dighalloween

A solo trip.

At the current end of Merlin’s, attended to widening the narrow fissure to make for more comfortable digging. 6no. holes, plus an extra one for the trimmings, on either side of the opening. Spent some time making sure the holes were well-stemmed. Then, a steady retreat, reeling-out the wire, stopping at Stal Bend. All was good.

There should be stuff to clear on the weekend. Hopefully, someone will be able to rake-out the debris blocking the narrow fissure and see whether it widens, or, if there’s any draught.

Exited the cave into a warm, humid evening.

With Jake, Jonathon and Brockers.

Jonathon digging, I was in the Tuck Shop, Brockers at the top of the slope and Jake on the haul and shuttle.

After reeling in the wire, I went to the end to look at the damage, some fly-rock, some gravel and fractured rock, not quite as much as I had expected. Then, moved out of the way so that Jonathon could get to work. It could do with being a bit wider at the end as hammer and chisel work is rather restricted. The outcome, 19 bags and 6 skip-loads of rock were eventually hauled out to the surface.

It could be said that the prospects for following the narrow fissure are not exactly inspiring, some thought is required regarding the next best move. At least two of the possibilities appear to lead in the wrong direction and another northerly lead, again is narrow, hmmm…!

With Roz.

Continued to follow/expand the fissure, on the north-side, at the current end of Merlin’s. Seven holes drilled, upping the ante with a change to the ingredients and adding some oomph. Because of the difficulties drilling some of the holes last week, used a blow-tube to clean-out the holes as I drilled. It went a lot better, although a couple of the holes were a tad awkward. Might have to consider making the approach a bit wider.

Anyway, all went off satisfactory manner, fly-rock was heard. It will be interesting on Saturday to see the results.

Exited the cave into rain, a bit different to last week.

With Jake, Tav, Brockers and Jonathon.

A rather disappointingly short session, the induced speleogenesis did not have the desired effect and the debris was quickly cleared. There are fractures but too tight to break-out. The narrow gap in the fissure has become filled with gravel and didn’t look all that enticing. We spent some time looking around and discussing a couple of alternative options before making our way-out of the cave, and up to the pub after getting changed.

Following a conservation with Jake, over a pint, we’ll persevere a little longer with the expansion of the narrow fissure. I might, just change the ingredients to give a little more oomph to the speleogenesis process.

With Roz.

More induced rapid speleogenesis. Continuing the expansion of the narrow gap to the north of the current end of Merlin’s. Six holes, plus a shorter one for the trimmings, concentrated on the right-side. Some of the holes weren’t so easy to drill, the bit was binding, probably a calcite/mineral vein.

The task was brought to a satisfactory conclusion.

After a warm few days, I opted for cotton overalls, good choice, the cave is almost dry, just a small puddle along the haul and shuttle route, and still damp in the Tuck Shop, but I was comfortable.

Coming out of the cave, the heat is noticeable, still in the twenties at 21:00hrs.

I was on the Gower Peninsula this weekend with John Cooper (The Lost Caves of Gower Project). Others, though kept up the fight, here follows Tav’s report:

“Jake digging, Tav in the Tuck Shop, John ‘Tarantella’ Riley on the slope and Brockers on haul & shuttle.

23 bags of gravel and 10 loads of rocks were extracted to surface. The way on appeared to be a dead end alcove at first but a narrow continuation appeared late on in proceedings. Current state appears inconclusive. Consensus was that rather than attack the rift direct it would be good to zap the floor area above it first to widen the working area. Jake was going to try and send a photo, although obviously he’ll need assistance from Sam!

Hot and clegs so went to the pub.”

With Roz.

A warm walk up to the cave entrance, and the clegs are back.

At the current end of Merlin’s, I drilled 6no. holes either side of a narrow fissure that appears to lead north and downwards. An extra hole was utilised for the trimmings.

