www.cheddar-caving-club.org.uk December 2009 Volume 2 - No. 3
Contents
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Meets List 2010
A list of club trips for the year ahead
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Early Days Andy Sparrow A trip down memory lane with Andy
A Few Odds & Ends About Digging Chris Castle A fascinating insight into the digging world
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A-Z Update Martin Lee & Chris Castle
A quick catch up on the Mendip A-Z project
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An interview With Robin Gray Robin & Martin
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Find out more about Cheddar’ s practising cave artist
Bad Air Day Barry Hulatt A poem inspired by lack of oxygen in a Mendip cave
Committee Members President/Training Officer Chris Castle tel 01749 344870 mob 07870 782701 email chriscastle46@tiscali.co.uk
Webmaster Anna Peters tel 01454 418196 mob 07841 875 218 email bana.peters@hotmail.com
Secretary Chris Lank tel 01275 390761 mob 0787 6402180 email ablw57@ukgateway.net
Chairman Robin Gray tel 01934 744957 mob 07968 287961 email robingrayartworks@yahoo. co.uk
Membership Secretary Brendan Hanley tel 0117 9850338 mob 07968 650203 email brendan_hanley@hotmail.co.uk New Member Coordinator Sam Denning Kendall tel 0117 9112093 mob 07751 734093 email den0012@hotmail.com Treasurer Tricia Denning Kendall tel 0117 9112093 email P.A.Denning-Kendall@bristol. ac.uk Cover, CCC Trip to Shatter Cave
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Equipment Officer Steve Pointon tel 01934 744824 mob 07880 587244 email kazandsteve@aol.com Journal Editor Martin Lee tel 01373 455145 mob 07778 513419 email mxjxl@hotmail.com Trip info & equipment hire Andy & Rachel Sparrow tel 01934 744824 mob 07989 620540 email andy@mendipnet.co.uk
The Meets List We aim to run three fixed-venue trips every month and typically these will include a fairly simple evening trip (about 2 hours), an intermediate trip (about 4 hours) and an off-Mendip trip (various durations). These trips are described in the meets list (overleaf) and each is assigned a leader or organiser. This year (2010) we have also introduced ‘Girls Night Out’, which will run on the first Monday of every other month. Wednesday Nights There is usually a caving trip on a Wednesday night. Some of these are scheduled in the meets list but others are arranged at short notice between club members and then communicated by email to the rest of the club.
Club info
Club Meetings Club meetings will be held every third Sunday of the month at the Kings Head, Cheddar, either in the lounge bar or the functions room, starting at 8pm. All members are welcome.
Equipment The following items are available to borrow from the equipment officer, Steve Pointon, in Cheddar: Oversuits x3 (extra large, large and medium sizes), Helmets x7, Lights x4, Belts x8, Light chargers x2, Rope 13m x1, Caving bag large x1, Ladders x2, Spreaders x2, Caribiners x5, Straps x3, SRT kit x1, Drill x1, Shetland Attack Pony (surveying tool) x1, Boiler suits x4, Knee pads x3 pairs. If you would like to use any of the above equipment please contact either Steve or Karen on 01934 744824 or 07880 587244. There is a charge of £1 for the use of Lights (this goes towards replacement bulbs and batteries). All other equipment is free but a donation is always gratefully accepted. Please call in advance to confirm availability and to arrange pickup. The Blackdown Caves Project The objective of the project is to extend and connect the group of caves on the western side of Burrington Combe. The project involves cave digging, surveying, aven climbing, squeeze pushing and hopefully the discovery of previously unknown passages. The Website www.cheddar-caving-club.org.uk The Club forum on ukcaving.com We have a forum within ukcaving.com where we keep an online logbook and discuss various topics from the topical to the frivolous. This is a public access forum which can be read by anyone, we are able to moderate contributions to our own area. http://ukcaving.com/board/index.php/board,35.0.html Google Groups Google groups provides us with a private forum which can only be accessed by our own membership. We keep a log of the Blackdown Caves Project activities here and various other pages of interest. New members will be invited to join the group.
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Trip List 2010 Sun Jan 24 Swildons Round Trip Standard oversuit and undersuit or wetsuit Excellent varied sporting trip – a Mendip classic. 4 hours Difficulty moderate to high Contact Chris Lank
Wed Jan 27 Waterwheel Thu Jan 28 - Slaughter Stream Cave
January Wed 6th East Twin / Spar Pot Standard oversuit and undersuit or boilersuit The large passages of East Twin lead to the more complex and sporting Spar Pot. 2 Hours Difficulty low to moderate Contact Dani Gorman
Sat Jan 9 Thrupe Lane Standard oversuit and undersuit. SRT kit required. Awkward constricted passages leading down to the impressive gulf of Atlas Pot. 3-4 Hours Difficulty moderate to high Contact Ken Passant
Wed Jan 13 Saint Cuthberts Standard oversuit and undersuit This great cave offers challenging passages, large chambers and superb formations. 3 hours Difficulty moderate to high Contact Chris Castle
Sun Jan 17 Club Meeting, Kings Head, Cheddar, 8pm.
