Solo.
A gentle evening trip to drill some holes and apply some rock engineering techniques to widen the rift at the present end of Merlin’s.
6no. holes drilled, charged and well tamped and task completed in the usual satisfactory manner. Should be a good pile of rubble to clear on Saturday.
Jake, Tav, Nick and Matt.
Tav and Jake took turns at the dig face, Tav taking the first stint; I did the hauling; Nick on the shuttle with Matt on the surface.
Nick hauling back a skip loaded with rocks and a bag [click on image to watch video].
I don’t think Matt realised just how much work there would be after Wednesday evening’s blast. Rock and gravel was coming from the dig face at a good rate of knots for over an hour, every skip I hauled back was two or more skip loads out to the surface. Some of the larger rocks almost overfilled the skip and Nick reduced these in size with some mighty swings of the sledge hammer.
Jake works at loosening another boulder.
At the end some good forward progress had been achieved and the end still looks interesting. Another blast will be required in the week which will increase the working space and allow a better look ahead.
Matt looked a little shell shocked at the end of the session but happy. Refreshments at the hostelry were well earned today.
Solo.
I was in Wookey Hole with others on Saturday so didn’t make it to Hallowe’en. The rest of the team, however, did and had cleared the sediment that was surrounding some large rock obstructions.
My task this evening was to start the process of removing these inconveniences using some chemical persuasion. It was very pleasant working away drilling the holes, six in total five of which were 400mm depth, charged, stemmed and all brought to a satisfying conclusion. Should be some debris to shift on Saturday although I will bring along the capping gear just in case it’s required.
Up to the Hunter’s to bid farewell to Snablet, Annette and family who are leaving tomorrow after an all too brief visit from New Zealand.
With Jake and Alex.
Me digging, Jake clearing and Alex doing the haul and shuttle to the entrance. We started off by clearing the loose rock debris from last weeks ‘capping’.
Jake’s hands are a blur as he shifts back the loose rock debris!
Then I got the bar to work levering out the fractured rock that was still in situ. Eventually managed to drop two large lumps that required further reduction so asked for the capping gear to be sent up. While waiting for the bag to arrive I set into one of the boulders with the lump hammer and managed to split the rock. I was surprised to see that it comprised entirely of flowstone, the various banding clear evidence for a succession of formation episodes.
Those rocks cleared I moved forward to clear some loose rock from a narrow rift that had been exposed and then detected cool air movement with more open space beyond, not massive space but compelling. Much of the blockage in the narrow rift had been caused by detached, degrading calcite flowstone. After some effort a better view was gained and the space c.2 metres length is looking interesting indeed with a good draught. Jake came forward to have a look and confirmed my initial findings.
Vince reaches forward in the narrow rift to clear out some more of the blockage.
The rift appears to widen to the right hand side lower down and it seems like the best way to proceed would be to lower the floor half a metre or so. To the right there appears to be some large boulders that can be reduced in size and subsequent removal will create working room.
The way ahead!
Time was moving on so tidied up the loose spoil and made our way out to clear what was a considerable pile of rock stacked in the entrance. We didn’t count the number of skip loads but Jake’s back indicated it was c.40-50 and probably the best part of a ton, there were 10 bags of spoil too.
A sign of the times is when the conversation goes along the lines of [quote from AG] “I’ve had some f*****g good tomatoes this year”, gone are those day’s when it might have been “I had a f*****g good time last night 18 pints and…”
The cave cleared, bags empty, it was time to head back down to the farm, then the rain decided to fall. We got changed and headed up to the Hunter’s Lodge Inn satisfied with our mornings effort.
With Jake and Tav.
Jake digging, Tav clearing away, me on the haul and shuttle. Digging was fairly steady so had a little time to mess around with the new camera.
The Tissue (Triphosa dubitata). This species is often seen in caves and is a regular sighting in Hallowe’en Rift.
After about 20 loads of rocks and bags were shifted back and stacked in the entrance a message came back that there were a couple of largish rocks that required some reduction. Jake and Tav came back to clear the spoil out to the surface while I headed up to the end with the capping gear.
Bags and rock are stacked in the entrance shaft ready to be cleared to the surface.
At the end drilled a total of 5 holes, after each hole was drilled it was then ‘capped’ and the resulting debris cleared to one side ready for the next hole to be drilled. The rocks suitably reduced/fractured it was time to pack up and join the others on the surface and to make our way, eventually, back up the hill to the Hunter’s Lodge Inn.
With Alex Gee.
It was really good to see Alex up at Hallowe’en again.
