Belfry Bulletin Number 275 by Belfry Bulletin

THE BELFRY BULLETIN ____________________________________ Number 275

July 1970

(VOLUME 24 No.7) ____________________________________ CONTENTS Caving Lost John’s New Roof Traverse Monthly Notes No. 34 Cuthbert’s II Plans Swinsto – Kingsdale

52 53 54 56

Climbing Caving with the lid off

Club Business Nominations At the Belfry

55 55

Miscellaneous

Editorial Elsewhere in this B.B., there is a feature on the Belfry, which. As we explained a few issues ago, might well become a regular feature. Reading this one, we see that the current bed-night rate is stated and that there is an appeal for members to use the Belfry more. Due allowance must, of course, be made for the fact that the Belfry has not long been back in business – but the currant bed-night rate only amounts to an annual figure of about 900. This is very low, for the heyday of the older Belfry, the figure reached over 1,800. At the risk of over simplifying the problem, it appears that we could, if we tried hard, get back to this sort of total, but only by offering accommodation to other clubs. What we appear to have lost is a number of club ‘regulars’ at the Belfry. Again, it is probably far too early to judge, but there does seem to be a chance that we might have to decided whether we run the Belfry at a loss or agree that its main function is to provided accommodation for visiting clubs. If this actually happens, it will seem rather a pity that club members fail to utilise the building which has cost the club such a lot of time, efforts and money. Now that the new Belfry is with us, the situation could (and we hope will) soon change for the better. In the meantime it would do no harm to watch carefully the way in which the Belfry gets back into its stride. “Alfie”

Crossword No.2 58 ____________________________________

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The Belfry Bulletin

What is going to happen on the third of October this year?

Monthly Journal of the Bristol Exploration Club. Hon. Sec. A.R. Thomas. Allens House, Priddy Wells, Somerset Hon. Editor, S.J. Collins, Homeleigh, Bishop Sutton, Bristol

Is somebody putting on a barrel? Is there a do of some sort? Is it free? Is it a secret? NO! IT’S THE DATE OF THE CLUB’S ANNUAL DINNER AND A.G.M! See NEXT MONTH’S B.B. for all details. Don’t forget the 3rd of October! Tie a knot in something.

LOST JOHNS NEW ROOF TRAVERSE

The Lost John’s System has long been one of the caves on our visiting list, and in February, our little group of fanatics decided it was time to cross it off. The sun shone brightly as the transit van slowly ground up the narrow winding lane. Behind us stretched the gentle slopes of Leck Fell and in the far distance the rugged Lakeland hills sought prominence on the horizon.

….by Martin Webster

We soon found a place to park and rapidly changed into our caving gear. The cave lies in a small rocky depression only a few yards form the lane, so it was quickly located. The New Roof Traverse was passed without any difficulty, and Number One Hole was soon reached and descended.

The next two pitches, Vestry then Pulpit, which followed shortly afterwards were both quite tight and ladders were used on both although they could be free climbed with difficulty. Pulpit Pitch ends on a large ledge at the top of Cathedral Pitch. There are two obvious ways down, one to the right as you face the ladder and the other one straight on down. As there was very little water in the cave that day, we used the ladder, belaying to a large flake of rock. The passage at the bottom is, again, quite constricted but the seventy foot deep Dome Pitch was soon reached. On this we set up a double lifeline, as it is quite difficult to lifeline from the top. As soon as we were all down, we set off along a large passage to the left; down a twenty foot pitch; through a sandy chamber and then down a thirty five foot pitch into a chamber with a large stream entering. It was at this stage that we began to have doubts as to which route we were doing. Our fears were soon realised when it turned a corner and the passage disappeared into a sump. We were, of course, in Sink Chamber at the end of the Shale Cavern Route! We were soon back in Dome Chamber, where we found the correct way on was through a small obscure hole at the end of a short traverse to the right of Dome Pitch. The passage soon widened out and descended a series of short pitches, all of which could have been free climbed if need be. Battle Axe Pitch, which we were expecting to be quite wet, was virtually dry except for the last fifteen feet where the main stream is met coming from Shale Cavern and the Old Roof Traverse routes. Wet Pitch, which follows almost immediately, lived up to its name, although in wet weather it can be laddered further out in the rift to make it easier. A short length of passage followed to the final pitch which again could be laddered dry, through the eyehole on the right. We were soon at Ground Sheet Junction, which marks the entrance to the master cave system. The Main Drain was very much smaller than expected, although the passage was excellent for speed caving. At one stage we almost broke into a run. As one of the team had forgotten to bring his wet suit, we didn’t bother going right to the downstream end although on later inspection of the survey we found we must have got very close to the terminal sump. The upstream was followed to see if we could get into the new dry master cave above Lyle Cavern, but we found that some quite difficult climbs were involved, so we had a look at Lost Pot Inlet instead. The formations in Lyle cavern are quite impressive, mainly being in the form of large cascades. The trip out was interesting but uneventful and, although the master cave had proved disappointing, the very sporty nature of the entrance system more than made up for it. The entrance was finally regained after a very fine seven and a half hour trip. _______________________________________________________________________________________ July Committee Meeting Owing to the absence of many members of the committee due to annual holidays, there was no quorum for the July meeting and thus no meeting was held.