Hopefully, the induced rapid speleogenesis will have had the desired effect and created plenty of debris to be cleared on the weekend.

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

Brockers and Jonathon went off to the end to clear the debris and fill bags, after reeling in the wire. Matt was in the Tuck Shop, Jake at the top of the slope and I was on the haul and shuttle. Nick and Tav were on the surface looking after spoil management and other things.

Initially, a steady flow of rocks and filled bags came from the end. Then, towards the end of the session, things slowed, so I took the opportunity to go up to the dig and see the damage for myself. The outcome from the last bout of rock engineering was disappointing, the small gap had closed-down, just solid rock. Straight ahead (south-west) and to the left, the passage is choked with calcite and sediment but this is going in the wrong direction. Back in the east-west fissure the is a narrow gap leading north and downwards, I have already paid some attention to this but it was not very effective. Paul had cleared-out some of the debris and another shot might be more successful. I will try and get something sorted for Tuesday evening.

And that was it really…time for the pub.

With Roz.

Some induced rapid speleogenesis required, 6no. holes drilled at the current end of Merlin’s, on the right-hand side, where there is a small gap over a calcited (?) blockage. Some of the holes were a bit awkward, especially with the longer drill bit (460mm), but the job was done.

A few puddles along the way after the recent heavy rain.

The evening’s task was brought to a satisfactory conclusion.

With Jake, Nick, Tav, Jonathon, Matt, and Alex too! Although Alex went off to do his own thing for a while he joined us later to haul-out a few bags.

Nick, Tav and Matt headed up to the end to start filling and stashing bags in the Tuck Shop, Jake, Jonathon and me, cleared the rocks that were stacked at the bottom of the entrance. That done, Jake and Jonathon went on into the cave to start clearing bags. I busied myself on the surface, wall-building and having a general tidy-up, packed up the empty bags, moving stone around, etc.

The bags arrived at the entrance at a nice steady rate, giving plenty of time to haul-out, empty and hang the bags to dry.

It was very pleasant in the warm sunshine, and the flies weren’t too much of a nuisance yet, but I did wear a hat, just in case.

Forty-two bags were filled and emptied, along with 14 skip-loads of rock.

The news from the end wasn’t full of enthusiasm, which is disappointing, apparently there is a ‘calcite’ blockage impeding further progress. I really should have kitted-up and gone along to the end to see for myself, but I didn’t. Hindsight, as they say, is a marvellous thing. I will have to try and sort something out for the week ahead.

Right now, it was pub-time!

With Roz and Buster (the dog).

Forty bags cleared-out from the entrance and emptied onto the spoil heap, left the rocks for the weekend. The farmer, out with his dogs, came up to the cave for a chat. And, it was he, that finally broke the rotten fence rail.

With Nick, Brockers and Jonathon.

Me digging, Brockers clearing away, Jonathon at the top of the slope, Nick was on the haul and shuttle and stashing the spoil at the bottom of the entrance.

We took a couple of replacement skips, as we are wearing them out rather quickly. There was also a pile of rocks left in the Tuck Shop on Tuesday evening to be cleared out. While the team dealt with that, I filled bags at the end.

After removing a decent amount of sediment I could get a better look at the end. There isn’t an obvious way on, at the moment, progress being hampered by a calcite blockage. The floor of the passage does drop, but is filled with layers of sandy silt and degrading calcite flowstone, the calcite appears old and is yellowish in colour. It is possible that by following the floor down we might dig underneath the blockage and the way ahead become clearer. The puzzling thing is, it’s hard work at the end, in a confined space, the air is always fresh and it doesn’t steam-up. There is still plenty of work to do.

It was soon time to stop digging and, by consensus, go to the pub. The bags and rock stashed in the entrance will be cleared during the coming week.

With Jake, Tav and Nick.

Took the capping gear along, as requested, to deal with the obstructing lump of flowstone at the current end. Nick helped to carry the kit to the end, while Jake and Tav set about clearing the stack of spoil left at the entrance on Saturday.

