James, Maz, Rhod, Tim, Tom
As it’d been super damp the last few days and with the rain still falling as we kitted up at a dark and inhospitable Bull Pot Farm, we decided to sack off our plan of getting down Waterfall Passage and do a trip to the Graveyard instead.
Chris D, Jason, James, Maz, Ray, Scott, Tom
With Wretched Rabbit being newly reopened courtesy of the RRCPC, we were keen to get back into this little classic and decided on a round trip.
After negotiating the entrance climbs, we plunged down the dig into Spiral Staircase, made our way down the grotty bypass and onwards to Holbeck Junction. Quarter of an hour of scrambling down the main drain saw us at Stop Pot, veering into the flood bypass to Four Ways Chamber, before making our way back out via Wretched Rabbit Passage. Minimal drama, good exercise and a nice turnout!
Originally planned as a Wilf Taylor’s trip, this had to be switched to just the top of Wilf Taylor’s with the water levels. A smooth descent from all (a big trip for our newer SRTer Maz, and Jason’s first real test of his new BMS micro rack) saw us down into Bridge Chamber and on our way down to Montague.
Great sightseeing as usual along the route to Wilf Taylor’s and Waterfall, with pauses to admire the formations before heading up to the upstream sump of Wilf Taylor’s and a look at the slightly spooky amount of flow in Waterfall Passage.
On the way back we took detours to look out from the top of Fall Pot and a quick glance at the Colonnades, before an efficient prussik back out of the entrance.
Tim D, Ray, Shaun (1st KCC trip)… and Tom(-ish)
Mud glorious mud… and a very interesting sculpture.
Was it really an accident, or a deliberate ploy to avoid the mud? Perhaps we’ll never know, but, either way, Tom managed to turn up without his wellies. He did at least get some exercise by walking over to the entrance with us. He even planned to climb down the initial climb, but the flies around the entrance got the better of him. He was last seen running away, waving his arms in a most violent way and swearing the air blue. He taught those flies a lesson or two!
The initial climb down is easy enough and protected by an in-situ handline. It leads to about 15 minutes of easy crawling and squeezing. Back in the day this was a nightmare section of passage, but is now much enlarged following a difficult rescue, so doesn’t pose any particular problem, even for larger cavers. At the end of the entrance crawls we popped out into the Hobbit and things got comfortably big. Through Dusty Junction and Hall of the Ten and we were soon at Hall of the Mountain King.
This is were it all got a bit messy. The mud is deep, wet and particularly slippy. Luckily we all managed to keep both wellies (just!), but I imagine there are a few lodged deep in the mud from previous unfortunate souls. Interestingly, the mud isn’t the most remarkable thing about this area. That accolade has to go to the life-size sculpture. Words can’t possibly do this justice, so I won’t try. If you’ve been, you know. Overall, I think I probably prefer the Hall of the Mountain King in Craig y Ffynnon.
Eventually we dropped down into Leck Fell Lane, where the mud was thankfully replaced by a running stream. A short distance along this, the water crashes down a number of (particularly wet) cascades from Cigalere. Tim and Ray climbed up some of the cascades, but Shaun didn’t fancy it – he’s a very wise man. In the author’s opinion, Ray was very brave indeed to get as far as he did up the cascades, given his intense dislike of water. But even he had to admit defeat at the mere mention of an 8 foot deep canal at the top. So back we went… now almost completely devoid of our muddy coating, if a little bit on the moist side. Lovely!
We continued to the end of Leck Fell Lane, past some nice formations. The passage ends at a choke of glacial fill, which is worth seeing in its own right. There was a climb up just before the end, but none of us fancied it.
The journey out was made much more interesting by now being wet. This certainly didn’t help on the climbs back up the various mud slopes. Tim’s new wellies seemed to make a difference. For every 1 step up, he was only sliding back down the equivalent of 0.9 steps. For poor Shaun and Ray, on the other hand, the equation was tipped the other way. Hmmm. Luckily, a different way was eventually found and we all made it back up. Phew!
By the time we got back to the entrance crawls we were once again covered in a glutinous coating of particularly slippy mud. On the positive side, this made the crawling slightly easier. It did, however, mean that washing our kit wasn’t going to be easy or pleasant. As I write this, 2 days after the event, my oversuit is once again pristine… but my marital relationship may be forever damaged.
No photos this time, I’m afraid. Mistral is no place for a camera!
Scott, Tom, Vikki, Ray
A jolly little trip to Lancaster Hole on a reasonably nice Sunday. Tom had originally suggested Magic Roundabout. I thought that may have been a bit much for Vikki, so countered with Wilf Taylors. In the meantime Scott had signed up as well, so we ended up doing a couple of different routes… neither of which involved Magic Roundabout. Mental note: must do Magic Roundabout!
It was lovely weather on the surface, so 3 of us lazed around while Tom set off rigging the entrance shaft.
At the bottom, we all made our way to Montagu West/East where we parted ways. Vikki and I turned left to head to Wilf Taylors, while Sott and Tom turned right to head to the Craptrap, which they were going to descend for the first time. Wilf Taylors was its usual fun self. There’s always a lot to see, with some nice formations and some beautifully sculpted passages.
