Author: mendipgeoarch

I was away this weekend attending a workshop ‘Integrated Microscopy Approaches in Archaeobotany’ at the University of Reading. And, very good it was too.

However, there was an attendance at Hallowe’en Rift. Nick penned the following summary:

” A four-man team, Brockers, Jake, Matt and Nick, assembled.

After the usual pre-session discussions on the inappropriate actions of all those not present digging commenced. It was Nick at the face, Jake, then Brockers and Matt in the newly designated ‘Spastic Spot’ at the top of the slippery slope. There were 10 loads of rocks hauled out and 30 bags of mud and gravel. When the production rate slowed, Nick continued digging while the others moved outwards to clear the cave. The way on, well, it’s sort of lacking an air space, and isn’t the most compelling lead, but we have seen worse! 4 full bags were left in the cave. A retreat towards the Hunters was made in a timely manner, i.e. early.”

With Brockers.

Straight-up to the current focus of attention to continue the expansion of the fissure; 4no. holes, 550mm x 12mm, were drilled and filled. While I was doing that, Brockers replaced another of the skips and fettled the wire. All preparation and other tasks completed, the evenings work was brought to a satisfactory conclusion.

With Jake, Jon and Tav.

A small team for a Saturday again, no bother, still plenty to keep us occupied.

On arrival at the farm, it appears that the ‘Bambi-Man’ is not pleased with us and had left us a little note:
Some people are so tetchy about their ‘sheds on wheels’!

At the end of Another Emotional Journey, I went ahead to check Tuesday’s effort before Jon started digging, all was good. Tav was second in-line, on the long-drag back to load the skip to me, on the slippery slope, where I man-handled the bags and rocks up-slope and loaded the skip to Jake, on the haul and shuttle. As usual, the spoil was stashed at the bottom of the entrance rift, to be removed later.

The ‘mud-crete’ had set, making a smoother drag-run for the skip, although the skip eventually succumbed, and a replacement was required, the skip had been in a poor state before today’s effort began.

It was another good steady session and a total of 58 loads were cleared-out to the surface; 41 bags and 17 skips of rocks.

With Jake.

Always good to have some company and a helping hand with the kit.

At the current end of Another Emotional Journey, another 4no. holes, 550mm x 12mm, were drilled and filled, continuing the expansion of the narrow fissure.

While I was doing the drilling and things, Jake practiced his alchemist arts, combining sloppy sediment and cement to create ‘mud-crete’, this was then used to fill the deeper divots, near to the bridge over the pot, along the haul route. This will ease the passage, and prolong the life, of the skips. There were some tricky moves required on the way out with the wire to avoid the repairs.

The evenings work was brought to a satisfactory conclusion, this resulted in disturbing the peaceful slumbers of the roosting pheasants in the trees near to the cave entrance.

It was a cold, frosty evening, the stars were good though.

With Jake, Jonathon and Tav.

A smaller team assembled at the Hunter’s on another wet Saturday morning, ready to go digging.

At Hallowe’en Rift, while I opened the gate, the others packed bags prior to going underground. Jake, then went ahead to start bailing before digging, there were a few bags at the end left-over from Thursday evening. Jonathon was next in-line, clearing the filled bags and occasionally rocks, along Another Emotional Journey, loading the skip to Tav.
The haul through from Another Emotional Journey. Photographed by Mike Moxon.

With the smaller team size, Tav had the double-handling task of hauling the spoil from Jon, then up the slippery slope to transfer the spoil to the skip down to me, on the haul and shuttle.
Brockers at the top of the slope. Photographed by Mike Moxon.

The bags were then, stacked neatly in the entrance rift ready to be hauled out later, the few stones were put to one-side. A steady pace was maintained through the session, some of the bags seemed like they were going to be a joy to empty. Then, it was time to all move back and clear the spoil from the cave, up-top it was still raining but not too heavily. We took it in turns to haul the loaded skip up the rift, the rope wet and very muddy, making it slippery and difficult to grip. Once on the surface, the bags weren’t too much of a problem to empty. The count for the session was 49 bags (or 50, if you prefer rounded-up numbers) and a few skip-loads of stones.
Jon in Another Emotional Journey. Photographed by Mike Moxon.

As it did on Thursday, as soon as we were back at the shed, it rained heavily. Time for the pub, then rugby (6 Nations).

