dighalloween

With Jake, Tav and Alex.

We started the session by packing up the empty bags at the surface ready to drag them along to the end to be refilled. At the dig face Jake took the first digging shift, while I settled into the rather damp ‘T’ Junction, Tav in the pot and Alex doing the hauling from Stal Bend and shuttling the spoil filled bags and rocks along to the base of the entrance shaft. Eventually Jake and I swapped positions. Digging is relatively easy now that it’s possible to stand up and dig with the spade; the spoil comprises of sediment with cobbles and boulders. There are spaces opening up in the floor to north revealing clean washed cobbles and boulders and a gradually undercutting clean, solid east wall. The height from the bottom of the dig to the ceiling above is about 4 metres and still going. Prospects ahead are looking good, although there is still a lot of spoil to be dug out and shifted yet. The last task of the day was to haul the filled bags to the surface and empty them ready for the next digging session. Then off to the Hunter’s!

With Tav and Jake.

Our usual meeting place at the Hunter’s Lodge car park was overrun by cyclists who were taking part in some organised event. Unfortunately this caused Tav to miss us at the car park and we met up a bit later at the farm. The grass is getting long in the hay meadow and it requires some effort to walk through, especially as it was raining. Tav and colleagues have been doing some clearing out at Balch’s Cave so we had some clean bags to take underground with us, much lighter to carry without the mud. At the end with both Tav and I digging the bags were filled quickly, Jake stacking them at the ‘T’ Junction. We can stand up in the rift chamber now and dig with the spade. Progress downwards in the rift is relatively easy and there appears to be space alongside the solid east wall leading north under the bedding. We then shifted around to haul the filled bags out to the surface to be emptied. At the surface we had an audience of inquisitive cattle that had come over to see what was going on. All done, cave secured, the now obligatory slide down through the wet grass and on to the Hunter’s Lodge Inn.

With Jake and Alex.

Walking up the hillside through the hay meadow, in the warm sunshine, there was an amazing scent of wild flowers and blossom. At Hallowe’en Rift we set about clearing the stack of bags and rocks from the base of the entrance. Alex decided to remain on the surface to empty the bags and tend to the spoil heap and wall, while Jake and I went to the dig. With both of us digging in the rift it wasn’t too long before the bag supply dwindled to nought. So we then hauled the filled bags out the surface to be emptied. The warm sunshine is great, but it does bring out the biting flies, so we called it a day and went to the pub.

With Nick and Tav.

Cleared out all the bags of spoil that Nick and I had filled up during the previous two digging sessions. There was a lot of spoil shifted to the base of the entrance shaft ready to be hauled out to the surface at a later date. The hauling of spoil is a particularly mucky and squalid pastime as the splatter of mud from the ropes and skips gets everywhere, mostly in the face. The dig is now clear for the next digging session downwards to explore the rift.

In seemed obligatory following last weeks comments, to slide through the grass on the way down the hill, leaving three brown streaks on the hillside.

With Nick.

Just the two of us this weekend. Started the session by hauling last weeks spoil from the ‘T’ Junction back to the bottom of Witches Cauldron. We then continued the digging effort, the plan was to lower the floor in the rift along the passage going north and quickly decided there was enough room for both of us to dig. Filled bags until we ran out of space around us and then shifted the spoil back to the ‘T’ junction and then resumed digging. Towards the end of the session I was using the bar to prise out some rocks when a small hole appeared. Quickly the hole was enlarged to reveal space below, we can see down c. 2m to another floor(?) and there is solid rock, at least on one side. There is, of course, plenty of spoil to be removed in order to follow the lead but the draught is there again. With a little more digging along the rift it became clear that the space noted last session and that found today are connected. The prospects going downwards are looking good. Hopefully the team will be around next weekend, there is a lot of spoil to shift!

It would appear that the practice of ‘body sliding’, a method adopted by some of the team to rid their oversuits of mud, has been the cause of some amusement. ‘Body sliding’ requires that you slide down the hill in the grass, first on the belly then turning onto your back, the momentum is provided by driving with the legs, and with some flailing of the arms for good measure, the result is a number of brown streaks left on the hillside. There was some disappointment that neither Nick or myself adopted this particular method today.

Anyway off to the Hunter’s for refreshment!

With Nick and Alex.