The first job of the morning was to pack all the dry bags into 10’s ready to be taken underground and refilled on later digging sessions. Then, as I opened up the cave we were joined by a fledgling robin that showed no fear of human presence and sat next to us, within less than 0.5 metre, this is probably not a good indicator for a long term survival strategy, but a pleasant experience all the same.
While I slipped underground to take some photo’s Alex went to look at a feature he wanted to check out on the hillside.
In particular, I wanted to try and take an image of the current working area, and here it is below, the lump hammer for scale.
On the way to the dig face there are some decent formations, not all that big but worth preserving and taking a look. The bluish tinge is a consequence of lighting by LED I assume.
Back on the surface I had just started moving some of the rocks when Alex returned from his foray and we started work to build the retaining wall a little higher.
There was a good supply of rocks, these were put into position and sediment will be packed behind the rocks at the next digging session to consolidate the wall. When the rock supply was exhausted it was then that we decided to make our way to the Hunter’s satisfied with the morning’s effort, a little earlier than anticipated but thirsty all the same, and the flies were becoming very irritating!
With Matt Tuck.
Started the session scratching away some sediment from the passage floor before deciding to see what effect ‘capping’ would have on the slab of rock in the roof. The slab measured about 1 metre in length, 700mm wide and ranged between 150mm to 250mm thickness, only 1 hole was required to bring it down but several more were needed to reduce it to manageable sized lumps. On examination of the fractured rock it is clear to see why the drilling is variable, there are limestone and occasionally sandstone clasts, surrounded in an iron rich matrix that has changeable density, and there are vugs containing calcite crystallisation, the slab also had a flowstone up to c.70mm thickness on one side. The outcome was 13 skip loads of rock and 6 bags of mostly gravel being hauled out to the surface, the rock was put to one side for walling and the bags were emptied on the spoil heap. There is more space at the end for digging now, so it was deemed a successful morning.
The refreshments at the Hunter’s had been earned.
24th July 2016:
Sunday morning and the dog needed a walk so decided that I would go over to Hallowe’en Rift and get the lump of flowstone that I had left there. Parked at the end of Dursdon Drove and walked along the hilltop at Rookham before crossing fields down to Hallowe’en Rift. At the cave I took some photographs, put the lump of flowstone into my bag before spending a few minutes placing some more stones onto the retaining wall.
As previously mentioned (23/07/2016 entry) after splitting a lump of flowstone yesterday another older speleothem was revealed encased within it, as is clearly seen in the image below.
The other lump of flowstone also reveals an older speleothem. Just to the right of centre the remains of a small stalagmite ‘boss’ can be seen below successive layers of flowstone.
Both these remnants of flowstone have been recovered from the sediments removed from the ongoing dig at the end of Merlin’s Magic Milk Parlour. It would be interesting to get these dated to establish whether the ages are similar to the dates from previous samples.
With Tav and Nick.
It was a warm walk up to the cave entrance, underground it was much cooler. Dragged my tackle bag with ‘capping’ kit and drill to the dig face to deal with the rocks that were impeding progress. A couple of holes and the resulting debris was passed back to Nick, who was doing the clearing away. A rather hungover Tav was on hauling duties.
I set about clearing spoil from the end while Nick seemed to be trying to bury me as he was working on enlarging and tidying the passage behind me. I managed to remove a couple of large rocks, creating some space to the right hand side of the passage. More bags filled and rocks barred out of the way, the digging was progressing quite well. By the end of the session there were a few small gaps/spaces appearing and the prospects look interesting. There is plenty to do to enlarge the space I had created and it might require some removal of rock from the roof to make a bit more working space.
Nick and Tav went to the entrance to start clearing out to the surface while I drilled one more hole to split a rock ready for removal next session. Packed the kit away and headed out to help the others.
At the entrance I was a little surprised to see just how much spoil had been removed – 25 bags and 15 skip loads of rock – some of the rock required reduction in size, this was achieved with the use of the sledge hammer.
Interestingly one large lump of flowstone was split open to reveal that it had formed around an older speleothem. This was put to one side on the surface with the other interesting lump of flowstone that I, once again forgot to pick up and bring home for further examination.
As usual the morning ended with a trip to the Hunter’s Lodge Inn for some refreshment and debrief.
With Tav.
After fiddling with my light at the cave entrance I ventured underground to join Tav, who had gone ahead to start digging. It was soon decided that it would be better if the large rock to the left side was removed. So Tav and I swapped places and I got to work with the ‘capping’ gear, 3 holes drilled and the rock was reduced to rubble. After clearing the rock debris away Tav moved forward to continue digging, filling bags with sediment and passing the odd stone back every now and then. There are a couple of obstinate wedged rocks that are impeding forward progress, these will require some attention but that can wait until the next digging session. It was surprising how soon we had amassed a considerable pile of spoil at the top of the pot, so we dropped back to shift it all to the entrance.