With Jonathon, Mike M, Brockers, Duncan and Tav.

At the end of Another Emotional Journey, I cleared the debris that resulted from Tuesday evenings effort, Jon shifting the rocks and bags filled with gravel along the rift to load the skip to Mike, on the slippery slope. Brockers, at the top of the slope, transferred the debris into the skip down to Duncan, on the haul and shuttle. Tav was on the surface. As usual, this wet winter, bailing was required before the digging activities commenced.

A total of 41 loads were moved-out to the surface, 14 skip-loads of rocks and 27 bags of gravel and finer sediment were emptied.

We arrived back at the shed just in time, the skies opened, and it bucketed down, again!

With Roz.

Drove over the hill in quite a flurry of snow.

Underground, at the end of Another Emotional Journey, continued with the expansion of the rift, 4no. holes, 550mm x 12mm, all nicely charged and tamped, rolled out the wire and the evening, brought to a satisfactory conclusion.

The snow, by now, had turned to sleet and come to, not much.

With Nick, Jake and Jonathon.

For one reason or another, a smaller team today.

Nick’s turn to dig, after bailing of course, Jake clearing away, it’s getting a long way now, the rift is c.10m in length and progressing. I was on the slope, man-handling the bags and occasional rocks to the top where, due to the size of the team, I loaded the skip to Jon, on the haul and shuttle, the bags and stones being stacked in the entrance rift.

Jake had cut-up a piece of quarry conveyor belt to fit inside the skip and provide some cushioning, this seems to have prolonged the life of the skip and it didn’t need replacing this session.

At the end of the digging, I went to the end to assess whether some induced rapid speleogenesis would be required in the mid-week. I was pleasantly surprised to see that a small space had been revealed, Nick commented that air movement could be detected, it’s always encouraging to have space to follow. As for IRS, it will be done, keeps the working space more comfortable and spoil removal better managed.

As usual, the last task of the session was to haul-out the bags and empty them, the stones were cleared-out too. Today’s tally: forty-two bags and half a dozen skip-loads of stones.

Today’s refreshments had been earned!

With Jonathon, Jake, Brockers, Nick and Duncan.

Initially, I went to the end, reeling in the wire as I progressed, to check the results of Tuesday evenings effort. It had done just what it was supposed to do. Satisfied, I turned back and took up position on the haul and shuttle. Brockers, after bailing out the pond, was upfront, aided by Nick, who was clearing back to Jake on the slope, Duncan was up top loading the skip to me. That left Jonathon on the surface, hauling and emptying.

After not very long, I had to replace the skip, we are wearing them out at an alarming rate, the plastic used to form the drums is not very resilient, probably something to do with biodegradability. Later, at the end of the session Jake mentioned the replacement skip was already worn-out. Changing the skip caused a backlog of spoil and it wasn’t too long before the team decided to move back and get the cave cleared out, I went up to the surface to join Jonathon.

The total count for this evening, 49 loads out to the surface, 25 skip-loads of rock and 24 bags.

With Roz.

After a decent dry day…it’s still wet and muddy underground!

Continuing the expansion works at the current end of Another Emotional Journey. Drilled 4no. 550mm x 12mm holes on the left-side of the rift. It’s so much better with some assistance, keeps the kit that bit cleaner. The evening was brought to a satisfactory conclusion.

We stopped in at the Hunter’s on the way home, well, churlish not to!

With Brockers, Jake, Nick, Jonathon and Tav.

Jon digging, Tav, back into action after a few weeks off, was clearing back to Nick, on the slope, Jake, up-top, loading the skip to Brockers on the haul and shuttle. Surface duties for me.

While waiting for the first bags to arrive, cleared-out a broken branch and re-located the pterodactyl to a new branch. Then the bags started to arrive, I can’t say they were a joy to empty, but it was okay. The rain, which didn’t let-up all morning, kept the haul rope usable, it didn’t become caked in mud, which usually means it is difficult to grip. Odd thing, at 40, 50 and 60 loads out, an especially heavy bag or two, the old back was not a fan of these. On one occasion, I heard some grumbling from below, the skip that had been replaced on Tuesday evening had already failed and needed another skip to take its place. Getting the frayed ends of the haul rope through the holes is never easy when everything has a liberal coating of mud.