While Alex remained at the surface to do some ‘gardening’ Nick and myself headed off to the current dig going north from the ‘T’ Junction. Our plan was to try and remove the large boulder in the floor halfway along the passage so that it will be easier to move a skip to and fro. With the two of us working at shifting the boulder it wasn’t too long before it succumbed. While Nick then set about reducing the boulder to a more manageable size(s) I continued to dig, removing more rocks and bagging sediment. After reducing the boulder Nick returned to assist in the digging effort. Nick then removed a small rock revealing a small open space below, some loose sediment falling away into the hole and a faint draught detected – seems very likely the way ahead is downwards. Funny thing was that Nick and I had just been having a conversation regarding vadose development and the possibility that, given the nature of the sediment, it would be relatively easy to block a [potential] lead. I placed a rock over the hole and we then proceeded in shifting a considerable pile of debris and bags back to the ‘T’ Junction before calling it a day. Nick’s final defiant act was to brave the duck and go into Trick or Treat? to retrieve the new skip there in readiness for the next digging session. We made our exit satisfied with the effort and excited about the prospects. We all adjourned to the Hunter’s Lodge for refreshment.

With Nick, Jake and Tav.

Although we have been experiencing some welcome dry weather it hasn’t dried up in Hallowe’en yet. Nick, Jake and Vince went up to the end and Tav volunteered for pot duties. Vince took the first digging stint, Nick filling bags and Jake in the ‘T’ Junction. Dug a bit out of the floor to maintain the working space; the spoil is a mixture of sediment, very old degraded flowstone and rock, and there is an awful lot of it! There is also a false floor which is being removed as forward progress is made. After a while we swapped around – Nick digging, Jake filling and me in ‘T’ Junction, Tav still in the pot. When there was no space to stack spoil in the pot we moved back to haul everything out to the surface. Another fine session and a lot of spoil shifted. To the Hunter’s, of course!

With the full team today – Jake, Tav, Nick and Alex.

Nick and Alex set about emptying the pile of bags in the entrance while the rest of us went along to the dig to fill up some more bags. It hasn’t dried up at all so Toil and Trouble is still rather squalid. Jake did the first stint at digging while Tav filled the bags I was in ‘T’ Junction where the bags/rocks were temporarily stored. When we ran out of bags I went down to the pot and we hauled the spoil from ‘T’ Junction back. Nick arrived with more empty bags which were sent up to the dig while the spoil was removed to the surface. With the entrance cleared the full team was then able to shift spoil from the dig all the way back, progress at the dig face was good and a considerable quantity of spoil was excavated. Another fine session.

With
Jake and Nick.

Started the session with Vince digging and filling bags, Nick at the ‘T’
Junction, Jake was in the pot; progress was a bit slow. At Jake’s suggestion,
Nick moved along towards the digface and filled bags, while Vince carried on
digging and pushing the spoil backwards to Nick, Jake moved up to the ‘T’
Junction and stockpiled the filled bags there; progress was now rapid. When we
ran out of bags and space to store them it was time to move around and to shift
the bags back to the base of the entrance – all of us doing a shift in the pot!
At the entrance there is a considerable stack of spoil ready to be cleared to
the surface next session but we decided it was time for a well earned pint at
the Hunter’s. An excellent digging session.

With Tav, Jake and Nick.

First task of the session was to replace/sort out the skip hauling ropes, particularly for the Toil and Trouble run that gets a good hammering. Swapped the skip in ‘T&T’ for a newer model and set up a skip run to the dig site, T Junction is more like “Clapham Junction” for skips. That done we set about digging, Tav and me at the dig and T Junction, Nick in the pot and Jake on the shuttle run to the entrance, managed to shift a reasonable quantity of spoil out to the surface although digging was a bit slower at times, claggy material with cobbles and a large boulder impeding progress somewhat. The way ahead appears to be opening out into a wider bedding with open gaps/space over a good deal of sediment – plenty of digging for a while yet!