Wed Jan 20 Goatchurch Standard oversuit and undersuit or boilersuit The good old favourite beginners cave. 2 hours Difficulty low to moderate Contact Nikky Dennis
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Standard oversuit and undersuit or wetsuit A fun little cave with a little bit of everything – including some wet sections. 2 hours Difficulty low to moderate Contact Tricia
Thu Jan 28 Welsh Thursday - Slaughter Stream Cave Standard oversuit and undersuit Actually not quite in Wales! An excellent cave with some fine passages. 4 hours Difficulty moderate Contact Andy Sparrow
February Mon Feb 1 Girl’s Night Out - Swildons Testosterone free caving for the girls Contact Rachel Sparrow
Wed Feb 3 A-Z The quest continues! Objective – to visit every cave listed in Mendip Underground. Could be a full-on trip, it could be an hour searching for a 10 minute grovel, but it’s always a fun night out. Contact Steve Pointon
Sun Feb 7 Eastwater Twin Verticals Standard oversuit and undersuit A caving work-out in this challenging classic system. 4 hours Difficulty moderate to high Contact Ken Passant
Wed Feb 10 GB Cave
Wed Mar 10 Old Ham Iron Mine (Forest of Dean)
Standard oversuit and undersuit A huge chamber and fine formations – awesome! 2 hours Difficulty low to moderate Contact Barry Hullatt
Standard oversuit and undersuit or boilersuit A very extensive complex of passages with a long history. 2 – 3 hours Difficulty low to moderate Contact Andy Sparrow
Wed Feb 17 Whitepit
Sat Mar 13
Standard oversuit and undersuit or boilersuit A fascinating little system with some superb formations. 2 hours Difficulty moderate Contact Andy Sparrow
Standard oversuit and undersuit. SRT kit required SRT practice in this popular training cave. 2-3 hours Difficulty moderate Contact Ken Passant
Sun Feb 21 Club Meeting, Kings Head, Cheddar, 8pm. Wed Feb 24 Swildons Standard oversuit and undersuit or wetsuit Waterfalls, streamways and formations – Mendip’s most popular cave, and rightly so. 2 hours Difficulty moderate Contact Ken Passant
Sat Feb 27 Manor Farm Standard oversuit and undersuit A 15 metre pitch leads to a long streamway with many fine formations. 3 hours Difficulty moderate Contact Ken Passant
Sat Feb 27 Quiz Night - Hunters Lodge Questions set by Robin Gray. 8pm, Hunters Lodge, Priddy. Teams of 4, £2 per team
March Wed Mar 3 Heale Farm Cave Standard oversuit and undersuit A short cave with a wet pitch and large chamber. 2 hours Difficulty low to moderate Contact Andy Sparrow
Hunter’s Hole
Wed Mar 17 Saint Cuthberts Standard oversuit and undersuit This great cave offers challenging passages, large chambers and superb formations. 3 hours Difficulty moderate to high Contact Chris Castle
Sun Mar 21 Club Meeting, Kings Head, Cheddar, 8pm.
Wed Mar 24 Bos Swallet Standard oversuit and undersuit or boilersuit A tight and challenging cave. 2 hours Difficulty moderate to high Contact Barry Hullatt
Thurs Mar 25 Welsh Thursday - Ogof Darren Cilau/Price’s Dig Standard oversuit and undersuit Time to try this new through trip with an exit through the notorious long crawl. 6 hours Difficulty high Contact Andy Sparrow
Sun Mar 28 Porth yr Ogof Standard oversuit and undersuit The most popular beginners cave in Wales – well worth a visit. 2-3 hours Difficulty easy to moderate Contact Ken
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Wed Mar 31 Eastwater
Standard oversuit and undersuit A quick caving work-out in this challenging classic system. 2 hours Difficulty moderate to high Contact Andy Sparrow
April Mon Apr 5 Girl’s Night Out – Goatchurch Testosterone free caving for the girls Contact Rachel Sparrow
Wed Apr 7 A-Z
Sun Apr 25 Longwood Standard oversuit and undersuit or wetsuit Excellent sporting trip in this very fine cave system with some tight squeezes near the entrance. 4 hours Difficulty moderate to high Contact Ken
Wed Apr 28 Stoke Lane Standard oversuit and undersuit – wetsuit preferable A long wet crawl and an awkward little sump leading to big and beautiful chambers. 3 hours Difficulty high Contact Chris Lank
The quest continues! Objective – to visit every cave listed in Mendip Underground. Could be a full-on trip, it could be an hour searching for a 10 minute grovel, but it’s always a fun night out. Contact Steve Pointon
Sat Apr 10 OFD Standard oversuit and undersuit An introductory trip to this greatest of systems. 4-5 hours Difficulty moderate Contact Ken Passant
Wed Apr 14 Rods – Bath Standard oversuit and undersuit or boilersuit The ever-popular through trip between these Burrington caves. 2 hours Difficulty low to moderate Contact Andy Sparrow
Wed May 12 Shatter Cave
May Sat May 1, Sun May 2, Mon May 3 North Wales Weekend There’s some fine caving in North Wales – come along and see for yourself. Contact Andy and Rachel Sparrow
Wed May 5 A-Z The quest continues! Objective – to visit every cave listed in Mendip Underground. Contact Steve Pointon
Sun Apr 18 Club Meeting, Kings Head, Cheddar, 8pm.
Wed May 12 Shatter Cave
Wed Apr 21
Standard oversuit and undersuit or boilersuit An easy but exceptionally beautiful cave. Difficulty low Contact Andy Sparrow
Swildons Standard oversuit and undersuit or wetsuit A romp down the stream and maybe even a dip through the sump! 2 hours Contact Dani Gorman
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Sat May 15 Swildons Blackhole
Mon Jun 7 Girl’s Night Out – Sidcot Swallet
Standard oversuit and undersuit or wetsuit Streamway, sump, and then an exciting traverse. A top-quality trip. 4 hours Difficulty moderate to high Contact TBC
Testosterone free caving for the girls Contact Rachel Sparrow
Sun May 16 Club Meeting, Kings Head, Cheddar, 8pm.