The final count 74 loads out to the surface, 67 filled bags, all emptied, and 7 skip loads of stones, waiting to be used in the wall. Another fine session.

With Jake, Nick, Brockers, Jonathon and Mike M.

After reeling in the wire, I was upfront clearing the rock and gravel back to Jon. Mike, back on the slippery slope was then transferring the spoil up to Brockers. Jake was on the haul and shuttle, Nick on the surface.

The IRS had the desired effect and the end of the rift is now suitably widened. After shifting the loose debris, spent a little time with a hammer, bar and chisel to check for fractured rock still adhered, all good for digging on the weekend.

Nick had it good on the surface, busy, but not very many bags of slop to contend with, just bags of gravel and, the occasional cobble-size stone. The count was thirty bags and quite a lot of rocks, plenty of supplies for wall building.

Satisfied with the evenings work, it was time for the Hunter’s.

With Matt, Brockers and Duncan.

It was as wet and mucky as expected.

As I drilled the required holes, 4no. 550mm x 12mm, and sorted stuff out, with Matt’s assistance, Brockers replaced the skip on the long haul and then, finally got the better of the last boulder in Tuck Shop. Meanwhile, Duncan took the opportunity to explore the rest of the East Series and completed the round trip before returning to help haul my kit out and the fragmented rock from Tuck Shop.

Everything done, the evening was brought to a satisfactory conclusion. The rock was left at the base of the entrance for another day.

With Brockers, Jake, Nick and Matt.

Five go Digging!

Nick filling the bags, I was clearing the bags away to Jake, on the slope, passing the spoil up to Matt, who was loading the skip to Brockers on the haul and shuttle. The spoil was stacked at the bottom of the entrance climb.

Prior to the dig commencing, some bailing was required, the drip was strong today. The sediment, when first loosened is quite dry but, many of the bags are damp, causing the spoil to adhere to the inside, especially when the bags have been compressed. In between moving bags, I removed the old skip that had been wedged into a crack to form a platform, and replaced it with stones, makes the step up to load the skip a bit easier. The rift, at present, is about 7m long, with a vertical range c. 1.5 to 2.5m. The dig is becoming narrow, not quite shoulder width, so some alteration might…will be required soon. Keeping the drill and batteries dry and clean will be difficult though, still that’s an issue for another day.

When four packs of bags (40) had been filled and stacked in the entrance, we decided it was time to go and move them out to the surface and empty them. Along with the bags, the rocks that had been left in the entrance for a while now, were also removed.

It was raining too!

Found last weekend during digging activities by Jonathon, another cobble of lias, with striations etched out along laminations and cleavage (?).

This weekend, Brockers recovered this fragmented stalagmite from within the sediment as digging progressed. The cave must have been open a long time for this to form. The image above was taken with LED illumination, the one below using subdued flash.

With Brockers, Jonathon and Nick.

On the surface, prior to venturing underground, the drier bags were collected, shaken to remove any loose sediment, packed-up and dispatched into the cave, ready to be re-filled.

A rather subdued Brockers, suffering the consequences of a self-indulged malady, was doing the digging. Nick was clearing away the spoil, loading the skip to me, on the slope, from here I man-handled the bags to Jonathon. Jon, on top of the slope, stacked the filled bags and stones into the available space there.

When four packs of bags had been filled and stored, a brief discussion, shall we fill another pack, or should we empty those already filled? It was decided to head out and clear the cave. Jonathon went up to the surface, I was on the shuttle, Nick hauling the skip, Brockers at the top of the slope loading the skip. The bags and stone were quickly moved, the bags were hauled out to the surface, the stones left at the bottom of the entrance. The final task of the day was to empty the bags, 39 of them. Some were easy to empty, some were not and some of the bags had reached the end of their usefulness.

Satisfied with the mornings effort, we left for the farm and refreshments at the Hunter’s, where we were met by one of those that had fallen by the wayside.

With Jonathon, Brockers, Nick and Mike M.

Jonathon up-front digging, Brockers clearing away the filled bags to Nick, on the slippery slope, Mike was on top of the slope, loading the skip to me, on the haul and shuttle.

It’s still wet and muddy. After replacing the skip, they are wearing through at an alarming rate, around 40 bags plus some stone were hauled from the end and stacked in the entrance. At the end od the digging session, the bags were hauled out of the cave and emptied. There was plenty of jovial banter as the bags were being relieved of their contents.

