Category: 2025

Vince, Jon, Jake, Nick, and Tav

Yesterday I had made a new hauling bucket and spare skip ready for putting into use at HR (thanks to the Wessex CC for drums). Got to the cave ahead of the team and proceeded to open the cave and pack the very dry bags to be filled again later. The team arrived.

Underground, Jon digging beyond Trick or Treat with Jake clearing the filled bags (and draining the pond), Tav dragged the skip up the slope, and I carried the spoil across the chamber to the hump and through to the other side. Meanwhile, Nick felt compelled to fill 10 bags from Can of Worms (as expected). It was rather squalid as usual. After completing his quota of bags, Nick joined the support team in the removal of spoil from Trick or Treat. The spoil first removed to the pot and, eventually, to the bottom of the entrance. Then back to clear the next pile that had accumulated. Surprisingly, a glance at the watch revealed it was now time to clear the spoil all the way to the surface. To this end digging had already ceased and all hands to bag dragging.

Out on the surface, a total of 76 bags (including 10 from Can of Worms) had been filled, hauled, and emptied this session. Emptying the bags was not always easy as the sediment they contained was, on occasion, sloppy and rather sticky requiring the bags to be turned inside out. Still, another good, productive session capped with visit to our favourite hostelry!

Vince, Jake, Jon, and Brockers

Arrived at the cave a little ahead of the team thinking that the lock might have frozen in the recent cold snap, it had not, so got on with packing the now ’freeze-dried’ bags ready for use underground later. About done when the rest of the team turned up. It seems a majority decision had been made that perhaps we might dig Can of Worms today in light of there being a smaller team and there was the “open space” noted last week. So, that’s what we did.

Brockers was digging, Jon and myself clearing along the ledge at the top of the pot, Jake at the entrance. When a suitable pile of bags had accumulated, Jake and I hauled them out to the surface and emptied them. Back underground to get the next lot of spoil, and so the morning progressed. Initially, it was slow going due to the constricted nature of the dig, as more space was created the rate of spoil removal and movement increased. Unfortunately, the “open space” did not develop further and is most likely the result of sediment settling over time, it is also very ‘rooty’. At the end of the session, 75 bags had been filled, hauled, and emptied, plus 3 skip loads of rock added to the soil heap wall. One bag was sacrificed underground to improve the skip hauling route, this bag not included in the final tally as it didn’t make it out of the cave! A good and productive session.

Refreshments were enjoyed, as usual, at the Hunters’ Lodge Inn.

Vince, Brockers, Jon, and Nick

After a senior moment and having to return home to get my forgotten helmet/light, assembled with the rest of the team at the farm and made our way across the field to the cave entrance.

Underground, I set off towards the dig beyond Trick or Treat (ToT), Brockers joined me, as did Nick very briefly until he succumbed to the desire to fill some bags in Can of Worms. Meanwhile, Jon had headed off to An Unexpected Development (AUD). I had only just started to fill bags beyond ToT when Jon arrived at AUD and a visual connection between the two areas was easily achieved. The gap, about 4m, 2m wide, and reaches about 0.5m in height, it looks ‘caveable’ but no attempt to achieve that objective was made, far too many fine formations and no point spoiling them, not worth the effort.

That objective confirmed it was back to digging, Jon made his way around to join us. As I filled bags, Brockers cleared them away and when a suitable pile had accumulated the support team, comprising Brockers, Jon, and Nick, removed the spoil to the bottom of the entrance. I carried on digging. Time flew by and when Jon returned to clear the backlog it was approaching midday and digging was bought to a close. Took a few photos before leaving, a brief stop in Can of Worms to look at progress there as rumours were that it was looking a bit more interesting and indeed, amongst the proliferation of roots, there was a small space between the sediment and the cave ceiling. Then all hands to clearing the cave of spoil. A total of 56 bags were filled, hauled, and emptied. And it was still squalid!

To the Hunters’ Lodge Inn for some refreshments and a debrief. All good stuff!