Wed May 19 Saint Cuthberts Standard oversuit and undersuit This great cave offers challenging passages, large chambers and superb formations. 3 hours Difficulty moderate to high Contact Chris Castle
Sun May 23 Pridhamsleigh (Devon) Standard oversuit and undersuit Devon’s version of Goatchurch – lots of muddy fun. 2-3 hours Difficulty low to moderate Contact Chris Lank
Wed May 26 Drunkards Hole Standard oversuit and undersuit or boilersuit A short but challenging cave with squeezes, climbs and traverses. 2 hours. Difficulty moderate to high Contact Dani
Sat Jun 12 Rhino Rift Standard oversuit and undersuit. SRT kit required Mendip’s best SRT cave – a very impressive place! 3-4 hours Difficulty moderate to high Contact Andy Pollard
Wed Jun 16 Westbury Brook Iron Mine (Forest of Dean) Standard oversuit and undersuit. Harness, cowstails and descender. A round trip in this very deep system which includes abseils and traverses. 3 hours Difficulty moderate to high Contact Andy Sparrow
Sat Jun 19 Swildons Standard oversuit and undersuit or wetsuit A pre barbecue trip to work up an appetite. 2-3 hours Difficulty moderate Contact Sam
Sat Jun 19 Barbecue Contact Trisha
Thu May 27 Welsh Thursday – OFD
Sun Jun 20 Dan yr Ogof
Standard oversuit and undersuit Through trip to Cwm Dwr – a British classic. 5-6 hours Difficulty moderate to high Contact Andy Sparrow
standard oversuit and undersuit – wetsuit preferable. One of the finest caves you can ever hope to visit. Difficulty moderate to high Contact Chris Lank
June
Sun Jun 20 Club Meeting, Kings Head, Cheddar, 8pm.
Wed Jun 2 A-Z The quest continues! Objective – to visit every cave listed in Mendip Underground. Contact Steve Pointon
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Wed Jun 23 Swildons
Wed Jul 28 Pen Park Hole
Standard oversuit and undersuit or wetsuit A romp down the stream and maybe even a dip through the sump! 2 hours Difficulty moderate. Contact Keith Milward
Standard oversuit and undersuit or boilersuit Beneath suburban Bristol there lurks a most impressive void… 2 hours Difficulty low to moderate Contact Andy Sparrow
Wed Jun 30
Thu Jul 29
A-Z
Welsh Thursday – Ogof Craig y Ffynnon
The quest continues! Objective – to visit every cave listed in Mendip Underground. Contact Steve Pointon
Standard oversuit and undersuit An extensive system with some cavernous passages. 5-6 hours Difficulty moderate to high Contact Andy Sparrow
July Wed Jul 7 Fairy – Hilliers Standard oversuit and undersuit or boilersuit A favourite through trip with some fine formations. 2 hours Difficulty – low to moderate Contact Dani Gorman
Sat Jul 10 Thrupe Lane (High Atlas) Standard oversuit and undersuit. SRT kit required A bit of a grovel followed by Mendip’s deepest pitch. 3-4 hours Difficulty moderate to high Contact TBC
Wed Jul 14 Saint Cuthberts Standard oversuit and undersuit This great cave offers challenging passages, large chambers and superb formations. 3 hours Difficulty moderate to high Contact Chris Castle
Sun Jul 18 Club Meeting, Kings Head, Cheddar, 8pm.
Wed Jul 21 Shute Shelve
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Standard oversuit and undersuit or boilersuit A short tight crawl leads to a large passage. 2 hours Difficulty low to moderate Contact TBC
August Mon Aug 2 Girl’s Night Out – Swildons Testosterone free caving for the girls Contact Rachel Sparrow
Wed Aug 4 A-Z The quest continues! Objective – to visit every cave listed in Mendip Underground. Contact Steve Pointon
Wed Aug 11 Long Hole and Great Oones Standard oversuit and undersuit or boilersuit Easy caves situated high up in Cheddar Gorge – well worth a visit. 2 hours Difficulty low to moderate Contact Nikky Dennis
Sun Aug 15 Club Meeting, Kings Head, Cheddar, 8pm.
Wed Aug 18 Lionel’s Hole Standard oversuit and undersuit Tight, muddy, wet, complex – and yet strangely fascinating! 2 hours Difficulty moderate to high Contact Keith Milward
Wed Aug 25
Sat Sep 18
Waterwheel
Tynings Barrow Swallet
Standard oversuit and undersuit or wetsuit A fun little cave with a little bit of everything – including some wet sections. 2 hours Difficulty low to moderate Contact Andy Sparrow
Standard oversuit and undersuit A long enjoyable ramble with few difficulties. 3-4 hours Difficulty moderate Contact Keith Milward
September
Sun Sep 19 Club Meeting, Kings Head, Cheddar, 8pm.
Wed Sep 1 A-Z
Wed Sep 22
The quest continues! Objective – to visit every cave listed in Mendip Underground. Contact Steve Pointon
Sat Sep 4, Sun Sep 5 Yorkshire weekend Standard oversuit and undersuit and SRT kit. A weekend in the Dales with some of the best trips in the UK to choose from. Contact Andy Sparrow Wed Sep 8 St Cuthberts
GB Cave to Bat Passage Standard oversuit and undersuit A huge chamber and fine formations – a short crawl and squeeze – and another huge chamber with fine formations. 2-3 hours Difficulty moderate Contact Andy Sparrow
Sun Sep 26 Longwood Standard oversuit and undersuit or wetsuit Excellent sporting trip in this very fine cave system with some tight squeezes near the entrance. 4 hours Difficulty moderate to high Contact Ken
Wed Sep 29 Wigmore Swallet Wed Sep 8 Saint Cuthberts Standard oversuit and undersuit This great cave offers challenging passages, large chambers and superb formations. 3 hours Difficulty moderate to high Contact Chris Castle
Wed Sep 15 Withyhill Cave Standard oversuit and undersuit Excellent trip in a beautiful cave. 2 hours Difficulty low to moderate Contact TBC
Standard oversuit and undersuit Crawl, thrutch, and squeeze your way down to the streamway. 2-3 hours Difficulty high Contact Andy Sparrow
Thu Sep 30 Welsh Thursday - Ogof Draenen Standard oversuit and undersuit Plenty to do in this fine cave with 80km of passage to choose from. 6-8 hours Difficulty moderate to high Contact Andy Sparrow
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October Mon Oct 4 Girl’s Night Out – Rods Pot Testosterone free caving for the girls Contact Rachel Sparrow
Wed Oct 6 A-Z The quest continues! Objective – to visit every cave listed in Mendip Underground. Contact Steve Pointon
Sat Oct 9 Miss Grace’s Lane Cave (Forest of Dean) Standard oversuit and undersuit A recent discovery, this cave is complex and extensive but has no great difficulties. 3-4 hours Difficulty moderate Contact Chris Lank
Wed Oct 13 Sidcot Swallet Standard oversuit and undersuit or boilersuit A pleasant little cave with some entertaining sections. 2 hours Difficulty low to moderate Contact Dani Gorman
Sun Oct 17 Club Meeting, Kings Head, Cheddar, 8pm.
