Bradwell Dale cave clean-up - 9/10 February 08

[Brendan]

May well be free on the Saturday.

[JB]

Bit more info:

We're going to meet at Bagshawe Cavern at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings and I expect we'll be working until around 6:00 p.m. Location of Bagshawe Cavern is here: http://www.eldon.org.uk/bagshawe_cavern.html

As well as the stuff already described we are aiming to make a start on stabilising the roof in the Bagshawe entrance stope. We have a materials wishlist so if anyone is able to donate any of this please let SamT know:

- scaff and clips (this will only be needed temporarily). You can have it back when the job in the entrance stope is finished.
- plywood (or similar) boards to use for shuttering concrete
- rebar

Please bring caving kit and decent gloves. If you have a crowbar and some bolt croppers bring those too as will be useful for removing the showcave lights and cable. Refreshments will be available but bring sandwiches or there's a chip shop in Bradwell.

Parking is limited at Bagshawe Cavern so if possible please car share.

Hope you are able to join us even if it's only for a few hours. Should be a good weekend!

Jules.

[SamT]

Parking is best done on outlands head road on the wide grass verge on the right - and walking to the cavern on jeffery lane (bout a 100 yards.
(tools etc could be dropped off - then go and park.

We really do need re-bar.

[Johnny]

JB,

Are we going to need any tools?

Angle grinder perhaps?
gas axe?
LandRover and trailer?
gurt big hammer?
shovel?

Not that the job site is a million miles away from Mission Control if we do get there and fine we need something, of course!

All of the above please Nick.

We will be underpinning the choke and false-floors by smacking Ischebeck into the walls and tyeing it together with re-bar, this will eventually be cast over with concrete.
There has been a load of wood fly-tipped on Dirtlow which we could use for shuttering so Land Rover and trailer would be good.

Anyone got a load of spare Fischer fixings? we need to bolt joists along the walls to support the shuttering.

Cheers

[Charlie]

Any idea how much rebar is needed? I can go to the civil engineering department this afternoon and see what I can scrounge if you like. [but dont hope for too much]

What type of fixings? I have some M8 expansion plugs lying around that I dont need.

[Johnny]

Any idea how much rebar is needed? I can go to the civil engineering department this afternoon and see what I can scrounge if you like. [but dont hope for too much]

What type of fixings? I have some M8 expansion plugs lying around that I dont need.

Yes please Charlie, both would be very handy.

Cheers

[DARBY]

Hey up Sam seen your online is there electricity like plugs in the coe for kettles etc cheers andy

[Charlie]

just been to the labs for civil+structural and mechanical+materials+manufacturing engineering and asked one of the lab technicians if they had any spare rebar, he said i could help myself to any of the offcuts from the scrap metal skip - which was empty.

sorry guys, no luck.
Charlie

[Johnny]

Jules

Sorry to add to your burden but if you are stripping out stuff from Bagshawe that might be of archaeological interest (and that could include the show cave lighting stuff) can you ensure that it is at least recorded before being removed?

Jules has done an excellent job with regard to this as he has negotiated both with English Nature (as was) and PDHMS 

[Pipster]

I would've definetly been up for helping out but I can't make it this particular weekend as I'll be in the Caingorms.

Top effort and good luck!

[Pipster]

So how did it all go then? Good Job Done?

[JB]

Excellent weekend Quick report here:

Preparation began the previous week with trips to Bradwell Dale and Bagshawe Cavern with SamT, Johnny and Bob D. At Bagshawe on the Thursday night we were joined by John Barnatt and Terry Worthington who were interested in the conservation aspects of the mined sections and made valuable comments on what needed looking after. The skip was delivered to Bagshawe on the Friday and I spent the day collecting materials and kit from various places around the Peak District. Significant materials and equipment were provided by Phil Burke, Nick Williams and others and without their help we couldn't have done half of it.

I arrived at Bagshawe Cavern at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday and cavesherpa opened his car to reveal a boot full of hot bacon butties. I can't think of a better way to start a working weekend so we made that first job! Immediately afterwards Rob went into Bagshawe with his camera to start taking photographs of the entrance stope and the rest of the cave before work began. A team including Big Jim, Nick Williams and Bat Girl went over to Bradwell Dale where they spent the morning clearing rubbish from around the entrances and inside Bradwell Parish Cave and Walker's Grotto. Meanwhile another team including me, Brendan, cavesherpa and Charlie went into Bagshawe Cavern to start stripping out the old showcave lighting. This proved to be a big job but by midday all the old cable and lighting was in a large pile at the bottom of the steps. With an hour to go before lunch attention turned to fifty years of cave and mine-related crap that was in the mine workings at the bottom of the steps. By lunch that had all joined the cable and lights on the pile ready for the big carry out up the stope in the afternoon. Meanwhile a third team including Johnny and SamT got stuck into the job of installing steel bars and wooden shuttering in the roof of the entrance stope. This will be used as the base for casting concrete slabs which will protect anyone in the stope from falling rocks and is necessary before Bagshawe Cavern can be used by local outdoor education centres. Work here progressed well with scaffold platforms being built and some steel reinforcing in place by lunchtime.