With Jonathon, Jake, Nick and Brockers.

Festivities over, things return to normality.

My turn up front, digging; Jonathon, after three days on his sick-bed had wrested himself away to attend, stood in the ‘drippiest’ spot and cleared away the filled bags to Brockers, back on the slippery slope. Brockers, in between bags, ventured down into Tuck Shop to break-up some of the rocks still there. Jake was on top of the slope and Nick on the haul and shuttle, the spoil stashed in the entrance. Nick, also, dug a channel to drain away the puddles along the passage from the entrance.

Some bailing of water was required before the digging effort could commence, this didn’t take too long. Continued to follow the choked rift, as forward progress was made, the sediment remaining overhead became self-digging, largely induced by a strong seepage of water. A bar was utilised to alleviate this occurrence, revealing a narrowing of the rift above, lower down the rift continues, there is a small gap over the top where air movement can be detected, and it’s wide enough to work.

The usual 50 bags took a bit longer to fill than anticipated and the call came that the team were leaving to start emptying the bags, Jonathon and I filled the last couple of bags and joined them. All of us were suitably coated in mud after today’s effort.

With Jake, Jonathon, Nick, Tav and Brockers, who had collected a new digger for the team, Mike Willett.

Mike, as guest of honour for this session, was given the dubious pleasure of digging; I was in the drippiest place again but, to be honest, it wasn’t so drippy today. Jonathon was on the slippery slope once again, with Tav on top. Brockers and Nick were sharing the haul and shuttle, leaving Jake on the surface to haul-out and empty bags and wall-building, should the opportunity arise.

At the dig, a large puddle of water had formed, fed by the seepage of water from the sediment noticed last session. Initial attempts to get rid of the water failed so, Mike concentrated the digging effort to clearing-out a small alcove on the north-side, where a narrow space could be seen, the immediate potential here appears to be limited. As ever, it wasn’t too long before the team had sourced some bailing kit and we were able to drain the puddle sufficiently to enable digging to resume following the main lead. Sixty or so bags filled, some forward progress achieved, was a good enough effort for the session and we were ready for the pub. Each of the team left the cave with a substantial coating of sediment adhering to oversuits.

The last session of 2017.

With Jonathon, Nick, Jake and, eventually Brockers, who turned-up later.

A morning start, as we were all off work during the winter festivities. Plenty of ice and some snow on the hill, so Jake met us at the farm, not good weather for motorcycles.

Jake digging, I was clearing the bags and stones in, probably, the drippiest part of the cave, Jonathan on the slope. Nick, after replacing the skip on the haul and shuttle, was on the top of the slope.

Initially, the bags were stacked on top of the slope until Brockers turned-up, the spoil was then transferred to the bottom of the entrance rift. Each bag when filled, soon turned into slop, it was not going to be fun extricating the sediment from the bags after they had been compressed. Fifty bags (5 packs) filled, it was time to go and clear-out the spoil. Jake, however, remained for a while to mix some cement with sediment and fill an annoying hole that impedes the skip. Hopefully, the stabilised sediment will have hardened sufficiently by Saturday.

In the meantime, the entrance was cleared, the bags were emptied, everyone out, the cave secured, it was time to go. Another squalid session over, good progress being made.

With Jonathon, Nick, Jake and Brockers.

Nick digging, always good for him to be kept busy and out of mischief, Jake, after replacing the defunct skip, cleared the filled bags and stones away from the digger. It was my turn on the slippery slope, hauling the skip, then man-handling the bags and rocks up to Jon, at the top of the slope. Brockers, all by himself, on the haul and shuttle and stacking the spoil in the entrance, with no-one to talk to, the voices in his head kept him company.

About fifty bags were filled with sediment, most of it slop, these were going to be a ‘joy’ to empty, some more rocks were also added to the spoil stack. We decided then, it was time to go and clear-out the entrance. After being stacked and compressed the bags were, indeed, not easy to empty, but there was plenty of banter to keep us entertained as the task was completed. Also, gave the lock a bit of a clean and sprayed with WD40, before locking the cave and walking down the hillside to the farm. The field was left with red-brown streaks after rolling in the wet grass to remove the excess mud from oversuits. We changed and headed up to the Hunter’s Lodge Inn for our usual de-briefing. It was good to see Alex there too.