Wed Oct 20 Hunters Lodge Inn Sink
Charterhouse Cave Standard oversuit and undersuit or wetsuit Now Mendip’s deepest cave this recently extended system is a must-do. 3 hours Difficulty moderate to high Contact Andy Sparrow
November Wed Nov 3 A–Z The quest continues! Objective – to visit every cave listed in Mendip Underground. Contact Steve Pointon
Wed Nov 10 Coral Cave Standard oversuit and undersuit or boilersuit. SRT kit required A 15 metre pitch drops into a short section of large passage. 2hours Difficulty low to moderate Contact Andy Sparrow
Wed Nov 17 Saint Cuthberts Standard oversuit and undersuit This great cave offers challenging passages, large chambers and superb formations. 3 hours Difficulty moderate to high Contact Chris Castle
Sat Nov 20 AGM
Standard oversuit and undersuit An improbable entrance leads to some spacious passages and good formations. 2 hours Difficulty moderate Contact Barry Hullatt
Pre AGM caving: Swildons
Sun Oct 24 OFD
Wed Nov 24 Pierre’s Pot
Standard oversuit and undersuit Through trip or ramble around – depending on the weather. 5-6 hours Difficulty moderate to high Contact Ken Passant
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Wed Oct 27
Standard oversuit and undersuit Trip details TBC Difficulty low to moderate Contact TBC
Standard oversuit and undersuit or boilersuit This concentrated little maze is like a caver’s gym with a great variety of climbs, traverses and crawls. 2 hours Difficulty low to moderate Contact Dani Gorman
Thu Nov 25 Dan Yr Ogof
Wed Dec 15 Swildons
Standard oversuit and undersuit – wetsuit preferable One of the finest caves you can ever hope to visit (numbers limited). 5-6 hours Difficulty moderate to high Contact Andy Sparrow
Standard oversuit and undersuit or wetsuit Waterfalls, streamways and formations – Mendip’s most popular cave, and rightly so. 2 hours Difficulty low to moderate Contact Tricia
Sun Dec 19 Sun Nov 28
Upper Flood
Rods – Bath
Standard oversuit and undersuit or wetsuit It’s a long trip with some technical squeezes but the formations are stunning and the effort is worth it. 6 hours Difficulty high Contact Andy Sparrow
Standard oversuit and undersuit or boilersuit The ever-popular through trip between these Burrington caves. 2 hours Difficulty low to moderate Contact Rachel Sparrow
December Wed Dec 1 A-Z The quest continues! Objective – to visit every cave listed in Mendip Underground. Contact Steve Pointon
Mon Dec 6 Girl’s Night Out – Swildons Testosterone free caving for the girls Contact Rachel Sparrow
Wed Dec 8 Goatchurch Standard oversuit and undersuit or boilersuit It’s the beginners favourite – why not bring a friend along? 2 hours Difficulty low to moderate Contact Martin Lee
Sun Dec 19 Club Meeting, Kings Head, Cheddar, 8pm.
Wed Dec 22 GB Cave Standard oversuit and undersuit A huge chamber and fine formations – awesome! 2 hours Difficulty low to moderate Contact Keith Milward
Wed Dec 29 Eastwater Standard oversuit and undersuit A quick caving work-out in this challenging classic system to burn off the Xmas weight gain. 2 hours Difficulty moderate to high Contact Chris Lank Sat Dec 11 Ogof Draenen
Sat Dec 11 Ogof Draenen Round Trip Standard oversuit and undersuit One of the greatest sporting trips in the UK with a bit of everything. 6-8 hours Difficulty moderate to high Contact Chris Lank
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Early Days Andy Sparrow
Andy Sparrow, Reads Cavern, 1971
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It was the late spring of 1963, the dirty snowdrifts of a notorious winter had finally melted, I was approaching my ninth birthday and my parents had just become the proud owners of their first car; Standard Vanguard, GCF 105. The Sparrow family, that is my parents, myself and my two older siblings, Lindsay and Paul, set off on a bright morning from our home in Salisbury, on the first and most memorable of many Sunday excursions. Our destination was Cheddar Gorge. I had never heard of Cheddar, nor of gorges and so had no particular expectations of what the day might bring. My eight years had been spent on the plains of East Anglia and latterly amongst the chalk downs of Wiltshire. Car travel was a novelty and the window held all the fascination of a cinema screen as villages and landscapes flashed past, as we entered regions unexplored. We passed a sign proclaiming ‘Somerset ’ and proceeded from one strangely named town to another, from Frome to Shepton Mallet to Wells. I had never before seen any landscape where bare rock split the grassy skin of the stone-walled fields but here, glimpsed in passing flashes, were mossy boulders and little cliffs of reddish rock. Wells cathedral appeared suddenly as the road curved around a wooded hill and my first impression was of two flat-topped towers, somehow incomplete, as if beheaded.
We climbed the long hill from Wells to Mendip top, then drove down past a sign that proclaimed ‘Cheddar Gorge’ to follow an ever curving road into a deepening valley. We pulled into a lay-by and scrambled up the steep hillside to view the deep V-shaped valley. On the grassy slopes little crags of pale grey limestone stood proudly and to a boy who had never seen a rocky landscape this was indeed a wondrous place. I remember exclaiming breathlessly, and most incorrectly, that ‘this must be the gorge at its best’. The journey was resumed and we began to pass small cliffs, then taller walls of rock. Suddenly, before us, revealed suddenly and dramatically by the meanders of the road were cliffs that filled the windscreen. I craned forward from the middle of the backseat, pulling on my parents “I never knew there was anything like this in England,” I replied in wideeyed awe. “Wow! Did you see that?” asked my brother. “Did you see those cave explorers?” I had not, much to my disappointment, but there was no time to dwell on that as a sweep of the road revealed the tea and gift shops of Cheddar.