MONTHLY NOTES Number 34…. …by “Ben”

YORKSHIRE Pippikin Pot. The recent extensive discoveries have filled a big hole in the Three Counties System – the postulated forty miles plus cave which could be constructed by linking together the major systems in Westmorland, Lancashire and West Yorkshire. Only a few bits have as yet actually been joined up, but some of the sumps are known to connect and other parts of adjacent systems are quite close. In contrast to many of the North Pennine System, this area shows considerable maturity and the missing links are being rigorously sought.

The Rains Came. The mega-aqueous conditions leading to the recent rescue of S.M.C.C. and B.E.C. members from Penyghent Pot were, according to the people concerned, not predictable from the prevailing weather or from the forecast. The usual sensational and highly inaccurate newspaper accounts made what was merely a difficult situation appear to have been one in which the precipitants were lucky to have survived. The subsequent appearance on television of a representative from each club did something to counteract this, however. If, on the diving of the terminal sump had been rather more protracted, the party would have been caught down the system and things would have been more difficult. The press were, oddly enough, not informed of this. An account of this trip is to appear in a later B.B. MENDIP St. Cuthbert’s II. Attempts to push the lower end of the Whitsun Extensions have met with solid rock everywhere and have been abandoned. The soak away in Sump I has been dug, but difficulties with flooding and with undermining the pipes have halted this work. All the holes in the roof of the lower part of the streamway have been maypoled, but nothing has been found. Digging at the side of Sump II has also been unsuccessful, and it looks as though a big operation will be necessary to pass this obstacle. Robert (Dam Builder) Craig is already thinking about this. Banwell Stalagmite Cave. This is the latest of the widespread Mendip discoveries to be reported. While looking round at the end of the stalagmite cave, Chris Richard of the Axbridge Caving Group climbed in an open passage which led directly to a large undiscovered chamber some hundred feet long! Other passages lead off, including routes to a further chamber with a lake about sixty feet O.D. The first cavity – Greta Chamber – is stated to be the largest on Western Mendip. The cave is at present closed because of work on the M5 motorway. (A.C.G. & A.,S. Newsletter dated, July 1970). CLIMBING The climbing section has just had a week in North Wales. Several hard routes were done despite the atrocious weather. One car was written off. _______________________________________________________________________________________

Have YOU been on holiday yet? Done anything interesting? Climbed mountains? Been down unusual caves? Write to the B.B., about it if you have. If not, write to the B.B. about anything else.

St. CUTHBERT’S TWO The extended elevation and plan of Cuthbert’s II on this page are designed to illustrate the report on Cuthbert’s II which appeared in the last issue of the B.B. The scale is 40 feet to the inch, and the grading of the original survey from which these drawings have been taken is listed as C.R.G. grade 6c. The reason for the two parts of the aural connection being shown as some distance apart on the elevation is due to the fact that bends are ‘pulled out’ on an extended elevation. Reference to the plan will make this point clear.

NOMINATIONS In Accordance with the club constitution, members are requested to put forward their nominees for the 1970 – 1971 committee. As in recent years, no actual forms for this purpose are being sent to members, since the actual number of nominations does no make it worthwhile providing the paper out of club funds. All you have to do is to decide who you will like to see as a candidate for the next committee. FIND OUT FROM HIM (OR HER) WHETHER HE OR SHE WILL BE PREPARED TO SERVE ON THE COMMITTEE IF ELECTED, and write on a suitable piece of paper ‘I nominate………….as a candidate for election to the committee and state that he is willing to serve if elected.’ Then SIGN the paper and put down your membership number if you can remember it. Members of the present committee do not require to be nominated. They are automatically nominated provided that they are willing to stand for election again. The members of the present committee are Bob Bagshaw; Norman Petty; Pete Franklin; Alfie Collins; Dick Wickens; ‘Fred’ Atkins; John Riley; Tim Hodgson and of course Alan Thomas. At the time of printing, it is not known whether all of these are prepared to stand for election again but, whether they do or not, they do not require nomination. Remember that, if insufficient people are nominated, there will be no election for the committee and you, as a member of this club, will have lost YOUR chance to choose people that you would like to see running the club on your behalf. Nominations should be given or sent to the Hon. Sec. Alan Thomas whose address is ALLEN’S HOUSE, PRIDDY, WELLS, SOMERSET. The closing date for nomination is Saturday, September 5th and the date of the A.G.M. is Saturday October 3rd. A final suggestion. Why not put up for the committee yourself? You can easily persuade somebody to nominate you. No seconder is needed, but the person who nominates you MUST be a club member. Come and help us run the B.E.C.! _______________________________________________________________________________________ This appeal for nominations takes the place of ‘Just a Sec’ for this month. The Hon. Sec. is at present away on holiday. _______________________________________________________________________________________

