I took my son out for his first time caving.  We did the Long Churns and he loved it.  In the afternoon, after reading a note on this forum about good beginner caves dated 2009 I took him to Calf Holes.  Looking at the surveys, the plan was to descend Calf Hole, walk/crawl along to the exit at Browgill, bypassing the waterfall.  Then go back in and SRT up and out again.

However, we crawled towards Browgill and it came to a dead end approximately 350m from the entrance.  Also the waterfall passage was too small for me to get through.

What I'd like to know is, did I miss something, or is the route between Calf Holes and Browgill blocked?  And has it been blocked for a while?

I'm going to post the following in a different place on this forum as well.  We saw a fish 75m in from the entrance.  It was 25cm long, shaped like a Dog Fish.  It was brown with small black spots (3mm in diameter) on it.  Around the spots the skin was light for a diameter of 8mm.  Does anyone know what type of fish it was and are they common.

Cheers, BJJ Biker.

The connection between the two is a slightly awkward letter box descent on the left, some distance back before the main passage closes down. But is this what you meant by the "waterfall passage" that was too tight for you?

From memory the stream sinks under the left wall just before the crawl into the letter box connection.

Yes, that's the one.  I tried squeezing through it, but probably didn't try as hard as I possibly could thinking it would lead to the waterfall (I could hear falling water in there) and I didn't know what that would have been like to descend so I backed out.

So if I'd managed to get through the letterbox, would that of led to the bypass of the waterfall on the right hand side?

I'm a bit of a completer-finisher and when I go back I want to make sure I do it.

Thanks for clearing that up.

It sounds like you were attemping the tighter 'Sausage press' which is the continuation of the crawl.

When you get into the connection crawl there is a hole in the floor(sort of half left)...this is where you want to go. This then drops you in the waterfall passage.Head into the bedding on the right and eventually you come to the staircase climb down.

I'd not heard of the alternative straight on route through these before a few weeks ago when a few cavers over from Finland told me that they had got through but it was tighter than the usual letterbox.

We walked in the obvious route just over 200m.  The first exit was to the left, a rift about 5m high with still water in it up to my waist and ended after 40ish metres.  The next exit was a small floor level hole on the left, possibly about 200m in.  The hole was small, with rocks making it smaller and more difficult to fit through.  This was the one I could hear running water through.  My son could fit through and said he didn't think it looked like it opened up as far as he could see.  I simply couldn't get my shoulders through.  I'd describe it as a letterbox with teeth.

Back in the the main tunnel, it carried on a short distance before it became a crawl.  We slithered about 50m slightly upwards before a rift opened up with a slight turn to the left.  The rift was only big enough to sit up in.  Carrying on a further 50m of 25cm slithering before it opened out again, high enough to stand up in.  The far wall was banked with stones and mud.

I hope that description helps and thanks again for the information.

BJJ Biker said:

The next exit was a small floor level hole on the left, possibly about 200m in.  The hole was small, with rocks making it smaller and more difficult to fit through.  This was the one I could hear running water through.  My son could fit through and said he didn't think it looked like it opened up as far as he could see.  I simply couldn't get my shoulders through.  I'd describe it as a letterbox with teeth.

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Yes, that sounds like the connection between Calf Holes and Browgill cave, "The Contortion". Actually it's easier than it looks. I'm 6 foot 3, 15 stones and 44 inch chest and even with SRT kit on it's no problem. Drop through legs first and then sit down below. Spot the wider continuation as there is a choice and one way is larger than the other, and post your legs through and then follow through with the rest. It's more awkward coming out because if you have long legs it's difficult to get a knee beneath you after poking your arms and head up and through the hole, but not really a problem as you can just pull with your arms to get through.

Have another trip and give it another go!

Hi Paul,

I'm similar in size to you (6 foot, 46 chest, 94Kg).  Next time I'm up from Kent I'll give it a go.  It was after the long slither to a dead end and back I didn't have the heart to drag my lad down another dead end or into the unknown.  I didn't want to put him off caving in one day.

Thanks for the reassurance.

There's a pretty good survey of Calf Holes / Browgill - I remember that the Penyghent Caf? had a good supply of these. They can probably supply you with one but it might be worth ringing ahead of calling so they can find it for you beforehand.

If you want a photograph of a bullhead taken in a Dales sump (to see if it looks like the fish you saw) PM me with your proper email address and I'll send it to you.

BJJ Biker said:

  The next exit was a small floor level hole on the left, possibly about 200m in.  The hole was small, with rocks making it smaller and more difficult to fit through.  This was the one I could hear running water through.  My son could fit through and said he didn't think it looked like it opened up as far as he could see.  I simply couldn't get my shoulders through.  I'd describe it as a letterbox with teeth.