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from darkness to reveal the height and splendour of The Diamond Chamber. “Look this way, ladies and gentleman, to see…. Niagara Falls in Winter!” And while you still gaped… “The Frozen River!” Then, looking beyond the final barrier, we saw a shadow like a gigantic black cat. We parked and were soon at the entrance to Gough’s Cave. The cave itself was hidden behind a complex of buildings that included a café with a goldfish pond roof. The metal skeleton of the Cave-man Restaurant (destined to eventual exile on the BEC belfry) gleamed white and resplendent. From the terrace overlooking the entrance we could see only a short way into the shadowy opening. I didn’t know much about caves. I had an encyclopaedia with a picture of cave explorers climbing down a rope ladder and striding off into dark tunnels, lights held high. And there was something I’d seen on the TV - of foreign men exploring some deep and narrow chasm. My sister, being very much a girl, declined to join the rest of us as we proceeded through the turnstiles. We filed in, down the short set of steps into Goughs Cave. The guide, a jolly man in a blue coat, told us of Gough the explorer, of ancient skeletons and mysterious subterranean rivers. The air felt cool. There was an odd smell but it is was not unpleasant. We moved past the strange tiered formation of The Fonts. The rock was a warm brown colour sculpted into bulges, pockets, ledges and dark openings. I don’t remember seeing my first stalactite but I do recall St Paul’s. It was the height that made me giddy, when the lights in the shadowy vault clicked on illuminating a domed roof punctured by dark openings that lead impossibly upwards. There was a mass of flowstone rich in shapes and colours adorning the chamber walls and a window to glimpse through, each to take a turn, and gaze for a few seconds at the waxy white stalagmites of Aladdin’s Cave. In the next chamber one wonder eclipsed another. Firstly there was ‘dawn’ over King Solomon’s Temple as the lights grew slowly
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“The cavers are still exploring beyond there,” our guide told us. I saw the cave gallery curving out of sight into darkness, towards unimaginable mysteries. Our tour finished and we rejoined my sister. I do not remember anything more of Cheddar on that day until the journey back up the gorge. My parents allowed me to sit between them on the front bench seat of GCF 105. We left the gift shops behind and set off into the shadows of the great cliffs. “Wow!, did you see that, Andrew?” gasped Paul, “I saw the cavers again and their legs were plastered in mud!” Once again I had missed them, but it didn’t matter, my eyes were on higher things. We crawled into the Horseshoe Bend and looped around to see the Pinnacles rearing above us like jagged towers. Then the cliffs diminished and were left behind as we began the journey home. What I had discovered on that day was both profound and life changing. Some inner chord had resonated as for the first time as I realised that landscape could evoke intense and uplifting emotions. Many exuberant pages were written in my diary at school, with numerous crude and inaccurate illustrations, of this magical excursion, the first day out my family ever had in our own car, which had suddenly expanded our world and revealed so many possibilities. From then on I collected caves. They became a family favourite as we embarked on camping holidays and journeyed further a field. My favourite, by far, was somewhere in the Peak District where they gave us each a hurricane lamp and we followed a long winding passage to a chamber. What a feeling
of adventure that was, carrying my own lantern along the dark mysterious tunnels.
was shock, but I did not climb back until I had waded to the narrow final end of the chamber.
In 1970, at fifteen years of age, I embarked on the school minibus for a geography field trip to the Mendip Hills. Thus it was that I and about thirty of my classmates came to the entrance of the Wookey Hole Caves. We stepped inside and filed into the first chamber. I looked at the several dark openings that led off and away from the pathways as a new powerful feeling enveloped me. I was drawn to explore, to step beyond the constraints of the concrete path and the tour guide. In one extraordinary moment I knew I wanted to be a caver.
We scrambled back, struggling up the Coffin Lid, through the Boulder Chamber and up The Terrace until we emerged into the still winter’s night from the Trademan’s Entrance.
Later that day we saw the entrance to Swildons and then went to Burrington. Let off the leash by our teachers (it would never happen today) we ventured by match light into the entrance of Reads Cavern and any other hole we could find. Back in Salisbury I scoured the library shelves for any and every book about caving and read avidly on the subject. There was Lovelock’s ‘Caving’, Heap’s ‘Potholing’ and Johnson’s (much reviled as it turned out) History of Mendip Caving. We had a caving teacher who took school trips occasionally; Barry ‘Polly’ Perratt, formerly of the UBSS. It was not until the next February, on a day when men were walking on the moon, that Polly, accompanied by fellow teacher and caver Ian Calder, drove a small group of us the 50 miles to Mendip. It was dusk as we arrived in Burrington Combe. We set off in old clothes and traditionally wobbly helmets with troublesome carbide lamps. Thus it was that I arrived at the entrance of Goatchurch Cavern, learnt to spark up my carbide lamp, and was irresistibly drawn inside. I have vivid memories of much of that trip. These were times less afflicted by over-regulation and litigation paranoia. ‘Polly’ tailed behind while we explored the downward routes. We had the freedom to be cave explorers, to test our nerve as the way became narrow. We did follow Polly through the drainpipe and into the chamber beyond where he encouraged me to climb down the pit that marked the cave bottom. I slid down into water that was up to my waist. The cold
“How was it?” asked my mother on my return, no doubt hopeful that my enthusiasm for caves might have been extinguished by the hard realities of the expedition. Any such hopes evaporated for her as I described my adventures with great animation. In June of that year a small and overcrowded car slithered across the muddy fields of the Glastonbury Festival. On this damp sullen day we left the pyramid stage behind and sought more adventurous diversions. We bought candles and little torches before heading off to Burrington Combe. First we went ‘door to door’ in Goatchurch and then to Reads Cavern, where, according to The History Of Mendip Caving ‘a short passage led to the Main Chamber’. The way proved to be very steep and quite hazardous for a group of five novices sharing two torches and one candle, but we got down safely. The chamber seemed vast and mysterious by our feeble lights. We were wise enough not to venture far and returned to the surface without mishap. Amongst the group that day were my friends Richard Websell and Dave Walker. Richard, who had also been on the school Goatchurch trip, had a profound love of all things outdoor and adventurous. Dave too was sufficiently inspired by the Read’s adventure to cave again. Richard had recently passed his driving test and it was his idea to return to Mendip. Accompanied by his girlfriend Nikki Pooley we set off , adorned in a selection of various old helmets and torches, on our first serious