About half-hour of digging round the obstruction, some bar work, we managed to ease the calcite blockage out of the way and rolled back to the Tuck Shop. I got the capping gear into action, Nick carried on filling bags. When the rocks at the Tuck Shop had been reduced to a pile of rubble, it was time to clear the filled bags out. Jake and Tav had come to the end and a quick re-positioning, the spoil was duly removed. A total of 68 loads, including Saturdays, were cleared to the surface. It was a warm evening, pub time.

I was on a jolly for the weekend, attending a British Cave Research Association (BCRA) field meeting exploring and discussing the caves and karst of the Gower Peninsula, Wales.

A plucky band of stalwarts kept up the good work at Hallowe’en Rift, here is Tav’s report:

“John, Matt, Tav, Jake.

Digging by John, then Tav, with brief cameo from Jake, revolving around Matt in the Tuck Shop. 50 odd loads stacked in the entrance waiting for clearance on Tuesday?

All bang debris removed plus one large slab of calcite from floor and one large lump of roof from the end. Way on is more visible. It does not turn right, or enlarge much, but continues low and straight ahead – perilously close to the entrance series. No bang needed yet but capping gear may be needed for one remaining and very big calcite slab still in floor. Best bet for Tuesday would seem to be to send someone up the end to deal with the slab while others clear. The slab may well come out without capping once more earth is cleared from the top”.

With Roz.

At the current end of Merlin’s, following the south-west leading gap, drilled 6no. hole in the floor, to continue the expansion. Struggled to drill the holes at first but, a squirt of WD40 solved that issue. I raked a lot of sediment out from the way forward to use as tamp, in doing so, got a better look at the prospects – they look interesting. The small passage appears to get a little bigger, dips down and, possibly widens to the north-west side.

The evening’s task was brought to a satisfactory conclusion. Should be plenty to clear on the weekend.

With Jake, Brocker’s, Tav, Nick, Matt and Jonathon.

A good strong crew today. Nick clearing the debris and digging, Jonathon was in the ‘Tuck Shop’, I was at the top of the slope, Matt was hauling from Stal’ Bend, Tav shuttling to and fro, Jake and Brocker’s were on the surface pulling the skips up the entrance shaft and wall building.

48 bags of sediment and 24 skip loads of rock were removed from the cave. IRS had done its bit.

At the end, the small gap between the roof and sediment can be seen to continue. There is a layer of red-brown silt c.200mm thickness overlying calcite flowstone c.250mm thickness, this in turn, overlies dolomitic conglomerate. The flowstone is in layers indicating it has formed during a succession of events. the contact between each of the layers appears “dirty” and the upper surface is rippled. The flowstone is pale yellow-brown in colour.

There is a need for more rapid expansion to aid further progress, I will try and arrange something during the coming week.

But, it was time for the pub!

With Roz.

At the present end of Merlin’s, drilled 6no. holes, plus an extra one for the trimmings, to facilitate the application of IRS.

The evening’s task was bought to a satisfactory conclusion. There should be debris to clear on the weekend.

It was a fine evening and the view from the field, over towards Glastonbury Tor, although a little hazy, was good.

With Brocker’s, Jake, Nick, Jonathon and Tav.

Brocker’s went to the end of Merlin’s to clear the debris, Jake was in the ‘Tuck Shop’, Nick at the top of the slope, I was on the haul and shuttle until Jonathon arrived and took over the hauling bit. Tav was on the surface, hauling out the spoil and wall building, after clearing away the vegetation to facilitate an extension of the wall.

The induced rapid speleogenesis (IRS) had worked, 56 skip-loads of rock, gravel and some fine sediment were hauled out on to the surface.