With Jake, Brockers, Nick, Tav, Jonathon and Mike.

After a ‘shopping’ trip last weekend, Brockers didn’t miss out on his turn up front and was ably assisted by Nick, Jake on the slope and I was at the top. Tav, on haul and shuttle, occasionally assisted by Mike, Jonathon was on the surface, also assisted by Mike, who was on a dual role this evening.

As expected, it was rather squalid at the dig and the bags, when filled, felt quite liquid, they were going to be a ‘joy’ to empty. It must be said, the bags when empty are almost as weighty as they are when filled. I cleared a few bags of slump material from the top of the slope to add to the bag count. Although some rocks were cleared out, as many, if not more were left in the alcove at the top of the slope.

We returned to the surface, to find it had been raining, and helped to empty the last few bags. The count, 43 bags and, possibly, a dozen loads of rocks, there is a discrepancy here due to a malfunction of the tally system.

It was quiet in the Hunter’s…until we arrived.

With Jake, Nick and Tav.

It was Brockers turn to dig but, he had gone to Bristol, we suspect Christmas shopping to purchase some squealish delights! This left us in a bit of a quandary, without our lead in Another Emotional Journey, what were our options?

When it was suggested, it was a fine morning, we were only a small team, it will be squalid underground, and, we had said, why don’t we sort-out the spoil heap wall? There wasn’t too much resistance, so that’s what we did.

I had to venture underground to look at a [potentially] loose slab of rock. At the top of the slope there had been a slump of sediment – about a wheelbarrow full. Another Emotional Journey was, indeed, wet, a puddle of water on the floor was drained away before the slab of rock was tapped and poked, it seems okay to me, the crack appears to be a bedding joint and was always there, no requirement for immediate action.

Back at the entrance, I called to Nick and we removed the dozen or so loads of rock from the bottom of the entrance. I was asked to go and get a mattock and spade from the top of the pot to aid the surface works.

On the surface, wall building was being carried-out in earnest with two sections receiving some attention. The largest section is to be terraced due to the height required, the second section increases space by encroaching into the bramble patch. The slumped spoil was levelled-off, and the walls built consolidated. Eventually we ran out off suitable rocks for building and decided to go to the pub. I’m sure more rock will become available soon.

With Brockers, Jonathon, Tav and Duncan.

Jonathon at the forefront, assisted by Brockers, it was Duncan’s turn on the slippery slope, with Tav on top of the slope, I was ‘Billy No-mates’, on the haul and shuttle.

The drip was strong tonight, each loaded skip arriving on a little bow-wave, attempts to drain the puddles proved futile. The bags of sloppy sediment were stacked in the entrance, this compresses them, it doesn’t improve the task of emptying the bags later. The rocks were stashed to one-side.

Time passes quickly on an evening and soon, we were moving back to clear the entrance of bags. Brockers had, rather cunningly it was suggested, swapped places with Jonathon. This resulted in Brockers getting the easier option of loading the skips to the surface, while Jon got the privilege of emptying the bags he had previously filled.

The final count for the evening, 36 bags to the surface and emptied, the rocks were left underground for another session.

With Jonathon, Brockers, Nick, and Jake.

At Another Emotional Journey, I took up position in the primary dig, Jonathon assisting and paying some attention to the secondary dig site, Brockers on the slippery slope once more, Nick at the top of the slope and [unofficial] tertiary digger, Jake on the haul and shuttle, spoil was stacked in the entrance.

Initially, I concentrated on removing the spoil from higher-up in the fissure, there has been some undermining and stuff is beginning to fall onto anyone digging below. While I was loosening the spoil, Jonathon was clearing sediment from the potential lead over the top of the fissure. The idea was to keep Nick busy, it didn’t quite work, Nick spent his spare moments clearing the passage along Merlin’s back to rock.