self-led exploration of Goatchurch Cavern. We found our way through the Drainpipe to the caves end, then back again, and flushed with success, we began to plan our next expedition. Reads Cavern drew us irresistibly back. By now we had a copy of the standard cavers guidebook, The Caves of Mendip and Richard had sent away for a Reads Cavern survey. We carefully studied text and map in preparation. We were to be joined on the day by our friend Martin Buckland and his girlfriend Jojo. We stopped on the way at Casswells in Radstock where I bought my first helmet and carbide lamp. There was only one entrance to the cave at this time and we climbed down the steep route into the Main Chamber. We found the route down, scrambling and squeezing between boulders until we reached Junction Chamber. Most of the team had hand torches, and with two complete novices our progress was slow. We continued downwards, into Browne-Stewart series, gradually finding our way through the complex route. We crawled through a short tube, past a fossilised polomint, to emerge at the head of a large steep chamber descending into gloom. Below we met the stream and the final pebble choke that marked the bottom of the cave. We were about to learn a lesson. Climbing back up the steep chamber we could find no exit. Like so many inexperienced cavers we had paid insufficient attention to complex junctions on our inward journey and we were lost underground. I searched everywhere for an hour, peering behind every boulder, scrambling up and down the steep slope until my energy waned. I sat disconsolate, my one fill of carbide long since expired with the cold of the underworld beginning to creep inside me. “Not so much fun now is it?” muttered someone.
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It had gone horribly wrong. We had chosen to go caving on our own and eventually our worried parents would call for cave rescue and complete our humiliation. Then after nearly three hours in that chamber Dave, the only one of us still inclined to continue the search for an exit, let out an excited shout. “I’ve found it! The Polo!” With fading lights we made our way to the surface, emerging at dusk after seven hours underground. We were out. We were okay. We had learnt a lesson. Our trips continued but we never got lost again. We worked our way through the caves of Burrington Combe. We stole the school bell-rope, a very handy fifty feet of plaited nylon which we put to use on many a slide and chimney. These were the great days; the happiest in all my decades of caving. One of the group would negotiate the use of the family car and then drive around Salisbury collecting the gang together. Then it was, as we paraphrased it from NASA, ‘trans-Mendip insertion’, and the fifty mile drive to the mysterious land of caves. There would be a buzz of anticipation mingled with the easy laughter of youth. Inevitably that most renowned of Mendip caves, Swildons Hole, drew our attention. On a grey midweek day in the autumn of 1971, accompanied by Richard and another friend, I slid for the first time down the triangular manhole into the torrent of water. We spent some happy hours exploring the dry ways and gazed wistfully down the Twenty, watching the hurrying water wind away into a darkness we could not penetrate. But the early days were over. Wetsuits and nife cells replaced woolly jumpers and carbide while the Burrington Combe café was superseded by the Hunters Lodge. We came out of our isolation, began to stay at the caving clubs, and our previously informal association became the Salisbury Caving Group or SCG. The SCG was fuelled by youthful energy and passion; it had no committee, subscription or membership list. It came and went like so many other dynamic small clubs that strutted their hour upon the
stage of Mendip. Heard no more, but with at least one small legacy to echo faintly down the years; Sarum Inlet in Manor Farm, which was our discovery. The SCG dispersed and faded and, in 1976, my allegiances were to the Bristol Exploration Club. During that long hot summer I spent every weekend at the Belfry. It was too hot to lay for long in the bunkroom and we sometimes went for morning swims in the Mineries Pool which steamed mysteriously under the radiance of the risen sun. The cool depths of Saint Cuthberts Swallet drew us away from a parched, sun-bleached Mendip and then evening took us to the backroom of the Hunters where we sang our hearts out. In 1977 we dug into Tynings Barrow Swallet. Two thousand feet of cave surrendered to us in a few hours of euphoric exploration. What narcotic could compare to the rapture of discovery, to the thrill of the cave revealing itself, almost creating itself, before the explorers eyes? This dangerously addictive drug now held me in its sway and I became a fervent digger, with occasional success. Throughout the seventies every year sent me in a new direction, from hospital porter in Salisbury, darkroom technician in London, delivery driver in Bath to immigrant worker in Holland. Caving was the one consistent thread running through my life; it gave me friendships, adventure and travel. It took me to weird and wonderful places to do weird and wonderful things with weird and wonderful people. And none more weird and wonderful than Andy Cave, the slightly scatty eccentric in the flat below me who became my ardent caving buddy. This was 1980, and in our wetsuits, astride his motorbike, we rocketed from Bath to Mendip at ludicrous speeds. One such day we broke through the dig in Lionels Hole which created the notorious round trip; on another occasion we pushed a squeeze in St Cuthberts to discover 60 metres of dazzling white calcite. In 1984, along with about 3 million others, I was unemployed and morale was low. Then, through the Mendip grapevine, I heard of
an unusual job opportunity; ‘Adventure Caving’ leader at Cheddar Caves. They had started the initiative a couple of years earlier of offering the public guided caving trips beyond the Gough’s show cave. I got the job and in the autumn 1984 I found myself leading the first of many, many Adventure Caving trips. From my rented house in Priddy I drove each morning down the windings of Cheddar Gorge and I often thought back to that sunny day in 1963, when I first saw those mighty Cheddar Cliffs and ventured into the dark world they concealed. Now, back in what had been my first cave, I was the guide. Beyond the showcave, where twenty years before I had seen the shadowy passage continue mysteriously, I led my groups on their adventure. Another twenty years have passed since then. Two more decades of adventures underground and the friendships that they forge. Many faces look back from the album of memory; some nameless and faded, others vivid and indelible. The past is a huge disordered scrapbook of sounds and images from which I can select only a few, only the brightest and most enduring, to record here. If I described caving in two words they would be ‘life enhancing’, or maybe life changing, for where else might I be at this moment? I can lean back from this keyboard, glance from my window, and see Cheddar Gorge in the light and shadow of a bright winter’s day. And tonight we will go digging in Gough’s Cave, scrambling up the slope from the showcave, where 40 years ago a small boy stood in wonder. April 2005
Chris Castle
a few odds & ends about digging
Few of the present membership will know about the earliest of the Club’s digs in Gough’s Cave. The first was in the Lower Ox-Bow, near to Dire Straits, which is the shaft down to the Cheddar River, first passed in 1985 by diver Richard Stevenson who had been persuaded to investigate it by Andy Sparrow when he were a lad. Much diving exploration followed, but the terminal underwater boulder choke, found in 1991, has never been passed. Our dig was hardly an attempt to by-pass the river cave, but it headed roughly north, up-dip, and you never know. The main diggers were me, Glynn Rowland and (Cap’n) Chris Binding with contributions by various others. Because of its proximity to Dire Straits Glynn soon christened it Muddy for Nothing and the large boulders we removed were called the refrigerator, the microwave oven and the colour TV (geddit?).
