Hiya

I'm taking a few groups up to Scotland next year and was thinking of possibly taking them caving. Are there any caves that are worth visiting near Fort William? Beginner level, no SRT, basic rope work type stuff??

There are some in Appin but that's Oban direction. Otherwise next stop is Skye! However GSG members may know of some mines in the region. Sciehallion has caves around it but that's a fair way from Fort William if I am right in my geography!

You ned to buy THE BOOK

There are the mines at Strontian, never been down any of them but have been for a look a long time ago.
http://www.curriehj.freeserve.co.uk/stronloc.htm

Strontian - plenty of open adits:

Sunday 6th  Drove to Strontian and looked at the mines.  See photos of Middleshope Mines.  Camped near Middleshope Mines.  Anne and Rolo went for a walk round the mines and on the way met a man called Dave McCullam who had done a lot of work on the mines with Dave Green from Manchester Museum.  They had published a lot in the Russell Journals.  He explained how the names on the OS map was all wrong and they wrote the right place names in.  He gave us the name of the manager of the site Dan MacDonald, and showed the way to the mine above the site.  He also showed Anne the Middleshope Lower level which has a 10 ft diameter metal tube in the entrance and continues at that size for half a mile before a cross cut.  It is very unstable.  There are lots of stopes which are being stabilised with iron girders.  He also showed her the 1985 shaft which is now blocked and explained that they had gone down the 870ft  shaft but 50 m down it was flooded and the hydrogen sulphide was so strong that they had to retreat.  If it was plumbed somebody would  need to go down in a respirator.  Across the road is the blocked Engine Shaft by a tree and also more signs of mining.

At the bottom of the hill on the site is an adit with a lot of water coming out.

There is little to see on the site which is now being used for stone reclamation.

Monday 7th  Went to forestry car park so that Anne and Rolo could walk up to Fee Donald.  It was a beautiful day.  The walk took about 4 hours through the Arundlie Oak Woods and onto the mountain.  The site was not hard to find as the spoil heaps were obvious.  However, to reach the site it is necessary to take the upper path all the way as the site would not be visible from the valley.  There is little left of the site, the scant remains of buildings and some spoil heaps.  However, there is an open adit emitting water at river level and a fenced off shaft higher up the hill.  There is also possible another blocked adit and a blocked shaft with what looks like a wheel pit beside it.

What?s wrong with Scotland

1 Tourist offices closed Sundays and Mondays when you would expect everybody to be about.
2 If you want breakfast you might find the cafe opens at 9.00 or 10.30 which makes for a short day.
3 It is bad enough to have single track roads, but in the passing places they have blinking great holes 6? deep which will dent your wheel trims.
4 We now learn in today?s Scottish Daily Mail [9th September 2009] that Scotland is leaving the British Isles.  They are adopting the Euro and joining the Nordic Council.  This seems redolent of smorgasbord, horned helmets and cheery songs about Valhalla.  The blueprint also refers to the creation of woodland as one urgent justification for independence; lots of lofty pine trees for trolls and shrines to Woden and Thor and with the locals playing at Noggin the Nog.

rhychydwr1 said:

... and with the locals playing at Noggin the Nog.

Click to expand...

is Nogbad the Bad in the GSG?  :doubt:

There's nothing really wrong with Scotland, not since we evicted G Brown.

1  Tourist offices closed Sundays and Mondays when you would expect everybody to be about.
A:That's to allow the staff to recover from their saturday-night induced hangovers, When in rome.......

2  If you want breakfast you might find the cafe opens at 9.00 or 10.30 which makes for a short day.
A: They open THAT early? make like the boy-scout and come prepared.

3  It is bad enough to have single track roads, but in the passing places they have blinking great holes 6? deep which will dent your wheel trims.
A: Yeah, but you can practice SRT in the deeper ones.

4  We now learn in today?s Scottish Daily Mail [9th September 2009] that Scotland is leaving the British Isles.  They are adopting the Euro and joining the Nordic Council.  This seems redolent of smorgasbord, horned helmets and cheery songs about Valhalla.  The blueprint also refers to the creation of woodland as one urgent justification for independence; lots of lofty pine trees for trolls and shrines to Woden and Thor and with the locals playing at Noggin the Nog.
A: sounds like a good plan. but noggin the nog? isn't that something they do with sheep in wales.