17 bags and about 10 skip loads of rock were eventually hauled up to the surface. It was very warm and humid, the flies were particularly very, very annoying, we could have done with a very large flock of spotted flycatchers at the entrance.
Bags emptied, rock stacked to one side, cave entrance secured, it was time to depart. Once again I forgot to pick up a lump of flowstone that I wanted to examine in closer detail, try and remember it next week.
The beer at the Hunter’s was, as ever, welcome.
With Nick, Matt, Pete Bolt and pleasantly surprised to see Tangent pedal over to offer his services on surface duties.
We met up at the Hunter’s a bit later this morning as I had to take the dog to the vets in Wells, anyway we all piled into the truck, except John who pedalled, and headed down to the farm. Got changed and walked across the field, keeping a watchful eye on the bull, into the woods to the cave entrance.
At the entrance I gave a quick demonstration on the use of ‘capping’ as some of the team hadn’t seen it done before, successfully splitting a largish boulder.
Underground it was my turn to dig, Pete clearing away with Nick and Matt hauling and shuttling to the entrance. Digging was slow progress, raking out sediment around cobbles and boulders. We are following a narrow rift at the moment, to the left side the bedding is becoming lower with bedrock rising, to the right side tightly packed rocks and sediment. There are a couple of obstinate slabs of rock in the way, loose but not quite loose enough. The task wasn’t any easier as the lump hammer had a loose handle that kept slipping whenever it was swung into action. The slabs are not deemed suitable for ‘capping’ in their current position and it seems that forward progress will likely be slower for a while as we deal with the rocks.
Back on the surface it seemed that Tangent hadn’t emptied the bags because he didn’t have any gloves, a poor excuse! There weren’t too many so it didn’t take long to empty them and hang the bags up. A quick squirt of WD40 on the lock and it was time to head back to the farm, get changed, and up to the Hunter’s for refreshments.
Matt then announced that he didn’t have any money, he was saved further embarrassment by Tangent who gallantly volunteered to cycle to a cashpoint in Wells then pedal up the hill to the pub to deliver good English pounds to the cash-strapped Matt who could then buy a round for the rest of us, especially Tangent.
Spent the afternoon mooching around Priddy Folk Festival and it was good to catch up with some old acquaintances. Even got to listen to some half decent music in the free tents.
With Jake, Tav, Matt Tuck and another new participant to join the quest for ‘caverns measureless’, Duncan ‘Smasher’ Price.
Tav went to the dig face, Smasher clearing the spoil away, Matt hauling, me on the shuttle and Jake on the surface. With a good strong team it would be possible to shift the spoil all the way from the dig-face to the surface.
My first task was to ‘cap’ the boulder at the bottom of the entrance. When it was broken into more manageable pieces it was hauled out by Jake who was busying himself building up the retaining wall. Meanwhile Matt had been hauling the fractured rock from the boulder I had ‘capped’ at the dig-face last week and there was now quite a pile of debris to shuttle back, it was warm work for a few minutes. Some of the rock still required a bit more size reduction, this was achieved by battering them with the sledge hammer. Didn’t count the number of skip loads of rock that were hauled up to the surface but it must have been a couple of dozen or so.
After the rock came the bags, around 60 in total, along with even more rocks and some remnants of flowstone that was recovered from within the sediment. These remnants are likely to be of considerable age.
After spending the morning on the surface Jake, by now was fed up with the flies and it was time for us all to take some well-earned refreshments at the Hunter’s Lodge Inn.
At the Hunter’s came the quote of the day “can’t make it next week I’ve just signed up for online dating!”
Going to be a reduced team for next week, Jake’s off touring the Hebrides, Tav is working and Smasher will be at Priddy Folk Festival on first aid duties.
With Jake and Tav.
Following a recent visit at the end of May to the Yorkshire Dales where I participated in the Haggs Brow Cave Excavation Project I had been reminded how effective ‘capping’ was in the reduction of boulders. I decided that I would obtain the necessary equipment, made a few enquiries and now there is a set of ‘capping rods’ and sundry items in my possession and ready for use.
At the cave there were several large boulders at the bottom of the entrance that were awaiting removal and I set about the task of reducing them to more easily managed pieces. While I was busy in the entrance Jake and Tav went ahead to continue digging.
