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Seeking out new Limestone features (part 1)

martinb

martinb

Member
Over the last 18 months or so, I have done a fair amount of walking in the Peak Limestone catchment. I had my trusty COPD with me, but fairly often I happened across features not recorded in COPD.

Now, fair enough, some of them are probably not worth a second glance, but they do make up a rich and diversified range of features.

1. A small sink at appx SK156509 to the E of Thorpe Cloud Hill. Takes an immature stream.

2. A tiny spring/resurgence at SK154512 to NE of Thorpe Cloud. Maybe connected to above.

3. Cave feature at SK141532 - by path from Ilam Rocks to Ilam Tops (marked incorrectly on 1:25000 map). Exposed rock with anasmastosis features with 1m x 0.5m hole to its L. Further up hill by path are 2 other cave features incl small 2m Square descending hole with collapse.

4. Cave and Spring at SK142513. Cave recess appx 2mH x 1m W x 3mD with almost perfectly round sandy bottom with water bubbling through.

5. Muswell Wood Sk118512. 3 rock outcrops on L above path descending dale. All 3 display solution features and badger occupation. 3rd is fairly large - body size or bigger.

6. Sink/Swallet at SK104566, just on NT land below gate. Stream off shale/other sinks when it meets limestone. Obvious sound of water dropping through rocks. About 1km from Wetton Mill and the sinks there.

7. Large sink/Swallet at SK128481 by side of path from Townend Farm to Leasow, WSW of Swinscoe. Water was sinking appx 6 -7m upstream of main sink through rocks in stream bed. Many rocks had solution features. Main sink was by 2m H rock face, debris was cleared and wide slot descending for 1m+ was seen. Poss sink for stream at EllisHill Brook?

8. Swallet type feature at SK132479, just north of Leasow. Large field depression fed by dry mini-stream valleys. Damp at lowest point, just on Limestone.

9. Cave feature at SK094542, back of old quarry. Entrance 1.5m W x 1m H. Had been fitted with wooden 'door', evidence of badger occupation. Tube bent round to L about 1m in.

10. Possible swallet feature at SK085542. Fenced. Not checked due to access.

Any further information welcome. All grid refs are approxiamate.
 
alastairgott

alastairgott

Well-known member
martinb said:
paul said:
Have you had a look at the DCA's cave registry search facility http://thedca.org.uk/dca-cr/registry/registrysearch.php ?
Click to expand...

All (as far as I can see) of the DCA's cave registry is a direct copy of COPD.

I am happy to be corrected on this, and is there a facility for plebians like me to add to the cave registry?

These are just oddities i've found whilst out walking.
Click to expand...

I believe the "peak district" area is to be split down by area; 1-16 as per COPD (for updating the cave registry) and this will be delegated out to local clubs and individuals to update and maintain. If you wish to volunteer to help, i'm sure DCA would love to hear from you.

Or i guess you could just request an update to the site. but with the amount you've found, i think it could be better for you to have a chat.
 
martinb

martinb

Member
alastairgott said:
I believe the "peak district" area is to be split down by area; 1-16 as per COPD (for updating the cave registry) and this will be delegated out to local clubs and individuals to update and maintain. If you wish to volunteer to help, i'm sure DCA would love to hear from you.

Or i guess you could just request an update to the site. but with the amount you've found, i think it could be better for you to have a chat.
Click to expand...

If John Beck were still around, I would have let him know. Is anyone else picking up where he left off?

On a similar vein, I see that the Peak District Cave Monitoring season is in full swing again, and they want cavers to help with monitoring the state of various caves: http://thedca.org.uk/sssi-monitoring

I neeed to get my notes into some sort of assemblence as what I posted is the brief version of each feature found, then i'll email them to whoever updates the site.
 
pwhole

pwhole

Well-known member
I'm the registry updater for the Castleton area, but am unsure who deals with the area of concern here - scud will know. At present the process is to send in updates to the area person to update the site, probably to keep it simple at the back-end. But updates should definitely go up, especially if it significantly expands on the current entry, either by providing greater detail of known passage, or obviously extensions and discoveries of new passage/cave. As to adding new sites altogether, that is also doable, but it's probably best to let the folks who set it up comment on the process, as I'm just a helping hand at present.
 
C

cavefinder

New member
Regarding number 9 I remember starting to dig this out over 30 years ago. As you say it goes in for about a metre turns left for about 3 metres then goes right and ends about 2metres in . It's still worth a dig, it is  the same height and width to the face as the entrance .From then on it is filled with a sandy sediment that is rock hard to dig, but it was dry and you can park right next to it . It was the same time I started digging at Deepdale shacks to no avail as Pete Mellor will tell you as he carried on from where Smiggy and I left off.
 
martinb

martinb

Member
cavefinder said:
Regarding number 9 I remember starting to dig this out over 30 years ago. As you say it goes in for about a metre turns left for about 3 metres then goes right and ends about 2metres in . It's still worth a dig, it is  the same height and width to the face as the entrance .From then on it is filled with a sandy sediment that is rock hard to dig, but it was dry and you can park right next to it . It was the same time I started digging at Deepdale shacks to no avail as Pete Mellor will tell you as he carried on from where Smiggy and I left off.
Click to expand...

Did you give it a name? And rather than claim credit for 'finding' it, can I give others some credit?

Martin
 
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