It’s a Cracker

Tom, Ray, James, Paddy, Sophie

It’s fair to say that this little cracker was definitely not what we had in mind when we met for a hearty Inglesport breakfast. The plan was to pop down Meregill, a trip that had been eagerly anticipated since it appeared on the meets list back in February. So after breakfast, the five of us regrouped in the lay-by by the Hill Inn, kitted up and scampered (maybe scampered is pushing it?!) up the hill to the entrance. Tom rigged the first pitch and descended, with the rest of us keen to follow. But his head quickly appeared from the depths again and he reported that due to resent rainfall there was in fact more mere than gill and that under the circs it might be wise to reconsider the plan. There was some chat about using the alternative entrance but this would have meant splitting the team and we were keen to stick together.

What about an alternative… Hardrawkin? Too wet. Sunset? We do it a lot on a Wednesday night and the suggestion was met with limited enthusiasm. T Wife? Bit of a trek. How about heading to Lek and doing Lost Johns right to the bottom, or maybe a cheeky little exchange? Yes. We yomped down the hill, piled into the cars and headed for our plan B.

On arrival at the usual lay-by we found that there were already two groups down Lost Johns. That, we thought, might somewhat cramp our style. Not to be deterred it was onto plan C… What about It’s a Cracker? Described by the CNCC as both ‘very pleasant’ and ‘splendid’, it certainly is a cracking little trip.

Ray led us straight to the entrance like a pro. It’s an interesting looking wooden hatch in the side of a shake hole next to the fenced off area of Lost Pot.

We quickly climb down through scaffolding and past some rather sizeable spiders. Wiggling over some cobbles and climbing down into the waterfall, we were soon at the first pitch, Paparazzi Pitch, which is as stunning and photogenic as the name suggests. Paddy expertly rigged the pitch and we were all on our way. There are two deviations here to avoid getting too soggy, but catching the second one proved rather tricky as the walls on all sides seemed far too far away to push off. This led to some rather frustrated, mid-air acrobatics from Sophie and Tom but thankfully not for long.

Once at the bottom, Park Bench Pitch, is quickly reached and James took the lead rigging work great style and finesse. Again this is a spectacular little pitch and takes the intrepid caver down into the gallery of Lost Pot. A satisfying scramble over some boulders lead us to the third pitch where Tom took over and beautifully rigged to the bottom. Following him down, we had a quick look around before the turning round and heading back out to the fell.

We popped up back into the daylight and headed for The Pheasant Inn for a few beers

(this, at least, had always been in plan A) before making our merry ways home.

As for Meregill, there’s always next time….