Short Gill

Tim D,  Jason

As I drove up Barbondale, avoiding the loitering sheep, I could see another car a mile or so ahead, and wondered if it was Tim.  Indeed it was, but I was surprised that no-one else had turned up.  Probably exhausted by the Welsh mines a few days before?

We were fortunate with the weather, hitting a dry window between spells of heavy rain – fresh foam on some of the passage roofs attested to the fact that it gets very wet at times.

It lives up to its name, as we were underground less than two hours, but it has plenty of variety – some crawling, some walking, some interesting climbs (“Not as bad as it looks” was the reassuring message several times) and some pleasantly splashy sections.  There are even some attractive formations.  There’s only one snug section, mercifully short, and not really tight, just needing a little care to negotiate.  At several points, it looks like the sump has been reached, only to find a way past, until we reached what was unquestionably the final sump.

Tim suggested I lead out, to familiarise myself with the route.  I did so by finding practically every wrong turning I could, including one which led through an extra aqueous section – we didn’t follow it up, but it looked like it went – somewhere…

We were out soon enough, found an unnecessarily difficult climb out of the gill, then a hurried change to escape the ravages of the midges.  A fun trip, much recommended!