Fairy Cave Quarry. The Last 45 Years.
- Thread starter The Old Ruminator
- Start date
The Old Ruminator
Well-known member
Oh dear I am " historical " :
. More another day then ---
. More another day then ---
The Old Ruminator
Well-known member
Ray Saxton in Shatter Cave about 1970.
The Old Ruminator
Well-known member
Trevor Knief and the Canopy 1980's.
Tor Chamber , 1980's.
Twisted stal, Withyhill, 1970's.
Trevor Knief 1980's.
CSS Cottage about 1969. Now a ruin. Back then it was two separate cottages. Eric Catherine's Border Caving Club had one half. Eventually it was all CSS and a door was knocked through to join the two sections.
Tor Chamber , 1980's.
Twisted stal, Withyhill, 1970's.
Trevor Knief 1980's.
CSS Cottage about 1969. Now a ruin. Back then it was two separate cottages. Eric Catherine's Border Caving Club had one half. Eventually it was all CSS and a door was knocked through to join the two sections.
The Old Ruminator
Well-known member
The Quarry 1970's showing the high angle of dip here on East Mendip. Left is the Withybrook fault plane along which much of the bigger passages were formed.
Sketch showing the displacement of bedding on either side of the Withybrook fault. The red strip is impervious sandstone where the dislocation has allowed water in the underground catchment to escape and so form all of the caves.
Withyhill. Phreatic half tube in the roof and subsequent vadose down cutting below. Both Shatter and Withyhill have phreatic origins the proto systems being remarkable level in profile unlike development to the west of Mendip. Shatter's phreatic sections are much larger suggesting that this was once the primary water flow. There has been much collapse within the fault zone something rarely seen in Withyhill. Shatter and GP Series in Withyhill both exhibit the older generation of broken formations possibly associated with movement along the fault zone or minor earthquakes a number of which have been noted in the past.
The previous photo of "The Leaning Tower of Pisa" is a case in point having been broken and then recemented.
Sketch showing the displacement of bedding on either side of the Withybrook fault. The red strip is impervious sandstone where the dislocation has allowed water in the underground catchment to escape and so form all of the caves.
Withyhill. Phreatic half tube in the roof and subsequent vadose down cutting below. Both Shatter and Withyhill have phreatic origins the proto systems being remarkable level in profile unlike development to the west of Mendip. Shatter's phreatic sections are much larger suggesting that this was once the primary water flow. There has been much collapse within the fault zone something rarely seen in Withyhill. Shatter and GP Series in Withyhill both exhibit the older generation of broken formations possibly associated with movement along the fault zone or minor earthquakes a number of which have been noted in the past.
The previous photo of "The Leaning Tower of Pisa" is a case in point having been broken and then recemented.
The Old Ruminator
Well-known member
Larger phreatic bore tube above Pisa Passage. Photo taken c. 1970.
Extended later view of above showing The Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Extended later view of above showing The Leaning Tower of Pisa.
The Old Ruminator
Well-known member
Deposition and erosion in Withyhill.
Early days. John Keat sadly no longer with us.
Ted Popham. Still traveling --
My brother's mate Gary. Sadly no longer with us.
Pete Rose forcing new ground in Shatter. ( Terminal chamber above Pisa Passage ).
Early days. John Keat sadly no longer with us.
Ted Popham. Still traveling --
My brother's mate Gary. Sadly no longer with us.
Pete Rose forcing new ground in Shatter. ( Terminal chamber above Pisa Passage ).
The Old Ruminator
Well-known member
First two . Digging terminal choke Withyhill.
More in Dunstan's Well and Peter Glanvill's dad dives the sump.
More in Dunstan's Well and Peter Glanvill's dad dives the sump.
The Old Ruminator
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The Helectites , Shatter Cave.
Pristine Withyhill before the flood silt.
Pete Rose struggling, Withyhill.
John Kidd in Withyhill.
Pristine Withyhill before the flood silt.
Pete Rose struggling, Withyhill.
John Kidd in Withyhill.
The Old Ruminator
Well-known member
Prehistory. 1883 - 1965.
The Cerberus published a Fairy Cave Quarry book in 1977 so in reality this remains their copyright although I wrote this section. For old times sake I hope they will let it remain on the thread as the publication is long out of print. So this section is the preview to the 45 years ( ish ) covered in the thread.
The Cerberus published a Fairy Cave Quarry book in 1977 so in reality this remains their copyright although I wrote this section. For old times sake I hope they will let it remain on the thread as the publication is long out of print. So this section is the preview to the 45 years ( ish ) covered in the thread.
The Old Ruminator
Well-known member
Back to conservation issues as I have already received witterings about being beyond the tape stuff. Well much of this was done in the 1970's and on exploration trips before tapes were laid. Sort of fumbling girls in 1960's bus shelters now coming back to haunt a few. Sick predators now whilst maybe we were vandals. Hey Ho. How times change.