No digging this weekend due to most of the team having other commitments. I did, however take a stroll around Hallowe’en Rift (HR) on Sunday morning with the dog. Rather than park at the farm I left the van in Tyning’s Lane and walked onto the hillside from there. Got a little sidetracked on the way by some interesting evidence of Medieval land usage – lynchetts, etc. also walked along some decent holloway’s. On arrival at HR spent some time having a bit of a tidy up around the entrance before continuing the walk observing the topography of the landscape above HR. Further to the east of HR there is a change in the geology where an outcrop of Blue Lias overlies Blackrock Limestone, this is reflected in the drystone walls where more Lias rock has been used in the construction of the walls. A mixture of sunshine and showers, the showers, thankfully, were few.

With Tav and Jake.

A clearing session today. Jake went up to the ‘T’ Junction, Tav decided to do the haul and shuttle from Stal Bend back to the bottom of the entrance; that left me in the pot. The pot seems to be the least favourite position among my compatriots, probably not because it’s hard graft hauling the skip along Toil and Trouble and then transferring the spoil to another skip that has to be shoved up and over your head, up the 2 metre pot ready to be hauled along to Stal Bend, it’s the copious mud that splatters from the hauling rope that always gets you in the face, most usually an eyeful! There was a lot of spoil shifted back to the entrance and the final task of the session was to remove this to the surface and empty the bags ready for the next digging trip. The sun made an appearance just as hauling began warming it up just when it was needed. Job done it was time for the Hunter’s.

With Tav.

Took in another heavy duty hammer (and a chisel) as a lot of the digging kit is still in Trick or Treat! beyond the duck. After a number of relatively dry days the drips in the cave have decreased in their intensity, although the passages are still wet and squalid; the dig, however is fine. At the dig, north of ‘T’ Junction, the first task was to batter a large rock into submission. We then continued to dig taking it in turns at the face. the rocks and bags of spoil were stacked in ‘T’ Junction to be removed at a later date. We had been working our way over the top a bit so decided to come back and enlarge the passage dimension to make spoil removal more efficient. Started to clear spoil around another awkward piece of rock until we filled all the available bags and decided to call an end to the session. There is a good pile of material to be removed from the cave, hopefully we will have a bigger team next session.

Hunter’s of course!

Unfortunately I was unable to make it to Hallowe’en Rift today due to a prior commitment to continue my participation in the Stanton Drew Survey Project with other members of the Bath & Camerton Archaeological Society. The following update was provided by Tav:

“Tav, Jake, Nick

Last weeks attention to the awkward boulder had done its job and a vast volume of debris was
shifted. The boulder was removed completely, plus some of the ledge underneath.
Not content with that we then proceeded to remove the large rocks constricting
the entrance to the dig, which with a bit more tidying up will allow a skip to
be hauled right to the digging face. Two very large rocks remain. These will
break up but require a heavier hammer. Twenty or so bags were then taken right
out and a large pile of rocks stacked up in the entrance rift for clearance on another
day. It will come as no surprise that the cave remains filthy, nor that we
retired to the Hunters for a very well earned beer.”

With Tav, Jake, Nick and Alex.

Nick and I went along Toil and Trouble to dig the lead north of ‘T’ Junction, meanwhile Jake positioned himself in the pot, Tav doing the shuttle run and Alex hauling out the spoil to the surface. We are currently following a lead with ~150mm open space over mixed sediment and rock with occasional chunks of degraded calcite flowstone, there is now a flat solid roof and a hint of fresher air rather than a draught, atmospheric conditions are not conducive to creating much air movement at the present time. A good quantity of spoil comprising sediment and assorted rocks was removed to the surface, it was then time to apply some technology to the removal of the large boulder that is a hindrance to comfortable digging at the end, also hope to remove a chunk of the ledge that the rock was perched on. That completed we made our way off the hillside to change and retire to the Hunter’s for refreshments and discussion.

With Jake, Alex and Tav.

Continued to dig along the lead to the north of ‘T’ Junction – the duck through into Trick or Treat! is not very appealing! Jake and myself taking it in turns at the dig face, Tav doing the hauling back to Witches Cauldron and up the pot to Alex who was shuttling the spoil back to the base of the entrance shaft. A considerable amount of rocks and sediment, including a very large slab, was shifted. Ahead in the dig there is space over sediment and rock and the air is fresher, there is a solid roof and digging once the awkward slab is out of the way should be relatively comfortable. All the spoil at the entrance was removed to the surface.