Working along the fissure, I exposed a small hole that appears to continue, there is a draught of air, possible circulation. In the fissure, is a degraded calcite vein, this also, seems to have some tiny gaps beyond. Looking up to the top of the c.3m high fissure, there is the underside of a false floor containing some shattered stalactites within calcite flowstone. Just as I had cleared away the last of the loose material and we were preparing to head-off to clear the entrance, I asked Jonathon to pass the hammer and chisel, I had noticed a fracture in the left-hand rock wall. A couple of blows and some leverage with a bar, the fractured rock gave way, resulting in a pile of rock and sediment on the floor. More interestingly, the fractured rock seemed to have formed a corner, and now it had been removed, there appears to be a widening of the fissure, negating the requirement for IRS, for the time being, there is plenty of scope for further progress, and potentially in a north to north-east direction.

The pile of debris was left, to be cleared out mid-week and we set-off to clear the entrance. Today’s count, 59 bags and a few loads of stones. There remains a pile of rocks at the bottom of the entrance, the priority was to get the bags emptied. It had been another satisfying session.

With Brockers, Jonathon, Tav, Nick, Duncan and Mike.

Duncan at the end of Another Emotional Journey, digging in the sloppy, sticky bit; I was clearing the bags and continuing the assault on the slab of rock, it did succumb; Jonathon was, once again on the slippery slope; Mike at the top of the slope and, I assume, Brockers and Nick sharing the haul and shuttle; leaving Tav, alone, on the surface.

After rain, it was wet and rather squalid in places.

Twenty-nine bags and sixteen skip-loads of rock were shifted out to surface, forty-five loads in total, to keep Tav busy and warm.

With Jake, Jonathon and Brockers.

A smaller team today, after some discussion and shifting about; Jake digging, I was assisting, Brockers was on the slippery slope and Jonathon at the top of the slope where the bags and rock were stashed.

Initially, Jake dug in the alcove, leading north, where the sediment was drier. The work continued until a rather large boulder (?) was exposed, far too big to move, impeding any further progress in this location, at least for the present. So, attention turned to continue working along the fissure, some fractured rock was removed, then bags of claggy sediment and gravel. The sticky mud makes movement somewhat laborious. Meanwhile, I set about battering a large boulder with a lump-hammer. The boulder is in the way of another potential dig, that could lead over the top of the fissure and false calcite floor. The boulder is starting to succumb, but requires some more attention.

Eventually, the available stacking space was filled, we moved back to clear the bags out of the cave. 45 bags and a couple of stones were hauled out of the cave, the rocks were left at the top of the slope until the next session. Still, a good effort with a small team.

With Jake, Tav, Brockers, Jonathon and Mike.

Jake had opted for surface duties this evening; Brockers doing the haul and shuttle; Jonathon on top of the slope; I was on the slippery slope that leads to Another Emotional Journey, where, Tav was digging with Mike assisting.

The IRS had the desired effect, the fissure is now wider and, initially, there was some rock debris to shift, some sediment had also been loosened. The drier, cooler weather recently has resulted in a reduction of the drips, it’s remains a little squalid in places, but there wasn’t a constant drip, drip down the back of the neck.

At the end of another productive session, 38 loads were hauled out to the surface, 21 bags and 17 skip-loads of rock, including Nicks pit-prop, it was a bit on the fousty side.

With Roz.

Some more induced rapid speleogenesis. 4no. holes, left-hand side of the fissure, to make it wider and easier to work. It’s still wet and rather claggy, difficult to get boots free from the mud after drilling holes. Still, all good, there should be some rock to shift next digging session.

With Jake, Jonathon, Tav, Brockers and Nick.

Brockers, sporting a pair of dapper orange dungarees, in a ‘Southern Comfort’ style, was on surface duties; Jonathon on the haul and shuttle; I was on top of the slope. Jake was on the slippery slope leading to Another Emotional Journey, where Nick, assisted by Tav, was digging.

Bags and rocks were coming through at a steady rate when, there came a lull in proceedings as Nick moved a large slab of rock that became wedged tight in the fissure, effectively preventing any more forward progress. Then followed the sound of the rock being battered with the sledge hammer, the rock finally succumbed, and was moved to one-side with some difficulty, and there it remains. Bags and rocks started to be moved-out again. The dig face has become a little squalid, Nick started to show signs of despondency, this is not permitted and Tav told him to get on with digging.

At the end of the session, 80 loads shifted out to the surface, 64 bags and 16 skip-loads of rock.

Above image is ‘rock of the day’, it has some interesting striations, presumably these were formed during sediment transport in a high energy environment.