In general, the boulders split well, although sometimes a little too aggressively, this might be a consequence of the variable density of dolomitic conglomerate. I will need to get hold of a mixture of cartridge strengths to overcome this. Anyway the outcome was a good pile of rubble to shift later.
I packed the kit away and went along the passage to start to clear away the back-log of filled bags to the entrance only to have complete light failure (should have changed batteries). So had to go back down to the farm to get a spare light from the van. On my return I discovered that Tav and Jake had effectively walled themselves in at the end of the cave with an increasingly large pile of rocks and bags. It was warm work removing the blockage, especially rolling another large rock towards the entrance. Tav then called back to say that Jake was filling the last couple of bags and digging was now impeded by a large rock that required my attention.
Jake and Tav returned from the dig to clear the spoil to the surface while I headed up to the end. It was indeed a large rock and required half a dozen or so holes to break it into suitably sized lumps ready for removal. A second boulder to one side needs to be better exposed before that can be dealt with. Packed away my kit for a second time and headed off to re-join the others.
The considerable pile of rock, rubble and bags had been cleared to the surface and the large boulder that I had dragged part way back was now sat on the ledge at the bottom of the entrance ready for capping – but the consensus of opinion was that it will wait until next week. It had been a good session and it was now time for the pub.
With Tav.
Had to climb over the farm gate as it was locked and headed over to the shed to change. It didn’t take too long to get changed and up across the field to the cave. While I opened the lock Tav packed up 20 bags ready to head off to the end. At the present end of Merlin’s set about digging away and filling bags (click on image below to see Tav’s digging style) and I hauled the bags and assorted rocks down to the top of the pot to be removed later.
The beauty of this dig is that at the end of each session the forward progress is noticeable. Tav had expanded the small opening overhead that Nick had exposed last week and there are a couple of options for further progression, enough to keep it interesting.
When the bags were all filled we shifted position to remove the spoil to the base of the entrance prior to hauling out to the surface. We ended the morning by clearing out our spoil for the day plus some of the accumulated rocks that had built up over the last few sessions. Bags all emptied at the end of another productive digging session, a total of 20 bags and 11 skip-loads of rock out to the surface, we headed down to the farm, ready for some refreshment, it was quite warm and humid, and we were thirsty.
With Nick Hawkes and Matt Tuck.
Really good to see Matt re-join the fray, the last log entry I can find is dated 25/01/1992. Mind you Matt has spent most of the that gap based overseas.
Anyway I digress, back to the job in hand. Nick went to the dig face while Matt went to clear the bags from him, including those I had filled last weekend. I did the long haul back and shuttled spoil to the bottom of the entrance. Access to the West Series at the moment is blocked by a wall of rocks still waiting to be hauled out to the surface. Matt’s shiny new kit was now slightly soiled and he appeared rather warm. The cave is drying out nicely now so definitely more suitable for lightweight cotton overalls than cordura oversuit.
At the end of the digging session we moved back to clear the accumulated spoil up to the surface, first the bags – didn’t think to count how many but it was certainly well over 30, then a slight reduction of the pile of rocks. On the surface the bags were emptied on to the ever burgeoning spoil heap. The retaining wall now requires some further expansion, there is a ready supply of rocks unfortunately they are still below ground. Another job that awaits a full team, at least that team has grown by one.
To the pub!
After recovering from surgery on a dodgy elbow and recently spending several days in the Yorkshire Dales digging at Haggs Brow, Lower Winskill with a group of fine like-minded individuals, it was now time to get back to the local project.
No-one was available due to a whole host of reasons so decided to go solo. This was okay with me because it meant that I could check on the progress made and work at my own speed.
It was a warm day so got partially changed at the farm and packed the rest of my kit into a rucksack and walked up to the cave. At the entrance I got kitted up, packed 10 dry bags and made my way underground. The approach passage is drying out nicely just a couple of small drip puddles. The dig is really dry so I was comfortable in cotton overalls -£6 from Mole Valley Farmers, bargain. A wall of sediment consisting of silty sand with frequent cobbles and boulders including fragmented calcite formations confronted me. I set to work with the small pick, loosening the sediment, hooking out rocks, filling bags as I went and dragged them down the passage to stack them just out of the way along with several rocks. Working slowly forward I eventually opened up a small gap over the sediment that appears to continue, not overly large c.100mm but it is encouraging. The ceiling also looks more solid and it would be good to get away from the small choked rift that is presently overhead. It’s rather disconcerting feeling the tree roots tickling the back of your neck and the constant trickle of sediment falling down into your collar. I filled my 10 bags and found a few more already at the end so rounded up a baker’s dozen plus several rocks. That was enough for me, my elbow was a little tender in certain positions but generally felt good, I made an exit from the cave satisfied with the morning session.
