F’ing Hopeless Hole
Maz, Tom, Damian, James
Should have been Tub Hole in Dentdale, but the weather had other ideas. Ended up being a trip to Speechless Grotto in Hopeless instead.
Long Drop
Ami, Pete, James, Jasmine, (New) Dave, Paddy
A cave of multiple leaders! With Steve originally leading this trip but unable to make it, Dave agreed to take on the rigging but was then thwarted by a punctured tyre, myself and Ami agreed to co lead it, only because we were the ones with the kit! After meeting on Leck fell and having introduced ourselves to prospective new member Dave we set off in the direction of Rumbling, with the description telling us Long Drop was the next fenced enclosure.
“Long Drop Cave is one of the lesser popular trips on Leck Fell” According to the CNCC description, and that was evident as we picked a way through the trees to the entrance, after foraging bilberries, wild strawberries and sorrel Ami set off to rig the first pitch, with the 20m rope just making the bottom of what should be a 15m rig. After this it was a short squeeze through to the second, awkward pitch. A comment of “Ami, I don’t think I fit” from me and some muffled swearing from others we just about made it. The bottom of the second pitch is not somewhere to hang around, the mud has a definite unpleasant aroma to it, so me and Ami exchanged places and I set off on the 25m kinda side on crawl to pitch 3.
A reachy start to get to the Y hang might be an understatement, but we definitely chose the right way round to rig, Ami on the small stuff, me on the reachy stuff! Nice pitch with two rebelays and a deviation made for a good amount of vertical fun! Once we all congregated at the bottom James, Jasmine and Ami set off to explore the crawl to the sump, while the more sensible folk stayed behind.
Upon their return we started the ascent back to the surface, with James derigging pitch 3 and Jasmine taking on 1 and 2. All surfaced and present we made our way back in the direction of the vehicles, at least we thought so as the classic Leck fell fog had come in and hidden then from view!
A good nights caving, Ami is keen to do the exchange with Deaths Head on the next meets list, I think I might be busy that day…
Notts II (Gour Inlet)
Ami, Pete, Maz, Ray
I’d had my eye on Gour Inlet for a while. It looks substantial on the survey and includes all sorts of climbs, traverses, pitches and even a (hopefully) drained sump. What’s not to like? Having finally decided to put it on the meets list, I wasn’t sure if anyone else would share my enthusiasm. I needn’t have worried. At one point we had 9 people signed up for the trip, although some of those preferred the more traditional Notts II tourist trip. In the end, only 4 hardy souls turned up. This was particularly unfortunate for Maz as he was one of those who preferred the tourist trip, but found himself unexpectedly on the Gour Inlet team. To be fair, he didn’t take too much convincing.
As mentioned previously, the inlet includes various traverses and pitches, so we found ourselves unusually descending the entrance climb in SRT kit and carrying tackle sacks. I had a feeling that most, if not all, sections requiring tackle would be pre-rigged, but we couldn’t be sure.
Once down at the main drain, we set off downstream. The 1st hurdle to overcome was finding the right place to climb up into the inlet. We passed Inlet 14 (with it’s particularly ropey ladder hanging down). About the same distance further downstream, the passage is bridged by some clacited boulders. Gour Inlet is above these.
The next hurdle is the climb up to reach it. Looking at both the upstream and downstream approaches, it seemed that the best place to start climbing was a short way downstream of the boulder bridge. The climb looks intimidating, but turned out to be easy enough. It starts with some bridging between the walls, before transferring onto the true left hand wall and finishing up a flowstone cascade. I climbed up first, but stupidly forgot to bring the rope with me, so Ami then climbed up with the rope. While I was tying it around a convenient boulder, Pete had climbed up. Poor Maz was virtually forced to use the rope to at least get some use out of it, even though he was presumably quite capable of climbing without it.
We then set off into the unknown. According to the NC3 description, the inlet starts with 180m of stooping passage. This is a bit generous. I have no reason to doubt the 180m, but I found myself crawling a substantial amount of it.
Eventually we came to a climb down. A short distance further is the sump. Again according to NC3, there is engineering designed to keep this drained. Would the engineering still be working? None of us (with the possible exception of Ami) would have been going any further if there was less than a foot of airspace. Luckily(?), the engineering was still working, indicated by the occasional belching sound coming from the pipework.
While the “sump” had plenty of airspace, it wasn’t exactly pleasant – a sign of things to come. From this point it all becomes a bit of a mudfest. Before long, we reached the 1st traverse (over Pit Pot). As I had almost expected, this was equipped with a fixed rope. There was some debate about the state of the hangers, maillons and rope, but apart from that it all looked good enough to use. So we decided to leave our tackle there, deciding that the rest of the passage would also be rigged.