At The Belfry

During May and June, we entertained Crawley Caving Club (twice) and Surrey University, the total number of bed nights 217. This was not bad considering the fact that we were very short mattress. This problem has now been partly overcome thanks to a donation of six mattresses from a friend of Martin Bishop’s. As well as mattresses, we still need cutlery, tables and chairs so, if you’ve any you want to get rid of, bring them along to the Belfry.

The traditional B.E.C. barbecue was resurrected this year and was held on the 27th June, the traditional Saturday closest to Midsummer’s day. It was not all that well attended, mainly because of the short notice. The people who did attend, however, thoroughly enjoyed themselves in true B.E.C. fashion. Thanks are due to Pete and Mary Ham for the organising and the food, and to B. Wilton, Esq. for the fire. Various jobs are in the process of being completed in the Belfry, and Jok has constructed a magnificent banqueting table which has to be seen to be believed. So, within a few weeks, we will be fully equipped and operational BUT all the facilities like the new showers, lighting and plumbing will be wasted if we have nobody staying at the hut. If you intend to go caving on a Sunday, why not stay at the hut on the Saturday night?

SWINSTO/ KINGSDALE …by Roy Bennett

56 Although it is stated to be the ambition of many cavers to traverse a cave system from sink to resurgence the number of places where this can be done are very few. The Swinsto-Kingsdale trip is, as near as makes no difference, one such and had the descent of a succession of pitches which do not have to be re-climbed. To sample these delights, the usual B.E.C./Shepton party consisting of Bob Craig and Mehew, Martin Mills, Pete Bowler, Alan Butcher, Tim Large and myself forgathered on May 30th at Kingsdale.

The equipment consisted of three ropes of various lengths; assorted climbing gear as an insurance against poor route finding, and of course personal abseiling gear (karabiners and slings). To begin, Bennett and Large were sent into the valley entrance to ladder the twenty foot pitch out of the master cave. The party then walked to what Bob Mehew was certain was the right entrance, and started on the low first section to the first pitch. The descent then proceeded with the rapidity of the description in Pennine Underground with the leaders leaving ropes on each pitch, while the rearguard de-tackled behind the party and pushed the ropes up to the front. The existing belays were used on all except one pitch, where a short sling was abandoned. Ease of rope retrieval was checked at each pitch by the last man before descent, and no difficulties were encountered. The bottom of Swinsto was soon reached, leaving only the blurred memory of pitches rushing by and a few other bits in between. The correct low passage to the master cave was then located and the party stopped for brief refreshment at the banks of the stream. The stop did not last long, as the smoker’s weeds had got rather wet, and the atmosphere remained unpolluted. Most of the upstream section of the master cave was then looked at and found to be disappointingly low, deserving the name of master cave only in functional sense. Downstream things improved rapidly and a fine stream passage began – only to end after a fairly short distance at the ladder and terminal sump. Milch free climbed this pitch, finding the top rather awkward, while the rest used the ladder which proved a wise precaution. The party then went out through the rather mucky passages and canals to the entrance. Time of trip – three hours. The day was rounded off by doing all the possible routes in Yordas Cave – including a fine eighty foot abseil. _______________________________________________________________________________________

CAVING WITH THE LID OFF !

1. PENNINE BECK WALKING………… The other week, I went along with the Craven Pothole Club to Meregill. The sky was clear and it was arm and sunny, but alas, the mere at the entrance was full and the duck impassable. Thinner members of the party managed with some effort to penetrate the narrow slit entrance nearby. I boasted of my ability to get through tight bits, but my ego was shattered and after a lot of puffing and swearing, I got out of the hole in disgust. I was wet and muddy and sweating heavily. Three other blokes had similar experiences. One of them, Ken Chappel – an extremely energetic bloke in his mid-thirties – suggested that we went for a beck walk. “What the hell’s that?,” I exclaimed. “Ah!,” said Ken, “Your miserable ignorance of northern ways shows itself again!” and I was duly transported to the scene.