Met Mark, the farmer, on the way back across the field cutting hay so stopped for a chat before going down to the farm, getting changed and making my way to the Hunters Lodge for some refreshment.
Due to a whole lot of reasons there was no digging action at Hallowe’en Rift this weekend!
Just Jake and Nick in attendance at the dig in Hallowe’en Rift this weekend and between them shifted over 50 bags.
I’m out of action for a couple of weeks or so after surgery on a dodgy elbow and the rest of the team had other commitments resulting in ‘no digging’ last weekend. A depleted team again this weekend, Tav reports:
“Nick digging and Tav dragging and stacking. 40 bags plus about ten skips worth of rocks stashed at the head of the pot ready for clearance next session. Dig face is passing below a choked rift to the surface so the decision was taken to follow it by trending left. Still sizeable. Then to Hunters for a couple.”
With Jake and Tav.
My turn to dig this session as I will be out of action for a couple of weeks or so after some surgery to sort out my dodgy elbow. Jake took up the clearing away role while Tav did the haul and shuttle.
The digging isn’t all that rapid as the fill comprises mostly compacted, cemented silt, sand and gravel with numerous cobbles and boulders. Wrestled for a while with one quite large boulder that, later required a combined effort to get it up to the surface. Tav used some of the spoil to fill in some holes along the approach passage that were result of hauling the skip, Jake spent some time gardening the longer haul route we had created last session, must be c.15 metres up to the dig.
24 bags were hauled out to the surface, 8 had been used for repairs, 11 skip loads of assorted rocks and 1 large boulder, there is still the even larger boulder at the bottom of the entrance awaiting removal.
The images above and below are of the formations we have managed to dig around and preserve in Merlin’s Magic Milk Parlour.
With Jake.
It was okay with just the two of us as it allowed a couple of missions to be completed without to much disruption to digging.
1. Took my drill underground and Jake drilled a hole into the large boulder, balanced precariously at the top of the pot, then inserted a bolt into the rock. This enabled us to drag the boulder along using some short scaffold boards that had been brought up to the cave for another purpose.
“We could teach those Stonehenge builders a thing or two about shifting stones” was the gist of Jake’s comment, except of course they wouldn’t have access to a 36v battery drill and…I digress.
Suffice to say the boulder removal worked rather well and it is now at the bottom of the entrance awaiting removal to the surface when we have more of the team here.
2. The construction of a bridge over the pot. We retrieved the two short ladders from below along with anything else that might be reusable – bags, etc. The shortest ladder was then positioned over the pot and hammered down into place, two boards were then put on top. The longer ladder was placed alongside on its edge to act as a barrier. A bit of passage shape modification and packing of mud around the boards and ladders then it was time for a test run. After a quick sort out of the hauling ropes Jake went up to the end to fill some bags, I went back to ‘Stal bend’ for the hauling back of the skip. First one bag – success, then tried a bigger load – all went pretty well, a couple of mishaps but that was put down to overloading of the skip. There is some scope for a little passage modification but all in all the two missions were completed.
Ten bags and an assortment of rocks were filled, removed and emptied and then it was pub time!
With Jake, Tav and Nick.
Another delightful spring morning to be on surface duties. While the rest of the team were underground toiling away I whiled away the time packing away the dried bags ready for use at a later date, continued with the drystone wall (started by Nick last session) to tidy the appearance of the spoil heap, interrupted every now and then when required to haul bags and rocks from below. The sun was shining, it was warm in the sunshine and I was slightly overdressed again, the trees are showing the bright green of fresh leaf growth, the birds were in song, it was pleasant indeed.
Meanwhile below ground Tav was doing the digging with Jake clearing away. Nick took the opportunity to go along Toil and Trouble to the dig beyond the T Junction and retrieve the stack of tools left there, some of these tools will be relocated to the dig in Wookey Hole on Thursday evening, while there he untied the haul rope so it could be re-used at the present dig. 40 bags were filled and emptied along with an assortment of rocks including the large boulder left over from last week, Nick came up to the surface to help haul it out, the rocks were all added to the wall. Tav reported that good forward progress had been gained and the passage was of comfortable proportions. All done and dusted it was time to leave and make our way down to the farm.
At the Hunter’s Lodge Inn a fine firkin of Bath Ales SPA had been tapped and we felt obliged to enjoy a few glasses and talk about our various digs in progress at the moment. A satisfying conclusion to a pleasurable morning’s work.