Unfortunately Vince was incapacitated, however Jake, Tav and Alex did a re-run of last weekend’s session. Jake and then Tav dug at the end of the
left hand passage to the north of the T-Junction, while Alex stacked the spoil in the pot, once the stacking space was
full, everything was removed to the surface.

Spent a while in the morning before setting off to meet up with the team fettling together a couple of drag trays, one for the dig in Trick or Treat! and a replacement for the skip in Toil and Trouble that is beginning to show signs of wear.

Digging with Jake and Alex.

Not quite the right sized team to dig the inclined bedding in Trick or Treat! so a rethink on strategy. We decided to resume the digging along the passage to the north of the ‘T’ Junction. While I took the drag tray and hauling line along to Trick or Treat! through, a now very wet puddle and duck, Jake started digging. After dropping off the drag tray and collecting a small bar for digging I returned to the ‘T’ Junction to help with the hauling, Alex was in the pot stacking the bags and rocks here ready to be removed later. After a while Jake and I swapped places until the available stacking space was full and we shifted back to clear the digging spoil out to the surface. Another good digging session and plenty of spoil shifted. There is a slab of rock in the dig that would make progress a little easier if it were removed, a job for the not too distant future. Session over we called in at the Hunter’s as usual.

With Jake, Nick, Tav and Alex.

After a period of heavy rain we did not expect the cave to be any drier, we were not disappointed, the passage into Trick or Treat! has become a duck. Nick and I went off to the inclined bedding while the rest of the team shifted the pile of spoil stacked in the first chamber back to the T junction. After a short while Nick went back to join the spoil hauling while I carried on digging. Eventually I managed to get over the rock obstruction and gained access into the small blind chamber (?) where it was possible to turn over and get a better look around. The east<>west rift looks the most interesting prospect where it might be possible to gain some depth with some clearance of spoil. The cave didn’t draught today probably because of the atmospheric conditions so no help there in deciding which way to go, will need to ponder a while on the next move. We’ve gained another few metres to the length of the inclined bedding and there is still the potential for a bit more. I then went back to join the team and assist in the effort to remove the spoil out to the surface. Going out through the duck, now liquid mud, was an interesting experience. Job done it was time for refreshments.

With Tav, Jake and Nick.

Nothing to clear so headed straight up to the end of Trick or Treat! and set about enlarging the downward dipping inclined bedding that leads to the south. It took a while to get into a rhythm – digging with the spade at arms length, filling the drag tray, then dragging it back to the chamber to be bagged up then moving the bag into the first chamber to be stacked up ready for removing at a later date. After a while digging with the spade became too awkward and a feet first tactic was employed, scraping the spoil back, balling it up and flinging it overhead to be placed in the skip by Tav. There was a disconcerting moment when a sizeable flake of rock was dislodged from the ceiling and landed on my legs – at least it made some more space when I eventually managed to get out of the way. Wriggled forward as far as I could get but progress was halted by a rock in the floor which I could not shift. Went back to turn around and have a go head first, got to the blockage and managed to loosen it but could not remove it [yet!]. I could see ahead into a low, apparently blind chamber (?) which is a bit disappointing after the effort it took to get there, although there is a small cross rift that needs a better look. The stickiness of the sediment meant that it required a considerable effort to extricate myself from the passage, reversing up the slope feet first, then having to negotiate the slot to regain the main passage. Knackered, called it a day and retired to the Hunter’s for refreshments.

With Tav, Nick and Alex.

Another clearance session today although Nick went to the end of Trick or Treat! to have a look at the prospects there. We then set about clearing the spoil stacked in the first chamber back to Tav in Witches Cauldron. The spoil was transferred from the drag tray into a skip ready for Alex to haul up the pot and empty at the base of the entrance. When we had cleared the debris from the end of the cave we all shuttled forward to clear Witches Cauldron of the remaining spoil [dumped there last session] before moving on again to clear the entrance of spoil. It hasn’t got any drier! A good session all the same. Hunter’s, of course.

Thinking of a New Year’s resolution, this could be an inspirational thought for all cave diggers!

Onward to passages as yet undiscovered. Best of luck to all of you!

With Tav and Alex.

