Author: Ray McGarry

By Ray McGarry In Day Trips

Coniston Coppermines

Tom, Chris H, Yolanda, Vikki, Ray

A sunny Saturday saw 5 of us squeezed into a Berlingo and heading up the much improved track as far as the Youth Hostel. A steep walk up the hillside beyond and we were soon embarking on a leisurely pootle down through 5 levels of the Coniston Coppermines, from Levers Water down to the Hospital Level.

As usual, not far inside the mine we took a quick detour to visit the Stemples of Doom! Apart from a few longer-than-entirely-comfortable steps, they’re not too bad to cross, and they are protected by a traverse line. Some people prefer not to look down the gaping void below though.

A short bit of easy passage and a couple of pitches soon brought us to the jewels in the crown of this particular mine: the Green Pool and the Blue Boulder, expertly photographed by Chris. The photos below show the colours as they actually are… not some artificially enhanced version!

Another short section of passage then leads to the final pitch down into the Hospital Level. This pitch always has a lot of loose rock at the top, so it was strictly one person moving at a time. Once down to the Hospital Level, it’s an easy journey back to the surface.

A satisfied crew then made their way down to the Black Bull for a celebratory pint, apart from Chris, who unfortunately had to head straight off.

 

By Ray McGarry In Day Trips

Hardrawkin Pot

Darren, Sophie, Helen, Tom, Pete, Jason, Ray

This was sort of a continuation of last week. when we did High Douk. Hardrawkin starts in the same shakehole as the lower HD entrance, but goes downstream, whereas HD goes upstream. The 1st obstacle is the incredibly slippery climb down into the entrance. The 2nd obstacle on this particular occasion was a frog blocking the way. This was delicately, if unceremoniously, manhandled along a human chain out of the cave, but insisted on hopping straight back in. I can’t say I blame it, given how much cooler it was in the cave. Eventually the frog was sent on its way upstream towards High Douk and we were on our way.

I always think of Hardrawkin as a miniature version of a classic Dales pothole. It is essentially just an entrance passage leading to 2 pitches. The entrance passage is quite nice, well decorated even in some places, but not quite as large as you would like, necessitating a reasonable amount of crawling, but with the odd walking section. We made quick progress through this and were soon at the 1st pitch. Darren set to rigging this, with a long queue waiting expectantly behind him.

The 1st pitch had been Sophie’s nemesis for a number of years, but she made short work of it in the end. Phew!

This pitch is always wet, even in these almost drought conditions, so we were glad Darren had put both deviations in. Although it’s not the longest pitch around, it is very nice indeed.

At the bottom of the 1st pitch are a few short climbs down to the 2nd pitch.

The 2nd pitch lands almost in the final sump pool, which (for some reason no-one could quite understand) Jason decided to traverse over, even though there’s nothing on the other side! Whatever floats your boat… although, not having a boat, it’s just as well he didn’t fall off into the sump.

There was nothing to do at this point, but turn around and head out for some solstice beer and carrot cake. Not a bad way to spend a summer solstice evening!

By Ray McGarry In Day Trips

Long Churn

Yolanda, Pete, Nat (Pete’s son), Andy (friend of Pete’s), Steve (1st KCC trip)

 

Report by Yolanda:

On Saturday, the crew went for a trip down Long Churn, in the foothills of Ingleborough. We had a rather warm 20 minute walk before reaching the lovely cool cave – the lower entrance to Long Churn. The stream level was much lower than usual due to the warm weather, but when we reached the first pool, Pete lost his footing and went in with rather a splash! I was a minute or so behind him and hadn’t realised it was an accident, so not wanting to be outdone, I leapt into the pool myself – very refreshing after an uphill walk in my caving kit, although possibly not worth spending the rest of the trip in wet clothes.
 
Andy, Nat, and Steve managed to climb around the edge of the pool, and we continued through the cave to the Cheese Press, which I’m happy to say we all made it through! After a bit more scrambling around we then went back via a different tunnel before arriving at Dr Bannister’s Handbasin. This is usually a beautiful and tranquil pool but on Saturday it was the site of some kind of ‘take your kid caving’ event as there was a group of about a dozen parents and children. The youngest were about four and hopefully there were some future KCC members among them! Our group then scrambled up the waterfall out of Long Churn’s top entrance and back into the sunlight! A great little trip and hopefully a good introduction to caving for Steve.
 
 
Report by Pete:
 
Another trip for a first time caver courtesy of Yolanda with Steve joining us for the ever popular Long Churns. Andy and Nat have both visited before but the opportunity of a repeat trip appealed.
 
The dry spell meant there was no water at all at the entrance, and none to speak of in the lower churns. Not that that stopped me soaking myself well at Double Shuffle Pool – which puzzled some of the party who wisely opted for staying dry.
 