Almost 35 years on who’d a thought we’d still be scratching away over here. The pdf above is a personal account of the early years spent digging at Hallowe’en Rift with most of the present team making an early appearance too. For completeness the file covers the period to the end of 2011 around the time when this blog begins…
With Nick. Other commitments such as surfing and fishing have resulted in a somewhat depleted team today, but progress is still possible with the two of us.
A bit of a contrast in the weather for the walk up the hillside, yesterday was a glorious spring day while today – more typical of holiday weather – it’s grey and overcast with strong winds and rain as ‘Storm Katie’ approaches. Much better to spend the morning sheltered underground!
Up at the digging end it is slower going at the moment mostly due to the more compact granular sediment. Although the upper few centimetres are looser sandy silt below a thin layer of degrading calcite the lower bulk of the sediment comprises a matrix of compact, slightly calcified silt within abundant gravel, cobbles and occasional boulders. The excavation method employed was to loosen the sediment with a small bar, working on both sides of the passage to maintain both direction and width, then moving back slightly to shovel the loosened spoil into bags. The filled bags were then passed back to Nick who loaded them into a couple of drag trays and moved the spoil back to the entrance, which is now getting much further away. A few small formations that needed moving were carefully relocated to a new home as part of the ‘stal’ resettlement program. After the removal of a large boulder we were able to gain the “open space” previously noted, unfortunately this was not quite as “open” as we had anticipated but it does seem to continue. The way ahead, as usual, is still blocked by more sediment, at least we appear to be getting beyond the formations and the prospects still look interesting.
As ever the final task of the session was to haul the bags out of the cave and empty them, the large boulder that Nick had rolled back to the entrance was left until next week when hopefully there will be more of us.
With Jake, Nick and Tav.
Not such a pleasant morning this week as last – grey and quite cool in the north easterly breeze. At least I wasn’t going to be on the surface this session that was Nick’s duty this weekend. Jake was at the sharp end doing the excavation, Tav was clearing back and it was my turn to do the haul and shuttle. Sort of lost count of the number of bags shifted along with several skip loads of rock, but when I went to have a look at the end was very surprised at the amount of forward progress made during the last couple of sessions. About another metre or so should see us level with what appears to be more open space. The digging is a little slower due to the sediment becoming much rockier. Another good session over and time to make our way to the Hunter’s for refreshments. Then home to watch 6 Nations rugby and to see England beat the French to win the Grand Slam – an almost perfect Saturday!
Here is a video clip about digging to amuse you, it made me smile anyway. WARNING: this video contains an earworm!
It’s not a theme song for the team working at Hallowe’en Rift as Jake and Alex are both far too tall.
With Tav, Jake and Nick.
After doing the digging bit last session it was my turn for surface duties this weekend. As it turned out I was rather overdressed in my plastic caving suit on this pleasant spring-like morning. Once the others had disappeared underground I spent a little time tidying up around the cave entrance, packing away the empty bags, etc., before settling back to take in the pleasure of being in an English wood. Down in the village below could be heard the occasional barking of a dog, the sounds of children playing. I watched a group of dainty long tailed tits flittering about in the branches of a hazel just showing signs of fresh leaf growth; overhead the plaintive call of a buzzard as it soared high on rising thermals, all around there were the sounds of other birds going about their daily business – wood pigeons, blackbirds, robin, chaffinch, coal tit, rooks, jackdaws, etc. A farmer then decided it was time to cut his hedgerows, a task that mostly drowned out the sounds coming from the village. This peaceful appreciation of the English countryside and life was truncated every now and then by a shout of “Yo” coming from the cave below as another batch of bags and occasionally rocks were ready to be hauled out, the bags were then emptied and hung up on the line or on a branch. Underground Nick was digging and filling the bags, Jake was clearing them back and Tav was on the haul and shuttle. 56 bags were filled and emptied along with 6 skip loads of rock. Good progress forward was made and we left Hallowe’en Rift to make our way down to the farm satisfied with the mornings work and ready for refreshments at the Hunters Lodge Inn.
With Jake, Nick and Tav. A stronger team this week, makes things so much easier.
Me at the digging end, Nick clearing, Jake on the haul/shuttle and Tav on the surface hauling and emptying the bags. 53 bags and 5 skip loads of rock out to the surface. The digging is superb and just beyond the little rift to the right hand side it’s nice and dry. Just ahead there appears to be a change, about a metre further on the roof seems to rise into a rift (?) and beyond that there appears to be more space, unfortunately there is a forest of stal that we will have to try and dig around. The prospects ahead look interesting.