Towards the end of the session I went up to the end to have a look at the progress made. Jake and Brocker’s had swapped places, Jake was busy removing the last of the fractured rock in readiness for the next application of IRS. There is good clean rock to drill into at the base of the potential way forward, so the scalloping in the roof can be preserved. Jake cleared away some loose sediment and the low gap can be seen to continue for about 3 metres, there is 150-200mm of calcite on the floor of the phreatic ‘tube’, it appears to trend to the south-west.

All cleared, it was time for refreshments.

I have arranged to attend to the IRS on Monday evening, so more to clear next weekend.

With Roz.

After a visit to the suppliers and prep work done it was off to Hallowe’en Rift to continue the expansion work to the south-side, at the present end of Merlin’s.

Six holes were drilled, 4no. in the roof and right (west) side and 2no. in bulge of rock, lower on the left (east) side. Roz took the photographs. It sounded good from Stal Bend.

Stopped at the Queen Vic for a bowl of chunky chips each and some liquid refreshments.

Then the skies opened, impressive thunder.

With Tav, Nick, Matt, Brockers and Jonathon.

After reeling in the wire, Tav set about clearing the rock debris and digging, Matt was in his favourite spot at the bottom of the slope and Nick was at the top. Brockers (dodgy back) was hauling from ‘Stal Bend’ with Jonathon doing the shuttle.

I was on the surface in the sunshine, sorting out the spoil heap and adding more to the wall. 15 skip loads of rock and 25 bags of gravel and mud were hauled out to the surface.

Towards the end of the session I ventured underground to have a look at the end and get an idea of what might be required in the coming week to aid progress.

The low gap on the south side had been cleared out and a good phreatic roof could be seen. The visible passage appears to be trending south-west and slightly downwards and looks to be a decent lead to follow. The floor of the small passage looks to be calcited but rock under that. It needs enlarging, so more induced rapid speleogenesis is required, another job to arrange for the mid-week.

Well, if Wookey Hole show cave can have dinosaurs, then so can we!

With Roz.

Another application of induced rapid speleogenesis, 6no. holes at the current end of Merlin’s, to widen a small gap on the south-side of the west extent; 4no. in the roof and 2no. lower down. I managed to snap my long drill bit (460mm x 12mm), good job I had a spare. Sounded good. Hopefully, it will be more successful than the last attempt.

With Jake, Tav, Brocker’s and Jonathon.

The blast didn’t have the desired effect, there is some deep fracturing but not enough to allow widening of the passage, still too tight to remove. I cleared away the debris that had been created, but digging was going to be slow, so Jake came to the end to dig the high-level blockage to the north-east, while I continued to scratch around the potential lead to the west, ready for an attempt at induced rapid speleogenesis here. I will, probably concentrate on the roof, where there is solid rock, the lower blockage appears to be heavily calcited gravel, cobbles, etc., this is not easy material to deal with.

The way to the north-east did not develop any further, a narrow inlet trending north and calcited, it was, however bought to a conclusion.

All that was required now was to clear the pile of rock and fine sediment, that Jake had dug out, including some quite large boulders.

Everything, was cleared to the surface, and there is another supply of rocks for the wall.

Solo.

At the current end of Merlin’s, 6no. holes were drilled in the north side, to expand a narrow fissure, induced rapid speleogenesis occurred. There will be rubble to clear next weekend.

With Tav, Jake, Nick, Matt, Jonathon, and introducing Paul Brock (Brocker’s) to the fray.

We needed two vehicles to transport a strong team from the Hunter’s down to the farm.
All changed, we headed up the hill to the cave.

After digging last session I was on surface duty, Tav and Jake on the haul and shuttle, Jonathon at the top of the slope, Matt at the bottom. Brocker’s and Nick were digging.

The bags started to arrive at the entrance at a rather alarming rate, too fast to empty them and after about thirty bags, one after another, Tav came to the surface to help. Initially, Tav had been clearing the low passage into the ‘West Series’ of Hallowe’en Rift, adding some sloppy bags to an already burgeoning pile. The first few bags were not easy to empty and several were consigned to the wall, although it was apparent that most had come to the end of their usefulness. Eventually, the pace slackened as the diggers wrestled a large boulder out of the way, then more bags came out.