Has anyone walked by the waterfalls near Ingleton? I remember one wet day over Whitsun spent sightseeing with Alan Thomas and I thought on that occasion what a wonderfully sporting cave the river would have made if it only been roofed over. Now, we had had quite a lot of rain and the river was much fuller than usual. I was advised to keep helmet and boots on. We also took a rope and set off to the head of the falls. You just waddle into the water and let the current take you. You can swim – float – do what you like. The current takes you along. We roped up going down the long drops but just jumped into the white water on the short ones. Incidentally, if you’re not a swimmer, don’t try this sport because it can be pretty tiring and some becks run through narrow gorges where the current is very swift and the water very deep. What an outrageous way travel a couple of miles! It was quite fantastic and a very interesting twist on caving. It has something in common with white water canoeing as well. Don’t be surprised if it catches on in a big way, and you see PENNINE BECK WALKS (Dalesman, Clapham) on the bookstalls before long. Why not have a go? Bob Cross

57 2. HIGHLAND BURN WALKING……….. About the second time I went to the Scottish Highlands, I had occasion to stop the car on a lonely stretch of road for the usual reason. Being a naturally modest character, I went a few yards away from the road to avoid offending any passers by. Luckily, I was looking where I was going at the time, because I quite suddenly came to the edge of a most fantastic gorge. It was some forty or fifty feet deep, but almost narrow enough to jump. The sides were completely vertical, and at the bottom a healthy stream ran over small pitches and amongst boulders. I thought to myself that this was a cave with all the attributes of a cave except darkness. Once down, there would be no climbing out until the trip had been completed. Unfortunately, I was chauffeuring some weegies around the highlands at the time, and so was not able to put the idea into practice. Equally unfortunately, I omitted to note the exact spot where I found my gorge. This summer, Sett, Janet, their small son Julian, Sett’s brother ‘Tich,’ Sally and myself found ourselves up in the highlands again. I had mentally put burn walking on my programme. The weather was against us in two ways – it was extremely wet while we were there, thus making long journeys to get to likely spots very uncomfortable unless one was prepared to take a complete change of clothing along and on the other hand, it had been extremely dry a month before we arrived, thus ensuring that most of the burns were dried up. To give an example, the river Urquart was completely dry, without even a small puddle to show that it is normally a respectable sized river. Some burn walking was, however, carried out. There is a fine stream which you can start by a bridge on the north side of Loch Garry and which leads you upwards via an extremely fine set of waterfalls for a mile or so. All the pitches are climbable without tackle but beware of the dreaded Scottish moss which covers some of the rocks. Even when apparently dry, it remains the most slippery substance know to man! A two mile scramble along the river Moriston followed this, and then we set out to find my gorge. Friends told me it was probably the Corrieshallock Gorge I had found on my previous trip, so off we went the ninety odd miles to investigate. The weather was absolutely vile – wet and very cold with a howling wind. Needless to say, it proved to be the wrong gorge but even so, well worth a visit. It is over two hundred feet deep and has been formed by the cutting back of the falls of Measach. There is a weegee path around the top which is surprisingly dicey in wet weather and a mini suspension bridge from the centre of which you can see the bottom of the gorge and also the falls. As a caver it would be very hazardous owing to the amount of rock falls, one might get into difficulties from the authorities – it is owned by the Scottish National Trust. The rest of the day was spent hunting – without success – for my previous gorge. From this little experience, I can thoroughly recommend burn walking and an interesting variant of caving. If anybody wants to try it and have a go at finding the missing gorge, I can only supply the route I took on the first occasion. It must be somewhere along this route! “Alfie” _______________________________________________________________________________________ SOLUTION TO CROSSWORD No.1 C A + + T R I + N I M + I N N + E +

S E A + F I N A L

C + C + E + + + O

A V E N + A V O N

D + + + T + O + G

E + N + T I R + Y R + + M I V + D R

E V E R E S T + Y

58 MONTHLY CROSSWORD – Number 2. 1

ACROSS: 1. This becomes easier to do though the whole without age (4). 3. Possessed by judge or B.E.C. (1,3). 7. Not remembered in St. Cuthbert’s (9). 8. Still host in practice (3). 9. Has entrails in Cuthbert’s (3). 13. Glad ‘er did this cave extension (6,3). 14. Protection or guidance device (4). 15. Place in Clifton (4). DOWN:

1. Reverse loop above Cuthbert’s (4). 2. Not only a village is this, but all the local caves (3-6). 4. A.C.D.G. trip late in the weekend? (3,6). 5. See 6 down (4). 6. If this 5 down’s, we’re in! (3). 10. Lots on Mendip (4). 11. Pole in Bristol and on Mendip? (3). 12. A bon viveur not in Somerset? (3).

_______________________________________________________________________________________ Stencils completed 4th August 1970.