9 people helping out at Wookey Hole on Thursday evening I can’t understand why there isn’t the same enthusiasm for Hallowe’en Rift 🙂
Anyway the sun was shining, it was pleasantly warm, the bags were all empty and there was a rather fine barrel of Bath Ales Special Pale Ale waiting at the Hunters Lodge Inn.
With Tav.
Just the two of us again this week. Tav came armed with a newly acquired shiny red mattock to ease spoil removal and it was his turn to dig with me doing the clearing away and hauling. The shiny red mattock did indeed seem to be very effective and bags were being filled quickly although the mattock did not remain very shiny for too long. Along the way I found two bags that had somehow been left behind last week and Tav filled another 38 bags to add an impressive stack in the entrance, and there were some rocks as well. Then came the hardest part of the session clearing the 40-odd skip loads to the surface and emptying the bags. That done it was time to lock up, get changed and go to the pub.
With Tav.
Just the two of us today and not really an idea of how much it would be possible to shift. We changed at the farm in the swanky facilities there and took up some of the bright new bags supplied by that very nice man, Duncan Price. The digging, as always is the easy bit, it’s the removal of the spoil that proves to be tougher. Anyway we settled into a good rhythm and before we realised it three dozen bags were filled along with a small number of rocks. I was at the front end digging and filling bags while Tav was scraping away the residual sediment and stashing the bags to one side. When half a dozen were filled we moved back a notch and the bags were shifted along to the entrance, this routine was then repeated until our quota was met. Then comes the hardest part with just the two of us, hauling the spoil out to the surface, not good for the back but Tav stoically completed the task, then all we had to do then was empty the bags. The result was that we were rather late on parade at the Hunter’s Lodge Inn for our debrief, but it had been a satisfying morning’s session.
While underground and before getting too mucky we shot some more short vid’ lengths. These have been edited to produce for your delight and amusement a short video nasty ‘Motorway to Merlin’s’
With Jake and Tav.
Continuing with the extension of the “motorway to Merlin’s”, Tav at the sharp end forging ahead while my task was to clear the bags to Jake on the haul and shuttle run. What used to be a flat out wriggle up to Merlin’s is now hands and knees crawling and is 2 metres wide in places. We are still working our way to the right in an effort to try and avoid the best formations. Tav detected some air movement coming from the space ahead. As Tav filled the bags and rolled back cobbles and boulders I was scraping away the residual sediment to reveal the rock floor below. Meanwhile Jake was shifting the bags and rocks to the entrance, every now and then the sound of the large slab of rock being reduced in size by some mighty swings of the sledge hammer – the rock eventually succumbed! 40 bags filled and stacked in the entrance it was time to clear all out to the surface. About 50 loads is enough to haul up the shaft, the heavier rocks moved first and then the bags, at the end of hauling the bags are emptied and hung up on the lines. then down the hill to the farm although I had to return and pick up the key I had left behind. All changed it was up to the Hunter’s Lodge Inn for refreshment and debriefing. Another marvellous mornings work.
With Jake, Tav and Nick.
Nick’s away working for the best part of the next month so he was given the digging honours and a sparkling new mini shovel to help fill the bags. Tav settled into a rather too comfortable position in the pot taking on the clearing role. I ended up on the haul and shuttle, which was unfortunate as I had wrongly assumed that I would be on the surface after digging last weekend which meant that I had left my knee pads in the van. This situation had occurred as Jake insisted on the surface duties as he had contracted the lurgy and didn’t want to infect the rest of the team. Anyway, the end result was 60 bags filled and emptied, some of the bags filled rather too well by an over enthusiastic Nick, plus a dozen or so skip-loads of rocks, some of which required a reduction in size by courtesy of the sledge hammer. A good session indeed and Nick reported that the passage was just about hands and knees size and still going on. Back at the surface Jake reported that it hadn’t rained for at least 20 minutes, it was time to lock up and walk down to the farm.
The weather was pretty miserable – strong winds and heavy rain at times – we were thankful for the use of the new changing hut. Then to the Hunter’s for a de-brief followed by an afternoon watching 6 Nations Rugby and England won in Scotland – does life get any better!
With Jake and Nick.
Continued with widening the approach into Merlin’s Magic Milk Parlour. My turn upfront digging, Nick doing the clearing, Jake on the haul/shuttle along to the entrance. It wasn’t too long before Nick decided to wrestle one of the large boulders stashed to one side last session along to Jake. The boulder didn’t give up without a fight causing some injury to Jake’s foot by squashing it. Meanwhile I was filling bags with sediment and had freed another large slab of rock for Nick to wrestle with. Back at the entrance Jake was beating the offending rock into submission with the sledge hammer. As I was progressing forward [and sideways] Nick scraped away residual sediment left behind into more bags. This is a very comfortable dig in a sizeable bedding and by concentrating our effort to the right-hand side we can bypass the best of the formations. There is air movement and air space over the top – bloody luxury! Time passed all too quickly and there was a considerable pile of bags and rocks to be hauled out to the surface. How many? no-one was counting this week.