Ninety-one loads to the surface, a very productive session.

The digger’s reported that the way forward is obstructed by rock(s) and probably requires ‘induced rapid speleogenesis’. I will have to see if I can arrange a mid-week trip to the supplier.

Anyway, there was a thirst that required quenching, off to the pub!

With Jonathon, Nick and Matt.

Me digging, Jonathon at the bottom of the slope, Matt at the top and Nick on the haul and shuttle.

The cave is showing the very first signs of drying, some of the puddles were lower and the sediment wasn’t quite as claggy.

As the excavation proceeded, tantalising little spaces were opening, unfortunately these were not accessible, there appears to be a calcited pile of cobbles and boulders causing an obstruction. As ever, more sediment will need to be removed to get a clearer picture of what lies ahead.

Thirty bags filled, I moved back and Jonathon took over the digging, I went back to swap places with Nick so that he could look at the end later.

About 12:30hrs, it was time to clear the cave, Nick went to look at the end, the rest of us started to clear the bags and rock. The bags were so much easier to empty this weekend, although a couple had come to the end of their use and were incorporated into the wall. 40 bags and 2 skip loads of rock out to the surface.

It was glorious in the warm sunshine, but it was pub-time.

This interesting fragment of calcite formation was recovered from the finer sediment a little while ago.

With Tav, Jake and Jonathon.

Tav started the digging, later swapping places with Jonathon, who was at the bottom of the slope. I was at the top of the slope, hauling spoil and transferring the load to the skip down to Jake, on the haul and shuttle.

Before things got underway, Jake replaced the worn-out skip with a new model, that required a little fine tuning, a new return haul line was also fitted.

A steady flow of bags and rock came from the business end and time drifted by. It was soon time to move back to the entrance and clear the pile of spoil to the surface, we ended up a little later than planned. I took the opportunity to have a gander at the end before joining the others, haven’t been up here for a while. I was struck by how big it was, a lot of spoil has been shifted. High up (NNE) there is a space that could do with opening-up a bit just to check if there is anything there really. Low down in the floor (W), under a bag, is a small calcited gap downwards, this would appear to indicate there is something at a lower level. We’ll have to wait and see how it develops, there is plenty of sediment to be removed beforehand. Although the small gap might require some induced rapid speleo-genesis at some time in the future.

Back at the entrance, about 55 bags, some rocks, a ‘dead’ skip and rope, and a small frog were hauled out of the cave to the surface.

A busier session than usual at the Hunter’s; the ashes of two of Mendip’s caving stalwarts were spread, Tony Knibbs at Longwood and Ray Mansfield at Swildon’s. Left the pub rather later than anticipated.

With Jake, Matt and Jonathon.

Jake digging, Matt at the bottom of the slope, Jonathon at the top, me on the haul and shuttle. No-one available for the surface duty today, so the bags and rocks were stacked in the entrance to be removed later in the session.

A steady stream of bags, with the occasional rock, were moved from the dig. I had to go out to the surface to fetch some more bags. Eventually, it was time to move back and clear the stock pile out to the surface. Matt filled the skip, Jake and I took turns to haul the spoil out and Jonathon emptied the bags. Fifty loads in total came to the surface, 48 bags and a couple of rocks that were added to the wall.

About the dig, Jake reported that the floor is dropping down, there are a couple of small steps, and a thin layer of granular material, with some cobbles having a dark manganese coating, reminiscent of some stream beds. Sounds interesting, and there’s still plenty of sediment to remove.

It was glorious on the surface in the warm spring sunshine, and not many flies around, yet.

With Nick, Tav, Jake and Jonathon.

