Aygill Caverns

Present; James, Sophie, Billy, Amy, and Jasmine 

After a quick walk in the opposite from usual caving direction we managed to find the entrance hole by the side of the (dry!) Aygill beck. Thus followed a bit of head scratching we found our way through to the first pitch. Although this section can be free-climbed, we opted to rig it for safety. The way on was through a rift in the floor to a narrow, squeezy passage that had caused a significant tangle on a previous trip, but this time we moved through smoothly, perhaps things are getting easier?

As the cave progressed, the environment became increasingly wet and fun. Reaching the cascading sections required careful bridging and scrambling down slick, steep walls. The navigation became more complex downstream where several routes intersect, requiring frequent reference to the survey description. Doing a complete 180-degree turn near the Sand Junction we eventually approached the sump. This involved a challenging “‘orrible bit”—a low crawl where the water level rose nearly to the roof, contrasting my earlier optimistic assessment that the trip would be a relatively dry one.

Demonstrating great bravery, Jasmine dived into the sump pool. Fortunately, she had the foresight to wear a wetsuit, wisely hedging her bets against my assessment of the conditions. Completely saturated but satisfied with reaching the sump, we began our return journey. The only interruption to this was near the entrance pitch by two resident bats that took exception to our presence. The bats became loud and screechy, flying directly at the team’s faces and prompting a hasty exit from the cave

Aygil Caverns is a high-quality system with much more to offer. The trip served as a good recce for future objectives, in already eyeing the Middle, Left hand, Red Rose and Precambian Series for next trip.