Then we have the added bonus of our luxurious changing facilities, just like a proper caving hut should be!
Hunter’s Lodge Inn, well of course and some rather fine Bath Ales Special Pale Ale.
With Jake and Tav.
Mark, the farmer, has made us an offer of some salubrious changing facilities. An offer that we are more than happy to accept – a proper caving hut!
Today’s plan was to continue to enlarge the approach to Merlin’s. Jake was at the sharp end filling bags and shifting rocks, while Tav settled into, a rather too comfortable position in the pot, while I did the hauling and shuttling to the entrance. About 40bags filled and a number of rocks moved there was noticeable progress made. After shifting a particularly large rock out of the way – declared to be 20 bags worth – Jake decided that was enough and we shifted back to start hauling the spoil out to the surface. I struggled with the hauling as I couldn’t grip the muddy rope so at Jake’s suggestion I tied a lot of knots to aid the grip and that worked just fine. After the hauling out there is bag emptying (click on the image to see video)…
With Tav and Nick.
My turn at the front, Tav in the pot and Nick doing the haul and shuttle to the entrance shaft.
Todays mission was to clear the debris from last week’s rock reduction. There was a good deal of splatter covering the floor of the chamber comprising gravel and mud so plenty to clear away before starting to bar out the fractured rock. After shifting 35 bags of gravel, cobbles and slop along with 20 skip loads of rock the potential way ahead was cleared. The prognosis is not all that good, this end of the dig pinches down to a sediment filled fracture between rock c.100mm width. Although the trend appears to be going downwards it is in the wrong direction – south rather than north – and would require banging all the way. We will probably abandon this particular dig and concentrate the effort overhead through Merlin’s.
We were even later on parade at the Hunter’s Lodge Inn.
An evening stroll up to Hallowe’en Rift with Don McFarlane and Joyce Lundberg who are interested in carrying out some more stal dating on material from the cave. They weren’t dressed for an underground trip and seemed content to pick over the spoil heap for suitable material. I did venture down the shaft if only to get a hammer to break up some larger lumps of stal.
Don is Professor of Environmental Science at Claremont Colleges in California, USA; Joyce is Associate Professor at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada.
With Jake, Nick and Tav.
I met up with the team at the farm after collecting some supplies. Some prep work done went up to the cave where the team were already busy enlarging the approach into Merlin’s. I went down to the dig below to set about engineering the rock restriction. When I had finished we all made our way out to the entrance to clear the bags and rocks from there to the surface. All the spoil cleared away and my task completed it was time to lock the gate and make our way off the hill and up to the Hunter’s for the usual de-briefing.
First trip of the year!
With Tav, Jake and Nick.
Tav digging, me in the pot, Jake doing the hauling, Nick on the shuttle for a while then on surface duties. Cleared the bang debris and c.25 bags of sediment.
The skip returns on a wave of slurry, much of which is splattered in your face.
A conflab! The decision we need some more rock engineering. Cleared the last of the bags out to the surface, called it a day and headed up to the pub.
Solo
The day started with a trip over to the supplier in some very heavy rain. Of course there was the usual chat, a coffee, a mince pie and time slipped by.
Back at home I was a little peeved to find that one of the drill batteries appears to have died so a rethink was necessary regarding hole depth and numbers.
By the time I got to the farm the rain had ceased and it was a pleasant stroll up the hill to the cave. There were a few puddles along the passage and it was a bit damp at the dig but generally it was ok. Drilled the required holes in the rocks, charged, retreated to a safe position and fired. I retrieved the wire as that will be needed Tuesday when we begin another little project in a cave nearby.
With Jake, Alex and Nick.
Nlck and Jake at the business end, Alex hauling the bags and for a short while I helped out with the shuttling. When a dozen or so bags had been filled and stacked in the entrance it was my turn on the surface to haul out and empty the bags.
A total of 40 bags plus rocks shifted from the dig, we did think it would be a little slower this session as there was some rock barring forward progress. At least one of the rocks was removed and reduced to moveable pieces but the remaining rock(s) will require some chemical persuasion, this will be sorted out as soon as the supplier returns from sunning himself in the Caribbean.
To the Hunter’s for the usual refreshment and chinwag.