With Jake, Jonathon, Nick, Brockers, Duncan and Mike.

First task was to check the results of the IRS and to retrieve the wire, it could do with a little TLC. The bulge has been removed, and some large flakes of rock taken-off either side of the fissure, making it wider. Satisfied, I went back to join Duncan on the haul and shuttle, I did the hauling, no knee-pads. After the digging stint on the weekend, Jonathon was on the surface. Brockers forged ahead on the digging front, Nick and Mike assisting, Jake was on top of the slope.

After recent rain, the drips are bigger and there are more of them, the spoil is becoming even claggier. The large rocks took their toll on the skip and, towards the end of the session, it died. Jake replaced it and took pleasure in the ease of movement a new skip affords.

A total of 58 loads were hauled out to the surface, 33 bags and 25 skip-loads of rock (although the rock-net was employed for a couple of rocks). A fine evening session.

Solo.

It was, a bit of a struggle this evening with the kit in the wet, mucky conditions. This was not helped by all the loose crap at the top of the slope and, down it too, probably the result of some pointless digging activity last weekend. At Another Emotional Journey, it was claggy and took some doing to place the kit out of the drips there.

Two holes drilled into the bulge of rock, to ease the passage of the skip and two holes, either side of the fissure to widen it making digging a bit more comfortable. It was a slow trip out with the kit and wire, but all sounded well at the end of it.

All that’s left to do now is to clean all the kit!

With Jake, Jonathon, Nick, Tav, Brockers and Matt.

Jon’s turn to dig, Tav was to clear-away, but quickly completed the survey too, Brockers was on the slippery slope, with Nick on top of the slope, Matt and Jake sharing the haul and shuttle. My turn up-top, on the surface.

Initially it was quiet, so Jake returned to the surface to do walling. I, too, was adding to the wall. After a while, Matt called-out to say there was a backlog of bags, Jake returned underground. Then followed about 40 loads, one after the other, the backlog was transferred from below ground to above it. After that the bags kept coming at a steady rate, this meant there was not enough time to empty many of the bags. The haul rope, by now, was impregnated with mud and was wet making it difficult to grip. Eventually, thins settled down a little and Jake returned to the surface to help empty the bags, some of the bags were reluctant to disgorge their contents, the sediment is now, claggy.

Nick moved back to help Matt on the haul and shuttle, this resulted in another quick-fire session of hauling. In total, 83 loads out to surface, 78 bags and 5 loads of rock. It was pub-time!

Got down to the farm and was changed, when I realised that I had left my caving helmet up at Hallowe’en Rift, so I trudged back up the hill to fetch it. My, once waterproof, shoes have holes in them.

With Jake, Tav, Nick, Jonathon, Duncan and Mike. Our ‘sympathies’ are with poor, delicate Brockers who was tucked-up in bed with ‘man-flu’.

Me digging, Jon loading the spoil into the skip behind me, Duncan’s turn on the slippery slope, hauling the skip, transferring it to Tav, on top of the slope. Nick was doing the haul and shuttle, with Jake on the surface. Mike, who was a little behind time, joined us a bit later and, I assume, helped-out on the surface or on the haul/shuttle.

Digging, usual thing, loosen sediment with a mattock, fill a bag, pass-back to Jon, repeat. Working along a fissure/rift, where c.3m ahead there appears to be a wall and a possible left-turn (north), but can’t be certain until we get there. Happily digging away, a hole appeared in the floor, open space, a draught. Jon had a look, Tav came to have a look, interesting. Unfortunately, we had re-connected to a dig at the bottom of the ‘lower’ series that contains Nick’s pit prop, another leg to the ’round trip’. This outcome was not unexpected. That said, the dig was never finished and, the fissure/rift still need to be followed. As ever, there is plenty of stuff to keep us occupied for a long time yet!

On the surface, the team were obviously in a rush to get to the pub and had left, I locked up and followed. I didn’t give a it thought until later, how many skip-loads were brought out to the surface?

Jake later confirmed the skip count, 30 bags and 6 loads of rock.

With Jake, Jonathon, Brockers and Tav.

More heavy rain, another section of spoil-heap wall has collapsed. We’ll have a wall-sorting session when it dries-up a bit.

In the cave, there are plenty of drips forming several puddles, at least the passage of skips will be well lubricated.