Nat happily led the way through the Cheesepress and we were soon at Dolly Tubs.
 
Heading back up stream we soon met a family who we’d seen as we left cars, the youngster of the group seemed to be having a great time. Andy took the branch into a low passage which turned out to go further than I remembered, spitting us out in the upper churns
 
On we went to Dr B’s where a brief rest was taken as we waited for a party coming down the chute. This turned out to be Bradford Pothole Club on a family day out, as Yolanda said it seemed we’d chosen “Take you child caving day”.
 
Soon we were back on the surface just in time for a feeble attempt at rain.
 
Thanks to Yolanda for organising this.
 
 
By Ray McGarry In Day Trips

Great Douk & High Douk

Yolanda, Tom, Tim K, Pete, Nick, Ray, Ryan (2nd KCC trip) and Saskia (1st KCC trip)

Yolanda comes up trumps again… 2 more novices to (hopefully) swell our growing ranks. Ryan had been caving once before with KCC (unfortunately in Great Douk again) and Saskia was a total beginner, although I believe she has some climbing experience.

With such a good turnout and the recent dry weather, we were guaranteed a great evening… and it didn’t disappoint. A leisurely change and walk up soon brought us to the impressive Great Douk shakehole.

Ryan showed his experience (of this particular hole) by traversing into the entrance along a high shelf…

…thus avoiding the climb up the waterfall.

Once inside, the hole in the roof appears pretty quickly, looking better than ever on this occasion.

A bit of easy walking led to an oxbow crawl on the left, which everyone took, apart from yours truly… for purely photographic reasons. The crawl ended with bit of a tight squeeze back into the main passage.

Eventually the main passage got lower… and lower…

… until we eventually popped out of the top entrance. The views of Ingleborough and the surrounding Dales landscape were breathtaking. Unfortunately so were the midges!

Not yet satisfied, we set off in search of another short series of caves, High Douk Holes. These took some finding. We initially tried to find the top entrance, instead finding an entrance that led only to a chamber filled with midges, which we named Midge Hole. No idea what it’s really called. Yolanda didn’t seem to like the midges.

Eventually we entered High Douk Holes via the easier to find bottom entrance, which is conveniently located next to Hardrawkin Pot (next week’s destination), following it through various underground sections, punctuated by daylight where the shallow roof had collapsed. Eventually progress was halted by an extremely low section, blocked by fallen rocks, but High Douk was well worth a visit.

A very enjoyable evening indeed. Thanks to Yolanda for leading us. Some hardier types retired to the Marton Arms for some well-needed rehydration. Roll on Hardrawkin!

By Ray McGarry In Day Trips

Meregill Hole

Gareth, Jason, Tom, Ray + Bruce Grieve (friend of Ray’s)

With the recent very dry spell, the weather was certainly playing it’s part, so things were looking good for a cracking trip. Tom had decided against joining us in the end as he was due to attend a CNCC meeting in the morning. Gareth, Jason & Ray turned up on time and just about managed to squeeze into some parking spaces. Bruce arrived later and spent the next 30 mins or so driving up and down the road unable to get parked anywhere – he has high standards. In the meantime, Gareth and Jason had set off to start rigging. Bruce eventually ended up parking just short of the Station Inn, with a very long walk back down the road.

When Ray & Bruce eventually arrived at the entrance, Gareth & Jason were just at the bottom of the 1st pitch, having spent some time exploring the dry mere. It was dry, I mean totally dry! One consequence of this is that you can see just how deep it is when the mere is up.

We soon caught up with the rigging party at the 2nd pitch, where an interesting traverse leads to an even more interesting top of the pitch proper. Rather helpfully, Jason fully testing the strength of the y-hang belay by doing an incredible Tarzan swing onto the rope. If he planned to do that then he’s a braver man than I am. If he didn’t then credit to him for not squealing like a girl, like I would have done.

The 3rd pitch (the Canyon) has to be one of the best around, although it is never quite as long as I expect. The rigging is constantly interesting. Jason decided he had had enough at the 2nd rebelay, so started back up. It was a shame, as I think he had passed the worst by that point. Anyway, he made his way out and Bruce & Ray carried on down to pass the final tackle bag to Gareth, who continued the rigging.

The rigging on the 4th pitch is somewhat strange and out of character with the rest of the cave. Whereas all other pitches start with a high-level traverse far out away from the water, the 4th heads straight down with the water, although there is a fixed Tyrolean traverse line to guide you away from the water. But this just makes things quite awkward, particularly on the way back up.