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Anyway, on the 1st of August 2001 we discovered the Cheese Cave and that was that. We next turned our attention to Damocles, the rift off the Sand Chamber in the Gough’s Adventure Caving route. This had been dug on and off since the early 80s and it was obvious the way on was upwards. For part of his doctoral research in 1993 Andy Farrant had dated the section of false floor here and found it to be about 103,000 years old. This led to the theory that the preexisting Damocles Rift had been re-invaded by water after this date, during the warm Ipswichian interglacial period, removing most of the stalagmite floor and the sediments on which it had formed. So where had the water come from? Possibly from Great Öones Hole which had itself been re-invaded by water. This is somewhere directly above the Showcave so the dig was predominately vertical. The main diggers were again myself, Glynn and Chris B, but many others helped from time to time, including Andies Hebden and Morgan. This was a banging dig, and we were greatly helped by shotfirers Nigel Taylor and Graham Price, plus the use of “low explosive” Snappers where appropriate. I wrote an article about the dig in a Club Newsletter, but I can’t find it. I have my copy of the article though, and it recounts some hairy moments. One was in December 2001 when Andy Sparrow arrived to tell us how to do it and managed to entomb himself. As I wrote in the article, worse was yet to come – he dug himself out! We struggled on until early 2007 when the huge boulders overhead made it obvious that the dig was beyond our resources – we could bang them but it would bring a huge amount of rock down and there is nowhere to put it. In the conclusion to my article I said that I was determined to see that the scaffolding and other crap was removed from the dig, but this has still not been completed. I don’t have much incentive to go there unless there’s a tourist trip on, so maybe some members would like to come up for a look and help remove a scaffold bar or two.
the authors of Northern Caves, still digging away in his 70th year. He had found a derelict wooden structure in a field with a cool draught coming out of a hole. The farmer, as is nearly always the case out there, was happy for Harry to have a look, so he and Juan moved a few rocks and entered a sizable cave. We joined them for the second ever trip, crawling to a chamber with various ways on, greatly extended over the summer, and another chamber later called The Hub which had a curious layer of mud which could be peeled away leaving a clean calcite floor. At the top of this slope a careful step over some pearls entered new passage and we were asked to have a look.
What Gough’s Cave really needs is an accurate survey. The one done in the 50s and 60s is not too bad, but radiolocation showed up a few discrepancies and the survey is difficult to understand, being a small scale and having Long and Great Öones Holes superimposed on it. A compass or electronic survey would not work in the Showcave because of the metalwork and electricity supply, but we really need one to accurately locate the dig, to see how far it is from Great Öones Hole. The respected cave surveyor, the Caves’ former geology consultant John Beck, offered to do that but Longleat refused to pay the fee. Maybe a project for the Club would be to survey this dig to at least see how high it is although its exact relationship to Great Öones Hole could not be determined – unless we could get someone to radiolocate it. After years of scratching around in Gough’s Cave and finding very little it was a bizarre experience to more or less walk into virgin cave without digging! This is what Nicky and I did last April in a cave in the Matienzo depression in northern Spain last April. Because we could not get time off over the Easter holiday we went the week after when there were very few people there – in fact only two who were actively caving at the time: Juan Corrin, the moving force behind the Matienzo project, and Harry Long, a jovial and avuncular bloke, one of
We crawled along this for about 100 metres then waited for Juan to catch up. The way on was very tempting, but we restrained ourselves as no more exploration was to be done that day. The passage was later called Wide Open and subsequently led to a complex of passages about 250 metres long with great potential. I just hope I can return to dig next year. It has now been named Cold Store Cave,because that is what it was, translated as Cueva-Cubio del Llanio, or more prosaically Site 3234. The digging prospects for the club for the coming year are excellent, with Andy Sparrow being the driving force behind the digs in Drunkards Hole and Rods Pot. I hope to get more involved with these this year, but because of my long association with Gough’s Cave I would really like to find something there. I doubt if any further progress can be made in the boulders of Damocles, but another look would be worthwhile, and digging the other promising (though bloody horrible) site, Far Rift, would not be viewed favourably by the management as it would interfere with the commercial caving route. However, an idea there has been mooted and may be worth a further look if some enthusiasm could be mustered.
Fine formations in Cold Store Cave. Photo: Juan Corrin.