The traverse over Pit Pot would have been easy enough if we weren’t all so covered in mud. The 18m drop focused the mind somewhat, but we all made it over. The passage continued, never big, but always muddy. Eventually we came to a 2nd traverse, again pre-rigged. This one was even worse, largely because we were covered in even more mud by this point.
Not far beyond the 2nd traverse are some upward climbs. The longest of these (maybe 3m or so) was equipped with an electron ladder. I found this the most terrifying bit of the whole trip as I have seen enough of these break over the years. Thankfully this one managed to hold itself together long enough for us all to get up (and eventually back down) it.
At the top of the ladder is a small muddy alcove with another short climb up into a crawling passage. Maz decided he had had enough at this point and suggested I come past him. Past him?? I couldn’t even get to him. I don’t know if the soles of my wellies are particularly slick, but I couldn’t make any forward progress at all. In fact, I was in serious danger of falling back down the ladder. Eventually, I did manage to pass Maz, but really struggled to get up the next short climb.
Ami and Pete were still within earshot up ahead, but what they were going through didn’t sound pleasant, so I decided to stop with Maz. You can have too much of a good thing. The brave heroes at the front went on for a bit. The description is really confusing, but they think they reached Intimate Chamber. At this point, it was unclear whether they were supposed to climb up or down, so wisely did neither.
Maz and I set off out and were soon caught by the others. The traverses were even more “interesting” with our additional layers of mud. I was particularly keen to see if the “sump” was still drained, fearing that we may have knocked the pipework sufficiently on our way in to stop it working. Thankfully, reassuring belching could be heard as we approached. The “sump” at least washed us off a bit.
It was a relief to eventually hear the sound of the main drain as we approached the top of the climb back down. As we had a rope (well, quite a few actually), it seemed foolish not to use it. Fearing that an attempt at a pull through type arrangement would result in a stuck rope, the last person had to down climb unaided. This actually turned out to be even easier than climbing up. So I would suggest that a rope probably isn’t necessary at all, unless your party includes a particularly unconfident climber.
Ami chose to have a bath while the rest of us made our way out. The exit climb was made even more interesting than usual due to the pointless tackle getting stuck just about everywhere possible.
Would I recommend Gour Inlet to other parties? Absolutely. It was a fun trip. It may even get better further on. There are some reasonably-sized pitches. I would like to get to those at some point, maybe after a bit more research on the route. Would I go back anytime soon? Absolutely not. The memories of all that mud will fade, but it will take time.
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….
Notts Pot
Team Twilight Zone: Will, Jim, Jess, Jasmine, Paddy
Team Centre Route: Steve, Tom, Dave, James, Pete M
Yet again another top turnout for a Wednesday night! Certainly too many bodies to be chugging up and down the same route so we opted for an exchange of the upper series. It’s been a while since I’ve made it out on a Wednesday night, however Tom specifically requested a bald rigger and so I had to oblige. I messaged him to see what madness he had lined up for me and his exact words were
”don’t think any of us have done Twilight Zone before, possibly a KCC first or at least the first time the clubs done it for decades.”
That was me sold, sounded right up my street! But it just didn’t add up, the topo didn’t look like anything too crazy, so I decided to google it and see if anything came back. Imagine how gutted I was when the two top results were Ray’s trip reports from 2023 and 2024! After reading through them, nothing sounded awfully difficult, in fact if anything it sounded like one of the many fun days out Ray and I have shared on a rope. The only bit of trickery I could pick out was that he seemed to struggle with finding the deviation on the first pitch. I’m not sure if Ray’s since found this, or if it is still a mystery for him, but I was intrigued to say least to see what it was all about!