Jake started on Another Emotional Journey, loosening the spoil with a mattock, then shovelling it into bags. I was on the slippery slope, hauling the filled bags and occasional rock from Jake, up to Jon, on top of the slippery slope. Brockers was hauling and shuttling the spoil to Tav, on the surface.

Seventy-four loads were hauled out to the surface, 65 filled bags and 9 skip-loads of rock. Some of the bags were not so easy to empty, now that the sediment has become claggy. Still, another good session and still plenty more to come.

Another fine team assembled on a Thursday evening. With Jake, Jonathon, Nick, Tav, Brockers, Duncan and Mike.

The initial plan was to clear-out the bags and rocks left underground last Saturday, and to start sorting the slumped wall, but there was collusion.

Jake started on the re-construction works, I headed-off underground, to clear the spoil left on top of the slope, and to look at a ‘bulge’ of rock that could be removed. Brockers and Nick followed me below, to do the haul and shuttling, the rest of the team were clearing the entrance and sorting the bags, or so it was assumed.

I heard whispering, “…entrance is nearly cleared…they don’t need any more people on the surface…you go up and dig, Nick”. So, Nick and Brockers came-up to dig.

At the end of the session, upon exiting the cave, there was a surprise on the surface, the bags weren’t emptied. Jonathon had been abandoned, left to haul 120 loads up to the surface alone, 105 bags and 15 skip-loads of rock – a stoic effort. Then, a melee, as the bags were duly emptied and counted, ready for the weekend. Much banter ensued.

With Jonathon, Nick and Jake.

Unfortunately, after some heavy rain through the night and early morning, a section of the spoil heap wall has slumped down. This was thought likely to have been caused by the burial of two old skips, possibly filling with water. Anyway, it will be sorted when it has dried out a bit.

Underground, Jonathon forged ahead to take on the digging duties, hot on his heels was Nick, to offer some assistance, Jake took up position at the top of the slope, I was on haul and shuttle, the spoil stacked in the entrance for removal another day.

So much for a “quieter” digging session expanding into Another Emotional Journey, I was in non-stop action, haul, shuttle, stack, haul, shuttle, stack… The result of the mornings effort, 60-70 skip loads stashed in the entrance and another 20 or so still on top of the slope. There must be plenty of space in the dig now.

The refreshments at the Hunter’s, were particularly enjoyable today.

A strong team assembled this evening with Jake, Brockers, Nick, Tav, Jonathon, Duncan, and a guest digger, Mike Moxon.

As one journey ends, then, ‘Another Emotional Journey’ begins.

I went straight to the end to check the effects of the IRS, all good, so headed back-out to the surface. Tav did the rock clearing and digging, assisted by Mike and Jonathon; Nick was at the top of the slope on spoil distribution; Duncan at Stal Bend, hauling, Brockers shuttling the spoil to the entrance. I had joined Jake on the surface and hauled-out the loaded skips, while Jake took care of materials dispersal. The steady flow of bags and rocks meant that there wasn’t much time for wall building, a job, much better carried-out in the daylight anyway.

A total of 67 loads came-up to the surface, 39 bags and 28 loads of rock. A good evening’s work.

With Roz.

Into Hallowe’en Rift on Hallowe’en to apply the induced rapid speleogenesis. 8no. holes, in two groups of 4no., to enlarge the transition zone from Merlin’s to the dig site and to ease the passage of spoil from one to the other. There should be rock to remove on the next digging session.

With Tav, Brockers and Jonathon.

My turn to dig, Tav clearing away, Jon on top of the slope, Brockers doing the haul and shuttle, bags and rock were stashed in the entrance.

Eventually, Tav sorted the dragline on the skip to make spoil removal from the dig-face easier. Digging was a bit slow to start, space was limited and just a bit awkward, as the space increased, excavation improved, and the little spade came into use. The saw was located and Tav shortened the handle on the mattock, this action made it easier to use. How able to sit-up in the dig and get to work properly with the spade, unfortunately, time had passed quickly, and the session was drawn to its conclusion.

Brockers and Jon had, earlier, moved back to clear the spoil from the entrance out to the surface, 34no. bags and 1no. rock. There were another 8no. filled bags left on the top of the slope.

I have arranged a return on Tuesday for more induced rapid speleogenesis, to make some more space and aid forward progress.