog while we were out for a walk on Easter Monday.

It took three of us most of the day to clean the long section and to hoe the surface clean ready for photographs. This appears to be a filled natural depression, possibly a sinkhole in the chalk, there is a considerable area of burnt clay, some scant pot sherds and some worked flints. Location is in Dorset, Scales are 3 x 2 metres.

Another sinkhole collapse has appeared close to Priddy Circle No. 1 at NGR ST 53813 52569 (hand held GPS: accuracy 7m). The opening is c.0.6m x 0.5m and 0.7m deep, it appears to ‘bell out’ below ground surface. The collapse is situated in a depression that has been back-filled sometime in the past and is on the west side of Priddy Circle No.1.

Recently excavated this curious crescent shaped group of features associated with a circular group of pits suggested to be a henge. The group is inside the larger group of pits on the NW side and might represent some kind of screen (?) to entry from that side into the henge (?). Located in Dorset, geology is chalk.

This viaduct in Ham Woods near Shepton Mallet used to carry the Somerset and Dorset railway track over the valley. Also used to be a good place for bridge jumping!

An interesting conundrum this one. Which comes first?

A ‘V’ shaped ditch aligned c.NE<>SW with associated pit to the NW and another ditch on the SE side. Hopefully all will become clear as recording proceeds! Geology is Clay-with-Flint Formation overlying Chalk. Scales are 1 metre.