Our initial plan was to just do the entrance pitches and Twilight Zone on a quick bounce, but with a few last minute additions to the numbers, we altered the plan to go for an exchange. Steve quickly packed to rig the Centre Route, and Tom had already preached for me to do Twilight Zone. A few forgotten essentials, (oversuits, wellies, helmets) saw a couple of the team having to dash to the tackle store and back, while the rest of began the hike in across the fell. Before long we were at that shake hole and Tom quickly set about rigging the entrance pitches whilst everyone else was kitting up. Tom took us as far as Three Ways Chamber, with me closely in tow, and Dave not too far behind. We waited here for everyone to regather, minus James and Pete that had dashed to the tackle store, then a quick team meet to decide who would go which way before we departed and set about route finding. Following the rift towards Left Hand Route, it wasn’t long before the hard work started as we scrambled up the slick rift. Without too much effort I had the first pitch rigged and a quick check of the topo before setting off down the first ab. Instantly I spotted an old bolt to my right roughly 2-3m down from the Y hang, this had to be the deviation! Relaying the information to Jim behind me t the pitch head, he looked at what was looking at and certainly didn’t seem keen to use it. I gave it a little wiggle and check, the hanger was freely spinning but it seemed solid enough, it wasn’t a huge deviation either so if it had popped it wouldn’t be super consequential. Not wanting to upset those following me, I opted not to use it, and we didn’t experience any rope run or anything anyway, but as I neared the ledge at the bottom of the pitch I noticed I was awkwardly on the edge of it and having to swing back in to get a solid footing. Once on the ledge, I looked back up to where the suspected deviation was and followed in a straight line down and had I used it, it would have landed me comfortably on the ledge not the edge and also literally on top of the bolts starting the next traverse. Possibly the more awkward one to rig, once through the traverse, the Y hang was quite committing with not many foot or hand holds to go at and an obvious void below. It didn’t take too long to get it knocked together with use from my short link I know carry everywhere after using it in rope access a lot and wondering if it would be any good in a cave and now it’s a main part of my SRT kit. Part way down the pitch I spotted the next bolt on the opposite wall and took the swing out to it, although it is possible to continue straight down here also – another of many options of variation to a trip in this vertical playground! Here we could start to hear the other team working their way down through the pitch also, and occasionally saw their lights also flashing through the many openings. Straight onto the next pitch with an interesting window deviation into another chamber that you touch down in, again nothing too taxing. Soon we were working our way through the last pitch, with an awkward pitch head and below me I could see Steve just touching down at the bottom of his pitch, perfect! Exchange is on! The others perched on the ledge while k had a quick drop down to the passage leading to the lower stream way bit instantly everything became very wet and nobody else fancied a look either, not that we could get far as we didn’t bring anymore rigging. One by one everyone touched down, and by now James and Pete had caught back up, so a quick picture of everyone at the bottom before we picked our exits. Tom and I went first, Tom up Twilight Zone and I went for Centre Route, with Jess hot on my heels. Top job from Jim and Paddy de-rigging Centre Route and negotiating kit bags, and likewise in Twilight Zone with Dave and Steve. Again in a similar order we exited, with (I think!) Jim de-rigging the entrance pitches. It was certainly noticeably colder now on the surface, but once all regrouped we all head back across the fell, warming ourselves up as we went.
Thank you all for a great evening!
Write up by Will, pics by Will
Lost Johns – Centipede
Dave T, Josh, Tom
On the meets list was an explore of the newly-opened AKA, but given that there’d been a fair bit of rain and with the description mentioning it filling to the roof, we erred on the side of caution with this new ‘un and rescheduled to a nice little Lost Johns trip. This was Josh’s third trip with the club, and new (but experienced) club recruit Dave’s first KCC trip.
LJs was bone dry at the entrance so we needn’t have worried about water levels in AKA, but we were here now and the classic roadside trip beckoned. A few dribbles of water appeared on the way down the entrance series, but still by the time we reached the roof traverse, it was eerily quiet. We made our way over No.s 1, 2, and 3 holes and quickly got to Hammer pitch. We zipped down these first two pitches and onto the main Centipede pitch. While Josh had done pitches this size before, he seemed to enjoy this one. With the fog of burning rope smell hanging in the air from our descenders, we headed on for a quick scout down to Dome Junction, and onwards to the top of Candle and Shistol.
Sadly we hadn’t brought any more rope and it was time to head back up. Dave regaled us with tales of caving in Borneo and original exploration, and we made our way up Centipede, always a muscle-pumping flatterer. Dave de-rigged us handsomely out and we made it back to surface with light still in the sky, maybe the first daylight Wednesday trip of the year?
Cracker – Boxhead Exchange
Scott, Ami, James, Dave & Ray
Luckily we had enough takers, so the exchange was on… otherwise we would have had to make do with an in and out of either entrance.
It had previously been decided that Scott would rig It’s A Cracker and I would rig Boxhead, so all that remained on getting to the rough area of the caves was to decide who was going in each entrance. Ami decided to join Scott, while Dave & James opted for joining me in Boxhead.
So off we set for our respective holes. Well, the Boxhead team did, but it turns out that neither Scott nor Ami had been to Cracker before, so had no idea in which direction to set. A quick detour to show them the way and we were all finally ready to get underground.
Rigging Boxhead went largely according to plan. The only issue was that I was unable to get a swing going to reach the 2nd deviation on the big pitch. I wasn’t within reach of any walls, so just hung there pathetically for far too long before I could manage to get enough movement to just about touch a wall with my feet. Mental note: next time get a swing going at the first deviation before descending to the 2nd.