Ignoring the opening up of the rift to the north of Witches Cauldron [saving this for when we clear out the pot] me and Tav went on to Trick or Treat! where we set to work clearing the spoil stacked there. Cleared the spoil stacked in the 1st little chamber back to Alex in Witches Cauldron before shifting the debris and bags from the next chamber after Tav had a quick look along the inclined bedding. We managed to fill the 1st chamber before starting to haul the spoil back to Witches Cauldron until that was filled. The whip of the hauling rope has a knack of redepositing muddy, gritty water into your face and eyes and then, there is always the itchy nose problem when everything is coated in mud. I then suggested to Tav that we could shift a few of the larger rocks back with us as we crawled along Toil and Trouble. All the puddles of water along the way had by now turned into liquid mud and the return journey is back to its squalid best – don’t you just love it!

Quick solo trip into Hallowe’en Rift as far as Witches Cauldron. The aim was to open up the rift heading north [and potentially into the hillside] off the base of the pot. Didn’t take too long and should be some debris to dig out tomorrow if the team can drag themselves away from the seasonal indulgences!

Winter Solstice!

It’s a good job that I’m happy with my own company, another solo trip. A very strong drip in the cave today after some recent rain and some interestingly situated puddles – it’s going to get squalid again for a while! Into Trick or Treat! to continue the dig south off the inclined bedding. Filled some bags and dragged some rocks back into the chamber before reversing into the slot and digging with my feet, pushing the spoil into the open space beyond. Almost through but it’s still rather snug and I was starting to run out of energy – or was it nerve? No matter it will wait until the next trip when I will endeavour to remove a little more spoil before having another go – it’s not easy going head first down an incline but, I would still like to have a good look at the way ahead. Very interesting!

With Alex.

While Alex remained in Witches Cauldron and worked away at enlarging the access into the passage leading north I continued along Toil and Trouble to Trick or Treat! along the inclined bedding and cleared a few more cobbles out of the way before setting to work excavating the sediment. The prospects ahead are looking very tantalising indeed – just out of reach, a body length ahead! Dragging the cobbles back was a little awkward so decided to set to work removing some calcited boulders and reducing them to movable lumps. It was then time to return to Witches and give Alex some assistance to remove a calcite obstruction, fill few bags of spoil and clear the debris out to the surface.

Next session will concentrate on removing the sediment in the inclined bedding and progressing down dip.

Solo.

Collected a couple of drag trays on my way along the approach passage near Stal Bend for use at the end in Trick or Treat? At the bottom of Witches Cauldron I stopped for a while to contemplate on the best approach to opening out the lead to the north and I now have a strategy in mind. Worked my way along a rather damp Toil and Trouble and stopped at the T Junction to have another look at the dig to the left [again heading north] and came to the conclusion that this might also need some opening up. Trouble is all the leads to the north are viable propositions and well worth pursuing sometime. Eventually made my way up to Trick or Treat? where I filled a drag tray with some of the debris piled up in the 1st chamber to see how easy [or not] it is for spoil removal – with a bit of effort it’s doable. Then slid into the inclined bedding to start dragging some of the loose debris back into the 1st chamber. This had the effect of allowing a better view of the prospects ahead and it is interesting, about a body length ahead the passage appears to open up a bit into either some vadose development or, more likely another rift. I didn’t think there is an echo but did feel there was some air movement, although the weather is mild at the present and temperatures are balanced resulting in very little draught. I left the cave feeling satisfied with the session and keen to push ahead – there’s a lot more to come from this little cave in the future!

I wore my caving helmet for the first time in a long while and I found it quite restrictive in the low passages, much prefer my beanie and Fenix!

Interesting discussion with Trevor Hughes at lunchtime in the Hunter’s. TH had his original survey of Hallowe’en Rift and had printed off a slightly blurred copy of the east side extensions. Although the scales didn’t quite match up we managed to overlay the two surveys to give an overall picture of how the cave trends, all that was missing is the dig started by ‘Quiet’ John Watson and continued by myself and Jake et al in the early 1990’s. When viewed in its entirety the full survey certainly appears to give some clear indications as to where efforts might be made in the future – almost too many leads!

Won’t be digging today as I am off to a conference at the University of Reading – Towns of Roman Britain; some eminent speakers so should be good. It was!

Might go digging Sunday, will think about it. Didn’t dig, went over to Whitcombe’s Hole instead.