As we were descending Double Decker, Tom and Scott arrived at the bottom, having had fun descending Craptrap and looking up Waterfall Passage. We then joined forces for a trip to the downstream sump and then back to the rope dangling down from the roof of the main streamway. So that’s where Craptrap comes in! Scott, Vikki and then I returned up the Craptrap rope, while Tom opted for climbing up via Fall Pot. Interestingly, Tom arrived at the top of Craptrap before Scott… and he was even carrying a tacklebag. He headed straight for the entrance pitch to make a start on the long climb to freedom.
Scott, Vikki and I arrived at the entrance pitch just in time to hear Tom declare that the rope was free. Perfect timing! Thankfully the prussick out was uneventful and we all emerged to a pleasant afternoon. The day was rounded off with a trip to Seasons bakery in Ingleton for hot pasties.
Tim Donovan, Darren Mackenzie, Steve Physick, Alec Hunter, Tom Calpin, Scott Nixon, Ray McGarry
A classic Tim D trip – tight, damp and full of surprises. If anyone wants to write an in-depth trip report, I didn’t get past the squeeze between the first and second pitches, so I can only assume that fun was had beyond!
Tim D, Darren, Tom, Scott, Alec, Steve, Ray
Aygill is one of those caves that I’ve never been able to work out. Although it isn’t very long, there seem to be a maze of passages. Luckily our leader, Tim D, knows his way around… well, mostly… there was the small matter of missing the climb up on the left not far inside the entrance, but we can forgive him that as he led us through the rest of the cave without a hitch.
The going is fairly cramped until the 2nd pitch. Immediately before this pitch is an awkward little section with a tight left hand bend. This proved too tight for Tom, but he gave it a damn good try. Unfortunately all his effort was in vain and he reluctantly headed out for an early bath. To my mind, the best way to tackle this awkward section is feet first, left side down and stay low. As far as I could tell, those who attempted it head first had a more difficult time, as you then have to somehow swing your feet under you to approach the pitch the right way up.
Anyone expecting a nice stomp down the streamway at the bottom of the 2nd pitch was to be disappointed. It’s a mixture of crawling (mostly in water) and climbs down some entertaining cascades. Some of the wet crawls appear to be bypassable, but it’s hardly worth it as others aren’t so you get a good soaking either way. Despite grumbling in the ranks, Tim did a great job of urging us all on, largely due to the promise of “the most scenic sump in the Dales”… or some similar dubious claim. To be fair to him, it was quite a nice sump, the best bit being the ability to stand up in the sump chamber.
After a few photos we headed out. Some of the entertaining cascades provided even more entertainment on ascent. There was general agreement that the awkward section at the top of the second pitch was easier on the way out. I personally put this down to the fact that most people tried to approach the pitch head first on the way in. All in all, another great mid-week trip. Thanks Tim!
Rhod, Maz (2nd KCC trip), James Benson (1st KCC trip), Ray
A great little midweek novice trip. The weather was uninspiring to say the least… decidedly wet and windy! The long walk across the fell was directly into the wind too. Definitely one of those trips where you’re glad to be below the surface. Given how wet it had been, Easegill Beck was remarkably dry. It wasn’t even that wet underground.
The chosen route was a short roundtrip via Platypus Junction. I had originally planned to go anticlockwise, but opted for clockwise instead, out via Razor Passage and back via Spout Hall. I didn’t want to get all the way round to Razor Passage, only to find it impassable and then have to come all the way back. As it turned out, there were no issues with water levels at all.
We made good progress to the pitch, which we laddered. The climb down into Broadway caused the usual fun and games, but nothing too serious. Then on to Platypus Junction, where we took a short photographic break. Rhod led us out expertly. The spout in Spout Hall was spouting a bit too much to climb up comfortably, so we bypassed it to the right. More fun and games on the climb back up out of Broadway. James somehow managed to get his left leg into a most uncomfortable looking position. I’m still not sure how he managed to get himself out of that position, but he did. Everyone managed the climb back up the ladder without incident. Maz had been a bit concerned about getting back up some of the rifty climbs in the entrance passage, but needn’t have worried as he seemed to fly up them all.
Thankfully the wind was behind us for the walk back across the fell. It was a relatively tough trip for novices, but they both seemed to cope well. They even want to come back for more!
Photos by Ray.
John Forder, Miranda Forder, Tim Donovan, Tom Calpin
Standard tourist trip down Shuttleworth to Witches II on a sunny Sunday. It’s already rigged which caused some minor rigging issues for us on the way down. Once in Witches II we popped up to the Exercise Yard for a gander, then back over the sump to visit the pretties. A quick but careful nip down into My Newt Passage was sloppily reversed (glad we brought a rope) before a wander up to the mega long straws and a gentle exit.
Tim Donovan, Darren Mackenzie, Scott Nixon, Tom Calpin
With my new oversuit due to arrive any day, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity for a muddy Mistral send-off so joined for Tim’s trip.
Water levels were relatively high with the beck in full flow, but we managed to get to Leck Fell Lane all the same. A quick look at the thundering inlet waterfalls and we were on our way back through the thick glutinous mud. Darren and Scott headed off to check out Darren and Dave Ramsay’s new dug route down to the end of Pippikin and caught Tom and Tim up as they were walking back across the fell for home.