We followed the Kendal Flyover route, largely because it’s much more fun than going straight down. Dave and James were hot on my heels the whole way, so obviously weren’t struggling in any way. At the ledge where the crawl goes off towards the Tate Galleries, I asked if D&J wanted to have a poke around Cresta Run, Epiglottis Grotto etc… but there didn’t seem to be any enthusiasm. I trace this to their last visit when they went through the initial crawl and then turned left into Venus dig, which must have been a bit of a disappointment. There is better stuff – honest!
So we just rigged the last drop and carried on down to the bottom to wait for team Cracker. We were just about to pop trough to the bottom of the main Boxhead shaft for a look around when we heard voices and then saw a light above. Scott and Ami obviously weren’t hanging around. Good effort, given that neither of them had been there before.
They soon joined us at the bottom and we finally had that poke around. No-one could be persuaded into having a look at The Tube. Maybe next time.
Dave volunteered to derig Boxhead – he must have really enjoyed it on the way down. Ami followed him. Scott opted for going out Cracker, followed by me, with James derigging. The plan was for James and I to share the derigging, but I was so knackered on reaching the top of the bottom pitch that Scott decided I was best just making my way out slowly. And, believe me, it was slow… and pathetic. I guess it may be a while before I’m back on top of my game.
James did a sterling job derigging. Dave must have done likewise in Boxhead as they were out in super quick time and had to wait quite a while for us – largely down to my lack of fitness/strength I suspect.
I think Boxhead – Cracker is the perfect evening SRT exchange and this particular trip didn’t disappoint. Thanks all!
Photos by Dave & Ray
Short Drop – Gavel Exchange
Ami, Darren, Gareth, James, Jason, Louie, Maz, Pete, Scott, Sophie, Steve, Tom (Report by Maz)
In what might be classed as festival sized numbers for KCC, 12, yes 12, members made an appearance on Leck Fell for a mid week jaunt down one of my favourite caves.
We clearly weren’t the only ones feeling it, as a small group of other cavers were setting off for AKA pot, and another 3 were heading down to Short Drop.
All assembled, a counsel of war was held in the car park and it was agreed to rig both entrances to Gavel. This led to guest caver Louis being sent back to his car for karabiners and rope. That is how we welcome new members!
The main challenge began with the task of finding the entrances in the descending fog. Soon we reached Short Drop and the group split into a pair of sixes.
Our group consisting of myself, Steve, Scott, James, Tom and Jason began our descent. I like Short Drop. Its winding passages are easily navigable. There’s lots of little side bits to explore, some interesting features and a bit of a slither early on.
There was a bit more water than we expected and the wet crawl was exactly as it said on the tin. It wasn’t long into the twisting meanders where we met other cavers; the group of three including a 7 year old were on the return. A bit of negotiation, rather akin to meeting another vehicle on a single track road ensued. By weight of numbers, they backed up a bit until we were able to pass.
Soon we reached the fixed rope and slid down avoiding the bulk of the water, any moment expecting the other party. Still no sign, and it was mooted perhaps they’d missed Gavel entrance and were drifting around somewhere on Leck Fell.
Rounding a corner, I noticed lights above which signalled the B team about to descend the pitch. After a bit more shuffling and abseiling, a well organised and slick change over, and the exchange had occurred.
Next, we were on the rope and up the pitch. Tom and Scott de-rigging. The fog had switched to rain and we headed home, narrowly beating the others back by a few minutes.
Thanks to Ami for rigging Gavel and hopefully writing up the other half of this report. Thanks to everyone for a fine turnout
Notts Pot: Adamson’s – Centre Route exchange
Tom, Maz, Sophie, Dave, Claire, Ami & Ray
A great turnout on a miserable evening. Summer is well and truly over. At least we’re not quite into winter yet… but it feels like it won’t be long.
Tom, Ami & Claire set off as an advance party to make a start on rigging the first few pitches, while the rest of us took our time getting changed out of our nice warm, dry clothes. Sophie was particularly keen to cower in the car for as long as possible.
Eventually we set off on the long trog up the hill. On reaching the cave, we were most confused to find that, not only was the 1st pitch not rigged, but there was no sign of the other 3. Where could they be? Climbing back out of the shakehole for a better view of the fell, we must have looked like 4 meerkats, standing on the rim looking in different directions. Not content to sit and wait… and being considerably younger than me… Dave set off across the fell to track them down. Very noble, but how did he know in which direction to go? It turned out he didn’t, as the others reappeared way off in the distance from a completely different direction. They must have walked pretty much to Ireby Fell.