For one reason and another a depleted team – just me and Jake. We waited around for Peter Bolt (who is over from Columbia for a few days) but he didn’t show, so off we went.

We cleared the bags stacked at the base of Witches Cauldron ready to be emptied later and then up to Trick or Treat? Started to clear the accumulation of rocks and other debris to make some stacking space and give a clearer view of what is going on in this area. Had some fun reducing a pile of large rocks to a more manageable size to be cleared out at a later date. Both of us came to the conclusion that depth might be an important factor to consider here. It was then time to return to the surface to empty the bags. At the entrance there was Peter who had overslept after a late night at the Belfry and was a little jaded, I gave him my light so he could go and have a look while me and Jake emptied the bags. Peter soon returned not feeling like venturing along Toil and Trouble, so bags emptied, we left and made our way back to the farm, then to the Hunter’s.

The survey of the east side extensions, total survey length 64 metres. Trevor Hughes 1982 [partial] survey to the west of the entrance is included.

With Tav.

Without a full team to dig nothing for it but to carry out a survey of the Hallowe’en Rift east side extension and to take a couple of photos at the end of Trick or Treat?
Surveyed length is probably in excess of 50 metres, need to do the maths for the final length.

Image below: Tav entering the inclined bedding beyond the second chamber. It’s actually bigger than it looks!

After a second look a plan of action has been formulated and initially we will clear away an accumulation of loose debris which will give a better view of what lies ahead and then we will dig down dip to open up the existing airspace and, hopefully it won’t be long before we add some more length to Hallowe’en Rift.

There will be a PowerPoint presentation (see below) about Hallowe’en Rift at tonight’s J’Rats Digging Awards at the Hunter’s this evening.

It’s quite a large file so be patient and give it some time to load, it’s worth it! Click on slide show and run it from the beginning, turn on your audio there is a soundtrack. If you are of a nervous disposition don’t watch it alone at night!

More success!

With Alex and Tav.

First job of the day was to clear the accumulation of bags and other debris from the bottom of the entrance out to the surface. That done we moved on to Toil and Trouble to remove the spoil from there, I was glad to be wearing my plastic oversuit as there were plenty of puddles along the way. Moving forward into Trick or Treat? we spent a little while while sorting out the skip and hauling ropes before opening up the squeeze into the chamber by removing more of the sediment. It was soon time to turn our attention to the slot which was now open after yesterday’s effort. Sliding through the slot into the chamber beyond we were able to have a good look around, there appears to be prospects downwards and to the side. Straight ahead the passage continued beyond some formations into an open inclined bedding, down dip there is a continuation although initially constricted. Looking down the incline there is an airspace ~150mm in height can be seen to continue for ~3m to where it appears to become more open again. From the slot we have extended the length of the new section by ~10m with excellent potential for more; in the last couple of weeks we have made ~15m of progress. There is some consolidation to be carried out, tidying of loose debris and working out the logistics of spoil removal from the chambers, also the area will need to be photographed.

A rather satisfying walk down the hill in glorious autumn sunshine and up to Hunter’s for refreshments and further discussion regarding the prospects ahead.

Solo trip to concentrate the effort in a couple of places. I did have a feeling that after a period of persistent heavy rain the drip might be back – I was right! A damp trip to the end in a cotton overall, plenty of puddles now. My first task of the morning was to start work on expansion of the slot, when that was complete I went back to Toil and Trouble to remove the ridge of rock in the lowest section, a very awkward drilling position and also quite wet; hopefully both tasks will have the desired effect.

Passed on the latest news re: the breakthrough to the farmer’s who were out rounding up the cattle on the hill.

Tomorrows session might be interesting.

With Alex, Tav and Jake.

After the excitement of last weekend’s new discovery a consolidation period. Last Sunday’s loose ends were cleared and then the task of making the approach into the chamber a bit more spacious progressed – a lot of spoil was shifted today and it’s all at the bottom of the entrance waiting to be hauled out! At the end of the session a quick excursion into the newly accessed chamber with Tav to plan the next move. Tried to open up the slot with a hammer but might have to resort to a different enlargement process. Still got a slightly better look at the prospects and they look good, it looks like the rift might have something to follow to one side and possibly down, the air was fresh rather than a draught but atmospheric conditions are at a balance at the moment.

Hunter’s of course!