Eventually Gareth arrived at the bottom of the last pitch, closely followed by Ray. Bruce couldn’t be coaxed down the last drop. Apparently seeing the bottom was enough. Why would anyone actually want to get there? Fair point I suppose, given that there wasn’t much enthusiasm for exploring the (extensive) passage at the bottom. Had there not been a very deep pool to cross right at the bottom of the last pitch, I suspect there may have been more enthusiasm. Ray did make a token attempt at exploration, crossing the deep pool and going maybe 100-200m along the passage while Gareth started prussicking.

The journey out and the derigging went as smoothly as could be expected… although there was definitely a bit of language from Bruce at some of the pitch heads.

Apparently Tom did decide to pop down after all. On his way in he passed Jason heading out. Tom got to just below where Jason had turned back, before feeling a bit dehydrated and turning back himself. Good solo effort! Ray, Gareth & Bruce were unaware that Tom had been in at all until he texted to say that he was sorry for missing us.

Once back on the surface, Gareth, Bruce & Ray sunbathed a bit before setting off back. A support stall for some scouts doing the 3 peaks was a great chance to blag a free drink. They even threw in a banana for each of us. A perfect day was rounded off nicely sat outside the Station Inn. Well, Bruce was parked up there anyway.

Thanks to Gareth for his rigging expertise.

By Ray McGarry In Day Trips

Illusion Pot

Sophie, Tim K, Ray + Mary Clifford (friend of Sophie’s)

Report from Sophie:

Lovely little trip down Illusion pot with Ray, Tim, Mary and Sophie. This little pot never fails to amaze with all the sparky decorations. The walk up in the sunshine showed the Dales at its most picturesque. Despite the unquestionable beauty of this little gem, and I don’t often say this, it was almost too lovely to go underground.
 

I think Mary was more than ready for the pub when we got back to the surface so it was a trip to the Marton arms for a supper of beer and crisps.

A before and after shot…
 
 
Report from Ray:

Where is everyone? We had about 11 people for this trip last year! Still, what we lacked in numbers we made up for in… errr… ummm… well, perhaps we just lacked numbers.

The walk-in was pretty hot and the entrance area was midge central, so we didn’t hang around on the surface. Progress was easy enough as far as the “sump”. Due to the recent dry weather, we were expecting this to be dry… but no, there was still quite a bit of water in it. It was passable without having to resort to an ear in the water (or worse), but only just. Mary didn’t fancy it, not having done much caving (at least, recently), so she and Sophie headed out. Tim and Ray forged on fearlessly.

Soon we were out into the big stuff. First we headed one direction, then the other, but could we find the way to the sump? Well, no. Not without checking up every nook and cranny at least once. For some strange reason, we decided not to look down one slope because that obviously wasn’t the way. Looking back, I can’t quite understand why we wrote this particular passage off, other than it had a bit of tat down it (which was obviously just for hauling a digging bucket???). Anyway, after we’d done pretty much the whole cave twice, we went back to said passage and, of course, that was the way on.

Soon we were at the start of the traverse to the sump. Hmmm, was it this scary last time? Ray bravely set off, with just a hint of Elvis leg. Tim decided against it – very wise. It actually wasn’t that bad and the sump was as crystal clear as ever.

A hasty retreat was beaten and we were out in no time. The midges were now much worse, almost all the way to the cars. Luckily there was a considerable breeze down the valley, which kept them away while we got changed. Sophie, Mary & Ray retired to the Marton for a debrief.

Thanks to Sophie for another great KCC Wed evening outing. Sorry you missed some of it.

By Ray McGarry In Day Trips

Swinsto Pot

Tom, Darren, Tim K, Pete, Steve, Rhod, Ray

A classic pull-through in dry conditions with Darren rigging. All went smoothly. No hang-ups or jammed ropes. Photos by Ray.

By Ray McGarry In Day Trips

Jingling Pot

Darren, Tim K, Tom, Pete, Sophie, Rhod, Ray

A good turnout for a Wed evening. 7 cavers, most of whom seemed to have brought their own ropes! So all possible routes were rigged. Darren rigged his own rope on the direct hang from the tree (very brave!). Tim rigged Ray’s ropes on Lateral Cleft. Ray attempted to rig Tim’s (as it turned out, experimental) rope on the main shaft route via Little Gully – it was fast, so fast that it was impossible to rig the rebelay.

Sophie, Pete & Tom followed Tim down Lateral Cleft. Rhod followed Darren down the direct hang. Nobody followed Ray down Tim’s rope – very wise. A quick trip to the bottom for most then Darren, Sophie, Pete & Tim ascended the direct hang, while Rhod & Tom ascended Lateral Cleft, with Ray derigging.

Another great Wed evening trip, rounded off with a very nice pint in the Marton Arms.

By Ray McGarry In Day Trips

Sell Gill

Pete, Tom, Tim K, Nick, Maz, Ray

According to the meets list, we should have been in Ibbeth Peril, but the recent wet weather put paid to that. We instead opted for an easy (and dry) pootle down Sell Gill. The brown colour of the water flowing into the wet entrance suggested we had indeed made the right choice.

