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No 225 November 1966 The Belfry Bulletin – Volume Twenty – Number Eleven Annual List of Member’s Addresses. In accordance with recent custom, we are printing the list in the November B.B. Without increasing the size of the B.B., this means that half is taken up with the list We hope to minimise the delay caused in holding back articles by getting out the December B.B. early this year, so that in fact such a delay will only amount to two or three weeks. Information for inclusion in the Christmas edition of the B.B. should be sent to the editor as soon as possible, since it is hoped to publish this early in December this year. _______________________________________________________________________________________
Four to Gaping Gill …...by Roy Bennett. Although the Main Shaft has been booked on previous occasions, the weather had prevented attempts to ladder it. This was becoming a bit of a joke among certain of our Northern friends, and a weekend trip was arranged to remedy the situation. Numbers dwindled as the day approached, until there were just four from Bristol with the possibility of some more from London and Yorkshire. On arrival, no possibilities were found and the four set off with vast amounts of tackle to see what could be done, encouraged by reports of ‘little rain for a week’. Fell Beck was found to be quite low, and seventy minutes sufficed to dam it effectively and divert it into the Rathole. This was done by placing large stones and earth-filled sacks on top of turfs in a line at right angles to the steam on the smoothest part of the bed. Some additional work diverted more of the water into holes further upstream. This pleasant activity completed, attention was turned to the pothole itself. The only point where a straight pitch can be obtained is in the far right hand corner used for winch descents. The four hundred foot ulstron lifeline was rigged through a pulley belayed to a stake left in the moor above and a man sent out to sit on the edge of the ledge on the right hand side and feed the ladder down in the corner. A large block provided the main belay, while a tether was looped over an old iron spike on the far side to hold the ladder against any sideways slippage. A telephone cable was then sent down with a bag of stones on the end, and all was ready. It was decided by the rest of the party that Norman Petty should be first down, and he duly descended with only brief halts, lifelined by Keith Franklin. The usual whistle signals sufficed on the way down, with the telephone being used only from the bottom. Phil Kingston then joined Norman, who came up do that Roy could go down. On reaching the surface, Norman made the categorical statement that this was far preferable to Southern Stream Passage in Agen Allwedd – this condition is known as ‘horozontigo’. The actual descent is quite interesting. The first part is well lit and somewhat alarming; with the ladder dropping free to disappear past the ledge into blackness. The damming as done does not interfere with the lateral passage water, which comes in on the right to form an impressive unbroken waterfall of over three hundred feet – the highest in England. The ledge was put out of reach by the positioning of the ladder, but this was compensated for by the straightness of the descent. Below the level of the ledge, the shaft assumes a more benign aspect and the gravel covered floor of the Main Chamber appears quite near until one remembers that the ‘gravel’ is actually stones and boulders. A little lower, and one is on a level with the roof, the ladder drops across a knob of rock which makes a fine seat to admire the scenery. This viewpoint can be strongly recommended, with all the waterfalls visible and the walls of the Great Chamber receding into the blackness.