An excellent lunch of soups and rolls was done by cavesherpa. It says a good deal about how hard everyone worked that he went up to put the soup on and then came back into the mine to help drag more stuff out! Over lunch we were entertained by Johnny who brought the assembled audience to their feet with a display involving an angle-grinder and Calor gas bottle. All agreed that it was brilliant - at least after Nick had turned off the gas and the flames had died down! After lunch the Bradwell Dale crew went back with a trailer to bring the rubbish up to the Bagshawe car park whilst the Bagshawe teams went back underground. The rubbish that had accumulated at the bottom of the steps was parcelled up by Brendan and passed out of the cave by a line of cavers. This wasn't as easy as it might sound as most people had to ascend and descend at least ten 'Bagshawe steps'. Bagshawe steps are about three times the height of normal steps as when they were built it was easier to build and cast one big one than three small ones! Meanwhile the team shoring up the roof in the stope continued with that. At 3:00 p.m. a break was called for and the Bradwell Dale team arrived with a trailer full of rubbish. This went into the skip filling it completely! By 4:30 p.m. all the rubbish was out of Bagshawe and a few of us went for a quick trip whilst the others finished removing the cables and lights from the entrance stope. By 6:00 p.m. we had cleared up and headed to the White Hart in Bradwell for a well-earned drink. Eighteen cavers were involved from the Eldon, SUSS, Crewe, Orpheus, TSG and NUCC; a fantastic turnout.

On Sunday morning I arrived to find Big Jim already half way through moving the enormous pile of cable, lighting and mine crap from the Bagshawe entrance up to the car park. This got finished and then we started on a clear up of the area around the Cavern removing a load of junk and having a good sweep around. In the afternoon Bob D and I took down part of the car park wall and rebuilt it to allow larger vehicles in. Skip lorry is coming tomorrow but there will still be a load of stuff that needs to go so another one will be needed.

Loads got done over the weekend and the Bradwell Dale caves and Bagshawe Cavern look so much better! I know that Amanda who looks after Bagshawe Cavern, Bradwell Parish Council and Natural England are very grateful for the work that we put in over the weekend and hopefully this will cement already good relationships between local cavers and the people who allow us access to the caves. However, the job at Bagshawe isn't finished. The work in the roof of the stope continues and there will be another working Saturday sometime in the next month. We need to mix and move a large amount of concrete into the entrance stope to cast the concrete slabs to make the roof safe. I'll post on here so that you know when it is happening and it would be great to have another good turnout.

Rob is going to put the best photographs on the web and we'll add a link to this thread. I've got a blue Edelrid helmet with Petzl Duo lamp which must belong to someone. Let me know if you've lost one.

Many thanks to everyone who was involved.

Jules.

[SamT]

Yes - a fantastic effort by all 

Cant praise JB enough for the effort he put in in the preceeding week - organising, planning, and preparing - As well as working like a trooper on the day (not that there was anybody there that didnt), Let alone turning up again today. 

I'd like to Echo the thanks to folks for kit etc. 

Theres more hard work to do on the stope, but once its finished - I think it'll be an impressive looking job.

PS - Jules, the helmet is Katies.

[nickwilliams]

Current count is I'm missing a pair of red handled wire shears and the 5 gallon drinking water container. I assume they will re-appear in due course.

There is also the 100m 110V cable reel. I suggest you keep that at Bagshawe until you've finished the work on the stope. Speaking of which, I may have a line on a concrete pump if you need to shift literally tonnes of concrete.

Good effort all - I can't speak for anyone else but Zak and I thoroughly enjoyed yesterday.

Nick.

[JB]

Hi Nick,

I've got the water container in my car; I'll drop it in at your office this week. I'll keep my eyes open for the wire shears.

Will make sure the 110V cable reel gets back to you when finished.

Cheers,
Jules.

[SamT]

Pretty sure Wire cutters where given to Katie to give to you.

Black 110v cable on Green reel is locked up at the coe. Much appreciated loan as we still have some drilling to do.

Hmmm - concrete pump - tell me more (via pm if you like).

[Rob]

The Bagshaw Stope Work

Showcave Lights Job

Bradwell Dale Clean-up Job!

More pics can be seen here:
http://flickr.com/photos/rob_eavis/sets/72157600007739118/

Anybody who want's high res versions send me a PM.

[Rob]

Over lunch we were entertained by Johnny who brought the assembled audience to their feet with a display involving an angle-grinder and Calor gas bottle. All agreed that it was brilliant - at least after Nick had turned off the gas and the flames had died down!

 

[SamT]

   

good work rob

[A.Revell]

Fantastic effort. Your photos are great 

[Big Jim]

Great couple of days graft - highlight was defo Johnny T n Katie D's joint effort at blowing us all up.

Im missing a 3ft wrecking bar which I loaned from work, so let me know of its ended up in your car by mistake, before my head ranger kicks my butt 

Cheers

Big Jim

[Les W]

I hope you sorted the scrap from the rubbish?

Scrap cable is fetching a premium at the metal merchants as is Iron/steel. The pile of wire in one of the photos is probably worth several hundred pounds at a scrap metal dealers. 

If not then you missed an oportunity there. (probably enough money to pay for a concrete pump) 

Nice work with the rebar and shuttering.   

[paul]

Excellent work! Well done JB for organising it all.

[SamT]

We had talked about the value of the cabling. there was actually very little (as a percentage) copper content. Someone was going to get in touch with one.

However I gather a scrappy turned up today out of the blue - and offered 120 quid to take it there and then so I believe his hand was bitten off.
We may have been slightly short changed - but hey ho, 120 quid is now in the coffers to get ploughed back in.   

One wonders if the cabling would still be there now had nobody actually been around at the hut, or am I too cynical. 

[Les W]

One wonders if the cabling would still be there now had nobody actually been around at the hut, or am I too cynical. 

I'm sure you are not being cynical, I keep my scrap locked away for that very reason.