After a very pleasant walk up, Tim K set off rigging the 1st pitch, followed by Tom, Pete and Nick. Once the pitch was clear, I rigged up a 2nd rope so that I could descend in parallel with Maz as this was just his 2nd SRT trip.

Meanwhile, down below, Tim & Tom had both rigged different routes down the 2nd pitch – Tim rigging the LH route (along the ledge) and Tom rigging the RH. Tim, Tom & Pete continued down the 3rd pitch, where they were apparently met with rather a lot of water coming down the wet route. Nick opted for exploring a side passage at the bottom of the 1st pitch. Apparently it goes quite a long way. He was stopped at a climb down, for which he would have preferred a rope.

Maz and I followed Tim’s traverse along the ledge at the top of the 2nd, without descending the pitch. We then headed back out for some tuition on ascending the 1st pitch. By this time the others were starting to reappear from their various routes and we all finally emerged in daylight. A visit to the Station Inn rounded off the evening nicely. Thanks for organising this one Pete!

By Ray McGarry In Day Trips

New Rift Pot (Masongill)

Darren, Scott, Jason, Tim K, Rhod, Ray

It must be about 30 years since I was last here. Darren had been about 12 years ago. No-one else had been at all. All I could remember was a very nice pitch down into a large chamber (Coates Cavern). NC3 and the CNCC description suggested that getting to said nice pitch may be rather awkward. They were right.

It was a very pleasant change and walk up to the entrance in the spring early evening sunlight. The entrance is now protected by a newish wooden fence, to which I fixed the rope for a bit of (largely psychological) protection on the climb down towards the actual 1st pitch. This was pre-rigged, so we just used the in situ rope, leaving most of ours still in its bag. If that pitch was rigged, would the big pitch also be? Hmmm, could we take a chance and leave the 2nd bag? Of course not. We certainly didn’t want to get to the big pitch, find it not rigged and have to come back out.

At the bottom of the 1st pitch the misery begins. It isn’t far to the big pitch, but it packs a punch. It starts as a flat out crawl, with the odd puddle just to add a bit of extra misery. Eventually a shallow trench develops. The description makes it sound easier at this point, but it just provided more opportunity for the bag to get stuck. A 2-3m climb down at least provides an opportunity to stand up briefly. Then the passage doubles back on itself as a blasted crawl. According to the description, this ends at an awkward climb down, so being first, I decided to take my SRT kit off, dump the bag and do this feet first. It’s fairly snug at a left hand bend just before the climb down, so I was glad I’d taken my SRT kit off. The climb down was easy enough feet first. Darren then came through head first (SRT still on), pushing the bag in front of him. I did wonder how he was going to get down the climb, but it wasn’t too bad. There are enough handholds to lower yourself down gently head first. I think this blasted crawl, especially the bend just before the climb, is the crux. There was some debate about whether Tim would fit (mostly from Tim), but he did a great job and squeezed through like a professional. You could almost hear the pop as he emerged cork-like. After the climb down, the passage is slightly bigger and descends quickly via a few more short climbs to the head of the big pitch. It’s worth mentioning that there was quite a strong inward draft throughout this passage.

Of course the big pitch was also pre-rigged, so we didn’t bother rigging our own rope, which we had carried all the way through the crawl. On reflection, we should have rigged our own rope. The in-situ rope was rather poorly rigged and decidedly muddy. I set off down first, sending great echoes back up to the others as I descended. I forgot just how big Coates Cavern is. It was great to be back after so long! It was especially good to lie at the bottom watching the others descend down such a nice pitch. It became a bit surreal once Darren landed as we were then able to listen to Pink Floyd on his phone while lying back watching.

We didn’t want to spend too long at the bottom, so we just had a quick look up the passage towards Ireby Fell. We’ll be back again in the daytime to spend a bit more time exploring.

Then began the awkward struggle back to the surface. We suspected that some of the awkward downclimbs would be even more awkward on the way back up, but they weren’t too bad. The odd bit of combined tactics was required, but people were mostly able to get themselves back up everything. Tim set off out first and didn’t seem to struggle at all. Good effort! I went up the big pitch next and waited at the top for Jason and Rhod to follow. Rhod had few issues with the rope not feeding through his chest jammer, but coped really well, given how little SRT he has done. Getting the bag back up through the crux section was interesting. Rhod pushed it as far as he could, so that I was able to come back in head first and grab it. Getting it out the rest of the crawl consisted of me dragging it with Rhod freeing it once it had (frequently) become jammed.

I think there was a general sense of relief once we had all reached the surface. I think everyone enjoyed it… but it may be while before we’re back.

Photos by Darren.