I did the surface duty again, the hauling of bags up the entrance not good for Nick’s back, he did the haul and shuttle instead. Tav was at the top of the slope, Jake at the bottom, leaving Jonathon to get on with the digging bit.

While the underground team got things underway, I packed up the loose bags and added more rock to the wall, increasing the available space for spoil disposal.

The filled bags started to arrive on the surface at a steady pace, with just enough time in-between to empty them, although some of the bags were a little reluctant to disgorge their contents, only two were incorporated into the wall. Fifty-two bags and four rocks, added to the wall, were hauled to surface.

At the end, the anticipated drop down to a lower level doesn’t appear to be happening quite yet, Jon encountered a solid floor initially, but by the end of the session, had just reached a more cobbled, granular fill, so there’s hope yet.

Still plenty to dig out next session.

With Tav, Jake, Nick, Matt and Jonathon.

After digging last weekend, I was on surface duty today; Tav was doing the haul and shuttle; Jake, at the top of the slope, Matt at the bottom; Nick, on his return after a back injury caused by over enthusiastic use of the sledge hammer, took the first digging stint, later swapping places with Jonathon.

Seventy-eight loads were hauled out of the cave, mostly bags but some rocks too. I had to change the hauling rope three times, as each became too slippery to grip, even the knotted rope wasn’t easy to hold. The bags, filled with claggy sediment, weren’t much fun to empty either, difficult to grip and shake the contents out. Only one, though, refused to relinquish its contents, and that became incorporated into the wall, All the sediment was compacted behind the retaining wall. The weather was good, and the birds were singing, keeping the mind off an aching back. I have to agree with Tav, surface duty is one of the harder tasks, especially while it’s damp underground and the sediment so claggy.

Still, another good digging session and the refreshments were well earned.

With Jonathon, Matt, Jake and Tav.

I did the excavation and filling of bags, Jonathon cleared the bags and rocks away.

The spoil was loaded into the skip to Matt, at the top of the slope. Jake was on haul and shuttle duty, while Tav had opted to be on the surface. The extracted spoil was added to the wall, the sediment packed behind the stonework to add strength.

The wall, with drying bags flapping in the wind like Buddhist prayer flags.

At the end, I concentrated on clearing the ‘trample’ from the floor, the digging forward toward a back wall. Here, a very narrow, ‘clean-washed’ gap was revealed. I pulled out some small stones and could peer down about 300 to 500mm, there was a feint draught of cool air emanating from the hole. It would appear that there is a lower level of development. Although, the passage does pinch in, it widens lower down, there is plenty of compact sediment to be removed before a better evaluation can be determined. At higher level in the passage, there still remains a considerable amount of sediment that needs to be removed.

Digging is not exactly rapid at the moment, the spoil is very claggy and sticks to the tools. I found it easier to loosen the spoil with the mattock, then fill the bags by hand. A steady 40 or so bags were filled with a few rocks, along with the rocks left over from Thursday evening, 55 loads were hauled out to the surface.

With Tav and Jake.

Tav digging, me clearing the bags and rocks to Jake, at the top of the slope where the spoil was stashed temporarily. Some of the rocks needed reduction in size before being moved on.

After a couple of dozen or so bags had been filled, we changed positions and moved the bags to the entrance, the rocks will stay until where they are until Saturday. The final task of the evening was to clear the bags from the entrance and empty them out. Emptying the bags turned out to be rather more difficult than anticipated. The sediment had become claggier, possibly because it was ‘trampled’ material.

Tav, then set about removing the spoil he had brought out of the cave attached to his oversuit and boots.

Hopefully, now spring has arrived, according to meteorological terms, the cave should start drying out.

With Jake.

Jake only had surface gear with him, so the decision had been made, I was going underground. Not far underground though, just to the bottom of the entrance.

About thirty loads of rock were loaded and hauled out to the surface. The entrance cleared, the lid was replaced and secured. The rest of the session was spent adding the rocks to the retaining wall, and standing back to consider just, how much spoil has been removed from the cave in the past year or so.