Pete Rose in Z Squeeze already showing signs of wear.
The Icing Flakes. Perhaps its just best now not to tell anyone where they are.
Ray Saxton on possibly the first photo trip into Shatter 1969/70. No way would you repeat that today.
So things change as conservation awareness increases. Probably the best thing for the quarry was that it's caves were closed for 20 years or so. Conservation awareness crept up in the mean time. I remember the break thorough at Albert's Eye in Manor Farm. Early 70's. Everyone went charging off down virgin passage yelling and shouting . Got to the apparent bottom then pissed off to the pub. Left me and old Rose to dig up into NHASA Gallery. I even took a couple of photos. Anyway contrast that to Reservoir's Hard Times. The first trip. Ali trying to lay orange tape. Me taking photos. Nigel pushing gingerly forth.Times have changed very much for the better even if some perceive it to be " control ".
Pete Rose in Z Squeeze already showing signs of wear.
The Icing Flakes. Perhaps its just best now not to tell anyone where they are.
Ray Saxton on possibly the first photo trip into Shatter 1969/70. No way would you repeat that today.
So things change as conservation awareness increases. Probably the best thing for the quarry was that it's caves were closed for 20 years or so. Conservation awareness crept up in the mean time. I remember the break thorough at Albert's Eye in Manor Farm. Early 70's. Everyone went charging off down virgin passage yelling and shouting . Got to the apparent bottom then pissed off to the pub. Left me and old Rose to dig up into NHASA Gallery. I even took a couple of photos. Anyway contrast that to Reservoir's Hard Times. The first trip. Ali trying to lay orange tape. Me taking photos. Nigel pushing gingerly forth.Times have changed very much for the better even if some perceive it to be " control ".
The Old Ruminator
Well-known member
The Tapeless Universe.
Poor old John Kidd. Never the inspiring subject in that horrid white boiler suit. Withyhill 1970's.
Yes the straw is long gone. Shatter early 1970's.
Some years B.T. ( Before Tape ). Mud creep, Withyhill. Early 70's.
An absent friend and I don't mean one of Pete Rose's twin boys. Now all grown up. Not the best place for a stalagmite. Withyhill main passage.
A few years post tape. 1980's. Shatter's Pillar Chamber now the stopping point for tourist trips. Thou shalt not enter here. Conservation to the extreme ? Don't forget Willie Stanton blocked up a well decorated passage in one Mendip Cave never to be seen again. The ultimate in cave conservation.
John Keat somewhere now off limits in Shatter c 1970.
The first ever photo of Green Lake Grotto. Ha Ha most older Mendip cavers are to fat to get in here now. There was a gate here for a while when Cerberus ran the show. Now it's leader discretion oh and a small chest.
More down Memory Lane another day.
Poor old John Kidd. Never the inspiring subject in that horrid white boiler suit. Withyhill 1970's.
Yes the straw is long gone. Shatter early 1970's.
Some years B.T. ( Before Tape ). Mud creep, Withyhill. Early 70's.
An absent friend and I don't mean one of Pete Rose's twin boys. Now all grown up. Not the best place for a stalagmite. Withyhill main passage.
A few years post tape. 1980's. Shatter's Pillar Chamber now the stopping point for tourist trips. Thou shalt not enter here. Conservation to the extreme ? Don't forget Willie Stanton blocked up a well decorated passage in one Mendip Cave never to be seen again. The ultimate in cave conservation.
John Keat somewhere now off limits in Shatter c 1970.
The first ever photo of Green Lake Grotto. Ha Ha most older Mendip cavers are to fat to get in here now. There was a gate here for a while when Cerberus ran the show. Now it's leader discretion oh and a small chest.
More down Memory Lane another day.
The Old Ruminator
Well-known member
Don't forget that the same person heads the access control for both Fairy Cave Quarry and Reservoir Hole. An ideal mix and match for Mendip visitors. Yet for all their beauty the quarry caves get very few visits.
bagpuss
Member
The Old Ruminator said:
Enjoying the photos and history. The (non leader) caves in the quarry rate as one of my top trips I have done on Mendip. I'd like to see all the quarry caves at some stage - I think the fact we've not been there already is mainly down to getting round to sorting out a leader & arranging a trip. Out of interest are under 16's aloud in the quarry caves?
The Old Ruminator
Well-known member
I am not sure re the age restriction. Normally this is defined as " experienced cavers ". Ie not novices. So if a reasonable explanation of a younger person's experience is forthcoming I suppose it's at the discretion of the management committee which currently is three well known Mendip cavers headed by Martin Grass ( Contact details in the Mendip Caves guide book ). I would not think FCQ leaders would be a problem as they are a well under used entity at the moment.
