Hi Peeps
Back in the 80's there was an enamel bowl here for clearing debris from the crawl, which was both dry and roomy. Much debris had been pulled back and stacked on ledges, or dragged through and tipped down the pitch. Over the years this dish has disappeared, but the crawl has been occasionally dug out. After the last clearing it seems people decided it was more cave than mine, and dragged all the tailings down to fill the crawl to a squeeze because it is "sporting" to worm up a coffin level. The fines have choked the soakaway, leaving a pool that gets close to sumping in wet weather. I suspect if the soakaway is dug out  it may lead to currently unknown mine passages. This area is exclusively mined, although there is natural elsewhere in the mine.
Being a caving rather than a mine forum I appreciate the readers may be biased, but how do you feel about the soakaway being dug out and the crawl being cleared of debris down to the flowstone floor? After previous clearings a dry step up to the crawl was created, but the dig was never pushed...

Brains said:

...how do you feel about the soakaway being dug out and the crawl being cleared of debris down to the flowstone floor? After previous clearings a dry step up to the crawl was created, but the dig was never pushed...

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Sounds good to me!

Go for it - there are other very sporting crawls in Hillocks for them as wants them...

edit - for anyone wanting a really sporting experience in a mined level, try either Whale Sough or Watergrove Sough, and wash your ears at the same time!

AR said:

try either Whale Sough

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I didn?t know I walked past this Early this year. That weird metal pipe sticking out the ground. Hmm might have to return at some point then

I did the crawl recently, it was definitely fun slithering through the water, digging out the coffin level would probably be a good thing. I did ponder while down there what else went off from the crawl as it's all backfill.

For years that crawl was a wee bit snug, but it was always dry. And then some fat sod dug it out tomake it bigger, and there's been a wet puddle ever since.

Having said that, it is only a little puddle and not the Chamber of Horrors - I wouldn't have thought that it needs any more re-engineering than it's already had. After all, it is mainly cavers that go through there - isn't it?

al said:

For years that crawl was a wee bit snug, but it was always dry. And then some fat sod dug it out tomake it bigger, and there's been a wet puddle ever since.

Having said that, it is only a little puddle and not the Chamber of Horrors - I wouldn't have thought that it needs any more re-engineering than it's already had. After all, it is mainly cavers that go through there - isn't it?

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I have known it since the early 80's when there was an enamel bowl for clearing the rubble - periodically it has been cleared and silted over the years, quite often with a puddle. Some members of the CCPC dug it out to a pit in front of the crawl in the 90's and it then stayed dry for a number of years. Last time I cleared it some muppets decided to refill it with fines, choking the soakaway and causing a large puddle that can sump on a bad day. The initial climb down to the soakaway goes deeper to as yet unknown workings, and could do with clearing. I may be tubby compared to your frame, but I never recall it being snug in there, just awkward and needlessly full of water and deads

Sorry Tubby, I didn't mean to be rude!  :ras:

Incidentally, in April 2010, Chris W. and I were called to Hillocks by Ralph and Dave Webb to try to locate the base of a new collapse which had recently appeared in the same field as Whalf Engine. Wedid manage to get to it, near the climb-down to the crawl being discussed here, and we reckon that we were very close to the wide bit at the top of the Engine Shaft, but other things got in the way, and we didn't go back and explore further. So that's two leads in the same area!

LOL, I spent some time with Ralph in the field digging down. The top 6' of that area is all fine tailings and we could find no evidence of a shaft running in to that depth... Underground I am sure there are many more leads near surface and at depth!