A mellow evening, time for the pub.

With Jake, Jonathon and Matt.

We took a couple of the replacement drag trays up to the cave with us, and a reel of new polypropylene rope, to replace the trays on the haul routes.

Jake went to the end, with one of the drag trays and the reel of rope; Matt followed, to clear away the rocks and bags, to Jonathon, hauling up the slope and loading the skips to me, on the haul and shuttle. Before the hauling began the trays were replaced.

Then, the rocks from the mid-week ‘capping’ session were cleared and neatly stacked in the entrance. When the rocks had been cleared, Jake started to fill bags, as he was digging, mostly, at floor level and removing the ‘trample’ the sediment was claggy, not going to be easy to empty the bags. About 30 bags were filled, before we decided it was time to clear them out to the surface.

The rocks were left stacked in the entrance. They will be cleared during the week, and there are a couple of boulders at the bottom of the slope that require ‘capping’. A job for Tuesday evening, probably.

It had been another busy morning, with a steady flow of rocks and bags being moved along the cave. It was time for refreshment, well earned.

Solo.

I had finished a rather slow archaeological watching brief early, with the prospect of going down to Okehampton tomorrow, I decided to take a half-days leave.

Rather than go into Hallowe’en Rift this evening, I thought that going in the afternoon would give me more time to complete my task. So, I got my gear together, loaded the van and headed off, over the hill to the farm.

The half-dozen drag trays I had prepared last weekend were left in the cabin. Thanks to Hugh Tucker for supplying them and to Jonathon for collecting them, they will be very useful.

Lugged the two bags with the ‘capping’ gear and drill to the [current] end of Merlin’s to deal with the boulders left there on Saturday. There were two quite substantial lumps and, another bigger than the two combined, all of them in the way of making progress forward.

Once I had sorted out where to place all the kit, so that it was easy to access when required, work got underway.

Drill a hole, two black ‘caps’ inserted, the rod placed, gently tapping the ‘caps’ until compressed, then, a heavy thwack – bang! The resulting split rock was moved aside and the process repeated.

About two and a half hours later, the boulders had been reduced to a decent sized pile of rock in more manageable pieces, ready to be removed on the weekend.

Packed the kit away and made my way out of the cave.

It turned out that the job in Okehampton had been cancelled, so I won’t be going there tomorrow.

With Jonathon, Matt, Nick and Tav.

Jonathon on digging duties, Matt clearing the filled bags and rocks to Nick, pulling the loaded skip up the slope, the bags and rocks then transferred to the next skip down to Tav, on the haul and shuttle. I had been up to the end twice in the week, so I was on the surface today.

I had enough time to continue adding to the retaining wall, we have plenty of rocks for the job. As bags were hauled out of the cave, they were emptied along the back of the wall, the sediment compacted, to act like mortar.

Given time, the wall will naturalise and provide shelter for a variety of small vertebrates and invertebrates.

About 40 loads of bags and rock were removed from the cave, including one of the large rocks left during the week, now reduced in size, although one of the larger lumps needed two of us to haul it out of the entrance shaft.

There are several large rocks at the end that will require ‘capping’, but that is a job for mid-week. Time now, for the pub.

With Roz and Tav.

The plan was to clear the rock debris created by Tuesday evening’s effort.

On the way up to the current end of Merlin’s, I reeled in the wire and left it high, dry and out of the way. Tuesday’s rock engineering had the required effect, the ‘nose’ of rock was gone and the passage was wider. There was, also, a pile of rock to shift that included some larger lumps needing further reduction. A substantial lump would not succumb to some hefty whacks from the sledge, so that was moved to a place where it could be capped and the digging effort not disrupted. It was, later joined by an equally large lump.

When all the larger lumps of rock had been cleared away, Tav and Roz came up to the end and had a good look at the potential way forward. There is, of course, a lot more spoil to move.

