Illusion Pot

Armed with sump pumping equipment we set off up the track to Illusion Pot. Most of us having been before some years ago and most managing to have blanked out the memory of the steep climb up the hill side when leaving the track. We caught a bit of the sunset as we climbed into the posh concrete pipe entrance for the ladder climb down.

With hardly any water in the streamway we plodded on through the stoops and muddy crawls and soon found ourselves at the sump.

Despite there being sufficient air space in the sump we commenced pumping operations immediately.

With considerable teamwork the Amazon special pump and hose was soon rigged to Tom’s battery drill and set to work. Various modifications were made to hose lengths, pump prime, height of suction hose, height of the delivery hose etc..etc…… Maz even provided manual assistance by giving the delivery end a good old suck….
The level in the sump remained unchanged throughout all our efforts until we gave up and Ami just went for it. She gave an encouraging running commentary along the way and was soon followed by Maz, Scott, Rubee and Tom.

I remained on the dry side of the sump to recover from my Man Flu earlier in the week and tidy the pumping equipment away.
When boredom overcame me I started bailing the sump with a bucket and decided it was far easier than carting all the other stuff down. Approximately 10 minutes with One bucket seemed to lower it about 3″ to 4″. By the time the rest returned it was noticeably lower.

The wet team had a good explore of the other side, with some crossing the traverse at the Dale head end. I think a consensus on equipment was cows tails and maybe a hand jammer for the climb back up, but I’m sure someone will correct me.

We made our way out with around 30m of old hose from other sump pumping attempts and left an original pump and hose down there. A garden hose/screwed tap connector would be all that’s required to connect the old pump up, but after our experience I would suggest it’s not worth lugging a battery drill down and just use the buckets!

We were soon out to a star filled sky after 2 1/2 hours underground. A bit of grass sledging down the hillside back to the track resulted in some success but mostly just bruises!

Whilst cleaning my kit off the day after I tried the pump under laboratory conditions and found it to be totally useless and not worth anywhere near the £5.99 investment. The hose was cleaned off to be re-used in future garden pond features at Rubee and Tom’s new house.