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A to Z update Martin Lee & Chris Castle
Main image: Alun, Steve and Dani approaching Little Crapnell Swallet
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ince the last issue the A-Z has been temporarily on hold for various reasons. Thankfully we are now back on track with recent visits to Great Oones Hole and Long Hole in Cheddar Gorge and also Honey Mead Hole and Little Crapnell Swallet. Now that the winter evenings are drawing in, the time is nigh to explore Mendip and it’s lesser travelled underground secrets.
It was a warm late summer evening when a group of eleven cavers assembled outside the show caves in Cheddar Gorge to be led up a steep and muddy track to Long Hole. Our leaders for the evening were Chris Castle and Phil Hendy, both of whom work as cave guides at the Gorge so were perfect for the task in hand. Like a herd of mountain goats, with much merriment we made our way up the steep incline, through bushes and nettle patches, loosening boulders and dead logs as we passed. When we eventually reached our destination a fine view over the Somerset levels was visible in the twilight.
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At this point I would like to hand over to Chris Castle who’s trip report is far better than my recollection will ever be! “A good turn-out for these two minor but interesting caves in Cheddar Gorge which are situated above Gough’s Cave and are two remnants of one earlier version of the system. Firstly we scrambled up to Gt Oones Hole using Phil’s easier way up which naturally took up a lot of time. This cave is a descending phreatic tube ending at a stalagmite choke where I bored everyone with my theory that the abandoned Damocles dig in Gough’s should connect beyond this choke. Once out we traversed around the Gorge to Long Hole.
This is another phreatic tube, mostly level with graffiti dated to the 17th century and possible Mesolithic engravings which are impossible to date. Near the end is a slippery climb up, which Rachel managed to scale, followed by me and I tied a handline for those who wanted to follow to do so. While this was going on I had a look at Reynold’s Passage, an inlet going back towards the entrance at a higher level. It is reached by a short but exposed traverse which was much easier than I remembered, leading to the small awkward passage. I did not go far, knowing that it gets worse until it becomes impassible, so turned round as soon as I could.
There were no bats here today and the abundant moonmilk looked just the same to me.� The Honey Mead Hole and Little Crapnell trip was equally enjoyable apart from the high levels of Carbon Dioxide in both caves. This prevented us from exploring fully, so another trip when the air has improved is needed. Keep an eye out for future A-Z trips which will begin in March and continue throughout the year ahead. To see a list of previous trips visit: http://groups.google.com/group/cheddarcaving-club/web/the-master-plan-a-to-z
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An interview with Robin Gray How long have you been making cave related art work? I made my first cave related pictures, (Lino prints of Swildons Streamway), in about 1976. Chris Bradshaw and Bruce Bedford had them in Rocksport, in Wells until about 1978. They didn’t sell well. Have you always lived in Cheddar? Sue and I moved to Somerset from London in 1978. We just needed to be nearer the caves. At first we lived at the MNRS at Green Ore. We then restored an old weaver’s cottage in Frome. We have lived in Cheddar, for only 15 years. What is it that inspired you to start making caving related art? Caves always found their way into my serious abstract paintings in the form of shapes and textures but not as figurative expressions. Cave pictures only started when I felt the urge to put something back into the hobby that had given me so much pleasure. My first exhibition of cave stuff, was at the BCRA conference at Bristol university. Although featuring mostly REG cartoons, there were several cave paintings. Chris Howes was the first to buy one. It was here that I first met Ceris Jones who was also doing cave related pictures. What other interests other than caving and art do you have? My main interests at present are poetry, deep sea fishing, walking in the high mountains, mumming plays, and folk music. Oh, and of course my job, helping dyslexic kids in a way that I never got as a kid.
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What are you working on at the moment? I’m working on my second book of poetry; ‘Eating Oysters’. I’m also illustrating Robin Taverner’s new book of great caving tales Are all your pieces created from memory? Cave work is often created from the memory of ‘A long stare’, ask Judy. Other pictures are based on sketch book work done underground. My serious work takes a lot of preparation. Apart from caves, what else do you use as subject matter? I base my new work on folk stories and urban myths but with direct reference to the immediate. What advice would you give to aspiring cave artists? Work every day on you art if only for a few minutes. Look at as much other art as possible and above all master the ability to draw everything from direct observation. Are there many other artists that use caves as subject matter in the UK? The International Society for Spelaeological Art has about twenty British Members. What is ISSA, and how can other caver’s get involved? ISSA web site is found at www.issa.org.uk full details of membership can be found there.
Questions, Martin Lee
Rhino Rift, Oil Pastel, Robin Gray
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Bad Air Day Bide here, boy, In my pretty little pit: I am your silent Salome And I will insinuate myself So salaciously Into your soft, into your young, Soft tissues. You will feel me Suffuse you, through And through. And then we will slip Down, so softly To our secret place Where you will Delight my desires! And where my breath Seeps black From the blanket rock, There I will dampen your fires. By Barry Hulatt
Main Image, Ogof Draenen
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The next edition of the journal is planned for publication next Spring/ Summer (2010). We are always very grateful for material our members provide for inclusion. If you have any Cheddar Caving Club related articles, pictures or information you would like to submit, please contact the journal editor/ designer - Martin Lee. e: mxjxl@hotmail.com m: 07778 513419 Happy Caving!
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The Gallery The photographs below were taken by various members of the club. Send your photos for future editions to mxjxl@hotmail.com
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Alun in Charterhouse Cave
Barry, Robin & Nicky in Box Mines
The Snowball in Ogof Draenen
Rachel in Ogof Draenen
Ken in Ogof Draenen
Pools in Ogof Draenen
Post Stoke Lane Slocker pub warm up!
Chris H in Charterhouse Cave
Nikki and Chris in St Cuthbert’s Swallet
Steve in Little Crapnell Swallet
Alun and Dani entering Honey Mead Hole
Alun entering Honey Mead Hole
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No part of this journal to be reproduced without the permission of Cheddar Caving Club.
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Š Cheddar Caving Club 2009