We all moved back and cleared the pile of rocks out to the surface, leaving a clear cave for Saturday.

Some of us got changed, not Roz though, because she had left her clothes at home and had to go to the pub in her undersuit, under my coat. Good job it was the landlord’s night out!

My funny Valentine!

Solo.

A mild evening, with some low cloud, as I walked up to Hallowe’en Rift, I caught sight of a bat in the light from my torch, flying low across the field.

I dragged the bags to the end of Merlin’s, it was damp and muddy along the way, puddles in places. At the end I tidied away some tools, cleaned some mud from the walls, and decided on a strategy.

Six holes [plus an extra one for the trimmings, later] split into two equal groups, on either side of the passage. On the right side, to take off a ‘nose’ of rock and, to the left, to widen the passage, to make forward progress easier. There is an abundance of good tamp available.

It was a tad awkward on the return to the entrance, dragging two bags and laying the wire. No matter, the evening was brought to a satisfactory conclusion. I exited the cave and made my way back to the farm.

With Tav, Nick, Jonathon and Matt.

I was ready for the surface duties but, Tav opted for that position, on the grounds that he had dug on Thursday evening. I did the haul and shuttle again, Jonathon was at the top of the slope, Matt at the bottom, clearing away the filled bags from Nick, who was digging today.

I’d brought along another ‘pick’ to make the removal of the rocky fill easier, the steady flow of bags out, suggested it did the job.

On the surface, Tav busied himself by working on the retaining wall. He cut back the scrubby undergrowth to enable the wall baseline to be completed. I, too, spent a short time adding to the wall before going underground to clear the backlog of bags.

The skip was worn out so had to be replaced, this took quite a time as the haul ropes needed some adjustment. Then, just as we had got underway again, one of the boards on the bridge over the pot moved, causing the skip to jam, so had to sort that out.

At the end of the session, over 50 bags plus some rocks were cleared out to the surface. Another fine session was concluded and we made our way down to the farm to get changed, and head up to the pub.

With Tav, Jake and Nick.

Tav, back after missing a few sessions due to work commitments, upfront digging, Jake clearing the bags and loading the skip to Nick at the top of the slope. I was on the haul and shuttle, stacking the bags in the entrance, ready for removal to the surface later.

The drips are making the passages quite damp now, almost squalid in places. When the skip first arrives, there is a splash, a face full of muddy water, that later turns to slurry. it does, however, lubricate the skip run and hauling gets easier.

Thirty bags filled and we all moved back to clear them out to the surface. The spoil is becoming claggy, so the bags aren’t so easy to empty, some mumblings were heard.

There was a chill east wind across the field on the way back down to the farm.

With Nick, Jonathon, Matt and Jake.

While I headed off to the end of Merlin’s, the rest of the team set about clearing the 40 bags plus rocks left from Tuesday evening.

At Merlin’s, the rock barring progress was reduced to smaller, manageable pieces by capping. Then, I removed a ‘nose’ of rock that enabled another boulder to be moved to a position, where that could be split. Job done, packed away the capping kit and sent it out to the surface. I was then, able to start filling bags.

There is enough space to stand up and swing the mattock, loosening a matrix of fine sediments with clastic material consisting of cobbles and boulders of conglomerate and degraded calcite flowstone. It is a bit claggy due to a persistent drip of water, it has been quite wet lately.

Progress to the north-north-east follows a narrow partially filled rift, that cut’s down from a low bedding; classic T shaped development. It’s c.2.5 to 3-metres high and after a pinch point, appears to widen to c.0.75-metres. There is, of course plenty of spoil to shift.

All too soon, it was time to shift back and help clear the last few bags and rocks out to the surface.

At the surface, Jake had found time to add considerably to the retaining wall. We are not short of building stones, and some of the sloppier bags of spoil, are a good substitute for mortar.