All reunited, and after virtually no p1ss-taking at all, Tom set off rigging the first few pitches to 3-Ways Chamber, where the 2 exchange parties would separate. Tom rigged down Centre, followed by Sophie, Ami & Maz. I rigged Adamson’s, followed by Dave & Claire.
My performance was less than slick, getting hung up on cowstails (twice) and having to be freed from a jammed tackle sack by Claire (at least twice). The initial rising traverse is interesting to rig, with only 1 intermediate anchor on a 15m rope. The 15m rope I took was only just long enough to reach the final anchor. After that, there is an interesting climb up some steel stemples, leading to a short pitch down to the start of the big pitch. The big pitch was fun, although I missed an anchor just a few metres down from the top. This led to a slight bit of rope rub, so Claire rigged a rebelay on her way down. Nearing the bottom, the Centre Route party could be heard below. On the final drop, I narrowly missed dropping directly onto Sophie’s head. She moved just in time.
The exchange timing worked out perfectly. Tom and Maz had a brief foray down into the Lower Streamway, but the rest of us struggled to muster the enthusiasm, preferring to sit and chat instead.
Eventually it was time to start the long journey upward. Everyone exchanged, apart from Maz, who preferred to brush up on his technique on a familiar route. Ami led out Adamson’s, followed by Tom, with Sophie derigging. I led out Centre, followed by Maz and Dave, with Claire derigging.
Maz did very well on the ascent, given that, by his own admission, he is not a natural vertical caver. He has certainly come a long way since his first SRT trip in Bull Pot Kingsdale! One thing that really struck me on the way out was how good the rigging was. Nice one Tom! I’ll have to step up my own game.
Derigging both routes seemed to go well as there was virtually no waiting around on the surface. All 7 cavers emerged in quick succession, one after the other. This was another great trip and it felt like a real team effort, with various people rigging, derigging and carrying tackle. Proof positive that KCC is currently in a really good place.
There’s more to Lost Johns
John, Will, Ami & Ray
A typical evening Lost Johns trip usually involves some combination of routes down the upper series (Dome-Centipede or Monastery-Dome), but there’s so much more to the system if you venture below Dome Junction or Sink Chamber. The aim of this trip was to delve deeper. The original plan had been for a Boxhead – Death’s Head through trip, but the recent wet weather gave some cause for concern about water levels in Long Pool. So we decided to do an in and out trip via Lost Johns, but still get to see some of the master cave and Lyle Cavern.
On arrival at the lay-by up on Leck Fell, there was another party of 2 already there. The usual “Where are you going?” discussion elicited that they were also headed for Lost Johns. Thankfully they were heading to Dome, while we were planning on Centipede. From Dome Junction, however, they were planning to head deeper, which could have caused issues. How would we handle 2 independent parties on Battleaxe, for instance. I was pretty confident that we would be faster, so decided that was their problem.
We went underground at 11:00 and made swift progress down the pitches, arriving at the bottom of the last pitch at 12:10. We had budgeted for 5 hours underground, so had plenty of time to explore. At Groundsheet Junction we headed upstream, arriving before too long at the handline climb up into the bottom of Lyle Cavern. Now, to get into Lyle Cavern you leave this handline after a few feet, but Will and Ami (who were leading the way) carried on up into a crawl. Being a bit more experienced (or knackered), John and I left them to it. They came back with tales of wonderful decorations, so maybe it’s worth a look next time.
Reunited again, we all climbed up into Lyle Cavern. As we still had a bit of time, Will set off up the fixed ropes, followed by Ami and then me. John once again showed his greater experience by waiting at the bottom as we weren’t planning to be long. By the time I reached the top, Will had done some exploring and was ready to set off back down the fixed ropes. Ami was thrutching through some damp crawl below Helectite Rift, eventually climbing up into the rift beyond the miserable crawl. I chose to take the more traditional route of climbing straight up into Helectite Rift, without any need for crawling at all.
Alas, time was getting on by now, so Ami and I turned back (via our chosen routes) and headed down the fixed ropes to meet up with the others again and begin the long upward journey back to the sun. A brief stop for fun-sized Mars bars (supplied by Ami) at Groundsheet Junction was very welcome. The upward journey was again very efficient, albeit a bit slower thanks to gravity. On the way out, we bumped into the other party of 2 at Dome Junction, still on their way in! I guess we didn’t need to worry about double rigging then.
We emerged to glorious sunshine at 15:45, 15 mins ahead of schedule, feeling very satisfied indeed. Even though we saw quite a bit of the system, there’s still plenty more to go back for. We didn’t even head downstream in the master cave. And think of all those great through-trips we could do. I hope we’ll be back before long!
Photos by Will.
