A write up and collection of photos from two off the beaten Langstroth Pot trips last spring.

http://simonbeck.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/langstroth-pot-straw-chamber-goat-inlet.html

Cheers Simon - a good read, as ever.

Great photos

Good read.

The straw from floor to ceiling is amazing, but that passage where the walls are ribbed and a slot across the ceiling makes me think of something out of Aliens, like you're crawling down a snake!

I'm pretty sure "Dickwad" Wilsdon of the NYMCC told me once that he was the first to explore this inlet and called it Goat Inlet because "Goat" was a nickname of a friend. Might be wrong, but I shall drop him a text and see if he expands on this. I bet he will be really interested in your pictures Simon.

Nice photos. and I particularly like the vid of the dive out. You can't make out much but that is all too real.

I actually named Goat inlet after my Mother who had recently died. I doubt that she would have been too impressed as that was her family nick name.

At the time (early 1980s) I was caving with the Scunthorpe CC. I had just descended the 7th pitch on a pull through, when I noticed that there was a small pool against the right hand wall. On a later visit all the shingle banks had shifted and it looked quite different but at the time the pool appeared inviting enough for me to stick my boot in, followed by the rest of my body, revealing what seemed to be a sump.

Having done some open water diving I had some kit and we all went back the following weekend and Neil Hanon and I dived through, followed by a couple of other rank novice divers with kit we shuttled back through the sump.

The inlet passage leading from the sump pool is small and ended in another sump. That was quite restricted and I remember Frank Dawson holding the free end of my dive line as I backed in. The passage had a tighter section before it opened up and I ascended to a small chamber. Some faffing later I had dekitted to check this out but sadly found there was no way on. It was just an airbell.

Frank must have wondered what I had been doing all that time and had started to pull on the dive line. When I got back to base he had a whole bundle of my line. IE I had not belayed the dive line at all and he had just been pulling it off my reel. Oops, not the best cave diving technique!

Dickwad (Richard Wilsdon) now of the NYMCC

I was aware of the SCC bit, but the rest is all new to me. Thanks ever so much Richard.

Considering how remote a place it must have felt back in the 80s that a pretty ballsy exploration dive you two undertook.

Thanks

Thanks for adding the above Richard, which I enjoyed reading. You did of course take the trouble to produce two excellent and very detailed dive logs for CDG Newsletter 59 (1981) at the time (on pages 13 & 14). But reading the story behind the detail here was very interesting; it was a great bit of exploration.

According to the CDG logs referred to above, your dives took place on 25-10-80 with F Dawson and on 6-12-80 with F Dawson, K Johnson and N Hannen (spelling as in dive log).

For completeness, I think there has only been one further dive logged since then; in October 1990 Jim Arundale, Malcolm Bass and Paul Monico (NPC & ULSA) went to the end to look for a way on. They concluded: "the water emerges from two overtight gravel filled inclined beddings". Their log, in CDG NL 100 (1991) page 24, also mentions that Goat Inlet has been tested from Compass Cave by the White Rose.

Funnily enough, I did try to log mine and Ian's visits to Goat Inlet 2008 ish in the CDG newsletter. I submitted them just prior to a deadline but was told they didn't fit the allotted amount of sheets or something like that. I never realised they'd hadn't been included or logged full-stop..

Excellent stuff - exactly what UKC is for and some great little historical notes there....
Say "hello" to IC when you see him next Simon, its been a very long time since we were underground together.

Simon Beck said:

Funnily enough, I did try to log mine and Ian's visits to Goat Inlet 2008 ish in the CDG newsletter. I submitted them just prior to a deadline but was told they didn't fit the allotted amount of sheets or something like that. I never realised they'd hadn't been included or logged full-stop..

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Will send you a PM Simon.

blackshiver said:

Excellent stuff - exactly what UKC is for...

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Couldn't agree more. Great topic.

blackshiver said:

Excellent stuff - exactly what UKC is for and some great little historical notes there....
Say "hello" to IC when you see him next Simon, its been a very long time since we were underground together.

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Let me guess, Mr Madden?

Simon Beck said:

Funnily enough, I did try to log mine and Ian's visits to Goat Inlet 2008 ish in the CDG newsletter. I submitted them just prior to a deadline but was told they didn't fit the allotted amount of sheets or something like that. I never realised they'd hadn't been included or logged full-stop..

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                  Just a little bit to add to the dives from scc we did need extra bottle so we tied it on at base of last pith but
                                the lad never tied it and it fell down the last pitch ! all was ok still dived the goat

Your logs will still be most welcome Simon. Next copy date's the end of May. By all means contact me directly if you want any help.