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That sounds like Hainsworth's passage, aka The Letterbox. It's not that small, not hands-and-knees but not tight, with (if I remember correctly) a ridged rock floor rather than a boulder floor. After about 2m there's a rift in the floor, and you can cross it to a smoother crawl for another body length before popping out of the Letterbox into a small chamber. The exit to the stream is the other side of the chamber and slightly to the left.

You're at the right place if the floor of the main passage is sloping upwards and it looks as if there is a semicircular end to the passage, with the ceiling meeting the bouldery floor. (Actually it's not quite the end - if you keep to the left and duck behind a boulder you get into a rift which opens out to become standing height briefly before continuing to a boulder chock with a short bedding plane passage on the R) )I've never had any difficulty finding it, but I always go in via Browgill - once you've come out of it, it's easy to find the way back in.

[quote author=Paul] Yes, that sounds like the connection between Calf Holes and Browgill cave, "The Contortion". Actually it's easier than it looks. I'm 6 foot 3, 15 stones and 44 inch chest and even with SRT kit on it's no problem. Drop through legs first and then sit down below. Spot the wider continuation as there is a choice and one way is larger than the other, and post your legs through and then follow through with the rest. It's more awkward coming out because if you have long legs it's difficult to get a knee beneath you after poking your arms and head up and through the hole, but not really a problem as you can just pull with your arms to get through.[/quote]

That's the rift in the middle of Hainsworth passage. If you're doing the Browgill to Calf Holes direction it's easier to use the Letterbox itself - As you come up the streamway, not very far after you joined it  there's a smooth body-sized channel on the L at about waist height. That goes into a little chamber not much more than 1.5m in each direction. Opposite, about 1m above the floor, there is a rectangular slot in the wall - the Letterbox. A body length in, you'll find a rift - the Contortion that Paul describes - ignore it and go straight over into the Calf Holes Passage.

There's a connection through boulders between the bottom of Paul's rift and the letterbox chamber. Quite useful when you're talking novices through - you can easily go and talk to whichever end seems more productive.

I'd recommend another trip, this time via Browgill. The Browgill end is varied and good fun, with large bouldery passage, high narrow rift, waterfall, climb behind flake of rock, "lunar landscape" of water-shaped rock, lively stream with pools and finally the Letterbox.

Hi Kay,
Thanks for your information and advice.  It was on your advice on an earlier post (where to take beginners) that I went down Calf Holes.  When I go back I'll do as you say and go in via Browgill (after setting up an SRT at Calf Holes!).  Thank you for your time and advice, it really is very much appreciated.
Cheers, BJJ Biker.

And survey here may help (if this link works!)

http://cavemaps.org/surveys/other/full/CM%202010%20Calf%20Holes%20and%20Cramp%20Cave.png

This was the map I used when planning the trip.  The part that confused me was cross section 'N' in the map.  We went along that route for a further 75m or so, but I remembered the map saying it stopped there.  Hence in my mind, Hainsworth's Passage was in the wrong place!
Going in from Browgill next time.

Yeah, I find that bit of the map confusing. For example, when I said "Actually it's not quite the end - if you keep to the left and duck behind a boulder you get into a rift which opens out to become standing height briefly before continuing to a boulder chock with a short bedding plane passage on the R" from the map it would seem that I'm in the section at N and beyond (because I'm in a rift tucked up against a wall of rock on my LHS) but then where is the M bit? It's very low, so presumably choked by boulders.

When you come out of Hainsworth into the Calf Holes passage, you can sit up. So on the return journey, if you're crawling flat out, you've gone too far.

Coming in from Browgill, the staircase is usually marked by a bit of knotted rope which is useful just to get up on to the first step. The map is helpful for general line of travel, but the detail doesn't feel very much like that on the ground - be prepared to explore!

Here's the Letterbox!

Calf Holes to Browgill Cave 12th November 2011 on Vimeo

Thanks for posting that Hammy

As for the fish, 2 species dominate the caves in Yorkshire. Brown trout (which has variations in colour) and the Bullhead or millers thumb.

Hammy, thanks for the video.  I'll know what to look for next time, but I can't recall it, other than possibly the bit on the left of the video is where we had a look and thought better of going through.  I did look out for polished bits of rock as well.
The support on this forum is fantastic.  Thank you all.
Having seen a Bullhead, I'm now convinced the fish is a starved brown trout.
Cheers, BJJ Biker.

BJJ Biker said:

Hammy, thanks for the video.  I'll know what to look for next time, but I can't recall it, other than possibly the bit on the left of the video is where we had a look and thought better of going through.  I did look out for polished bits of rock as well.

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You won't have seen it - you didn't get that far. Hammy's video is of the Letterbox itself, ie the Browgill Cave end of Hainsworth's passage. The people are popping out of it on their way from Calf Holes to Browgill.