On reflection Tav’s suggestion of ‘Trick or Treat?’ as a name for the new bit does fit rather well, so ‘Trick or Treat? it is.

Solo trip into Hallowe’en to take a few photo’s and to take care of some unfinished business.

Image below is looking back into breakthrough point after some spade work to make it a little less snug.

Image below: a group of stalagmites on one side of the breakthrough, the largest is ~300mm high

Image below: just about shoulder height is a slot leading to an open rift, the slot will need a bit of modification!

Image below: peering beyond the slot into the open rift beyond!

Images below: a group of random photos from around the chamber, there are a number of decent formations and good flowstone.

With the loose ends tidied up it was time to exit the cave and enjoy some lunchtime refreshment at my favourite hostelry and chat to some people.

Breakthrough!

With Alex, Tav, Jake and Nick

While the team were clearing the stack of bags from the entrance shaft I carried on to the end to batter the the constriction impeding an easier progress to the dig face – successfully removed. Then another good clearing session ensued and progress was made pretty quickly, all the spoil being cleared to the surface. At the end of the clearing session decided to turn around and take a closer look at the end, I moved a bit of sediment and peered ahead to see, unexpectedly ‘a small chamber’, more scraping to get a better look and the chamber was a bit bigger than expected, more frantic scraping and with each look the chamber looked better – getting excited now! Eventually rolled over on to my back and went for it – a rather snug fit – and got through into a nicely decorated chamber ~3m in length, up to 2m wide and maybe 4m high with some interesting looking solutional development. On one side and ~1.5m above the breakthrough point the passage is ~1.5m wide x 0.5m high and probably 2m long to a squeeze [which will be easily modified] into a rift possibly 5m long, at least a metre wide and again well decorated, there is a possibility that there is a continuation of this rift to one side and we have no idea whether it goes down to a lower level. This rift was not entered because we need to record the decorations before they become soiled and, after all, there’s no rush – need to savour these moments and involve the whole team. After a bit more digging to open up the breakthrough point Nick came forward to have a quick look before we exited the cave and went to the Hunter’s for a celebratory pint of good local ale!

Plan is to open up the approach to the breakthrough, take photographs, and then we will open up the squeeze and investigate the rift.

Thought I’d had enough breakthrough’s in my time to get blase about them, but it is still the biggest buzz there is! Still shaking on adrenaline!

And it is Hallowe’en in a few days!

With Tav and Jake.

Tav and myself at the end while Jake settled into the pot. After a bit of scratching around to make some room I managed to turn around and dig feet first, utilising the spade supplied by Tav. Once a rhythm was established progress was rapid and all the available bags were filled.

We have almost dug across the small chamber/passage and almost at the point where the roof lowers once again. Beyond the way ahead still has air space although there is sediment to dig out – still a good echo from ahead. Entry to the digging ahead is a bit on the snug side so will have to remove either a bit of stal in the floor or trim off the roof.

We then set about shifting all the bags from the pot to the bottom of the entrance shaft ready to be hauled to the surface at a later date. Satisfied with a good session we retired to the Hunter’s for the usual refreshments.

With Alex, Tav and Nick.

Went to the end with Tav and cleared the debris and some sediment from the dig, Nick did the hauling back to the pot and Alex hauling and shuttling from Stal Bend back to the base of the entrance. It should be noted that the hauling ropes we are using were donated by the late Willie Stanton – it’s very satisfying to know that diggers are still helping diggers! When the dig was cleared of spoil I did my bit for the “enlargement process” while the rest of the team cleared the spoil accumulated at the bottom of the entrance out to the surface.

Still looks very interesting at the end, although the way ahead is impeded by some calcifications there is still a good echo. Time will tell I suppose.

When all was clean and tidy job was completed and we retired to the Hunter’s for refreshment.

Another solo effort.

Stopped in the field for a chat with the farmer who was out checking on the livestock before strolling up to the entrance. Chilly evening after a day where temperatures have taken a sudden drop. Straight along to the end to continue the “enlargement process”, seemed to be an awkward working position this evening probably due to the cramped space and downward slope. Drilling didn’t go as easily as usual due to harder, more competent rock but eventually got the job done and left the cave satisfied. Couldn’t be bothered to stop at the Hunter’s so headed off in a homeward direction.