tightest passage in the UK?

E

epik

Guest
Ok so good people of UKcaving.com do any of you know of any realy tight passages in the UK?

excluding dead ends as lets face it there are loads of super tight digs that havent been dug properly yet but i mean actual passages that go somewhere. two examples i can think of are;

1) in sidcot passed the lobster pot top and into what i think is called bloody tight.

2) the connection between the 40ft and the top of the 12ft in swildons!

If i breathe in and put my arms above my head (no helmet) my chest is about 38" so i would say both of these are about 40" round and fairly tight (took me 45mins first time i did bloody tight to get back out) but are there any tighter!

So any suggestions to tighter (sub 40" round) passages answers on a postcard to............or even better reply below!
 

graham

New member
"Bloody tight" is in Goatchurch (and isn't!) I don't think that passage in Sidcot actually has a name.

I'm not sure where in Swildons you mean.

But if you want a serious collectors piece try the passage that leads to the Lake in Cuckoo Cleeves.
 

Wolfart

New member
Yep the one in Cukoo cleeeves is a good rib crusher.
birthday squeeze in swildons can be fun to.
and i think there are one or two in draennen
 
E

epik

Guest
graham said:
"Bloody tight" is in Goatchurch (and isn't!) I don't think that passage in Sidcot actually has a name.

I'm not sure where in Swildons you mean.

But if you want a serious collectors piece try the passage that leads to the Lake in Cuckoo Cleeves.

Yeah many "bloody tights" in mendip (none of which are as you say) but wasn't sure if the sidcot passage had a name.

Swildons i mean up to the top of 40' (normal top not the top top with the cave rescue bar) and then down through the whole in the floor and down through the next hole in the floor which brings you out above the entrance to the 12'. Short and tight but not that tight!

So cuckoo cleeves is tighter than the sidcot one? Not sure i've done it or not (was about 8 last time was in cuckoo so even if i did it it would probably seem fine then) so have to go do it! cheers!

anymore? anywhere in Uk though Peak and Mendip is easy for me to go try!
 

Wolfart

New member
Just thought of another Ogof rhd sych, strip off and take some fairy liquid with you you'll need it
 

Ship-badger

Member
In the Mailscot valley, near Symonds-Yat, in the Forest of Dean, is a little-known classic called Cross-Joints Swallet. It isn't very long, about 600 feet, but most of that is flat-out crawling, with a couple of really flat-out bits. It ends at a large pot called Hyperspace, so it's well-worth a visit.
 

Andy Sparrow

Active member
Try the high level route over the Lavatory Pan in Swildons or Primrose Pot in Eastwater. For the best 'thin man' trip under Mendip visit the lower series of Pierres Pot. The route to the final chambers is elusive and not described in Mendip Underground but it is extremely worthwhile.
 

Stupot

Active member
Birthday Squeeze is tightish

http://www.boulderchoke.co.uk/Image8.jpg

I wouldnt say Lobster Pot is tight, it's just awkward as it's vertical

http://www.boulderchoke.co.uk/sidcot_swallet_005.jpg

Now Crystal Passage in Swildon's is TIGHT.........

The tight bit over the lav pan is indeed good :D ??


Stu.
 

cap n chris

Well-known member
Tightness is directly proportional to the size of the caver so this is a subjective topic.

If you're normal sized (i.e. chest over 48") and want to do tight stuff try:

a) Linking the oxbows in Swildon's Upper Series
b) Hallelujah Hole in Eastwater
c) The Hilliers/Fairy connection
d) Squeeze to stream series in Pierre's Pot
e) Link Boulder Chamber to Water Chamber in Goatchurch using the "hole in the floor" route rather than the Coffin Lid/Jacob's Ladder route
f) Bedding Chamber approach in Swildon's Upper Series and Zig-Zags and other intricacies in Upper Series
g) The chambers beyond the Drainpipe in Goatchurch
h) Blue Pencil in Swildon's Hole
i) Sidcot Swallet Lobster Pot bypass (broke my ribs!)
j) Birthday Squeeze Swildon's Hole Round Trip (cracked a rib)
k) loads of other stuff where I'm totally unable to go....
 

caverholic

New member
Helish tight in goatchurch is a good one or the oxbow squeeze in the top of swildons. Also if your doing primrose pot on srt it just adds to your problems but I notice a correlation here these places are all on mendip.

How about the upper series squeeze in giants hole in derbyshire through the sump near the pull through.

Should a squeeze be measured by the number of ribs that have been broken in it or how renouned it is or just by how small people have to be to get through?
 
E

epik

Guest
caverholic said:
I notice a correlation here these places are all on mendip.

Should a squeeze be measured by the number of ribs that have been broken in it or how renouned it is or just by how small people have to be to get through?

Well i have caved mostly on mendip so thats fine with me but as im in the peak some local ones to try would also be good! Also a few in otehr parts of UK is good also!

As for how to measure, im just looking for the tightest (i.e. smallest person) possible squeeze in an actual route in a cave. Basically i want a "take your skin off, pass your bones through and put yourself back together on the other side" type squeeze :)
 
M

MSD

Guest
Obviously the difficulty of a squeeze depends on its context and not just the raw measurements. I had a struggle getting back through the Dialysis Machine in the Penyghent extensions, but I think being stiff with cold after hours of immersion in cold water had something to do with it.

Similarly no one part of Quaking Pot is maybe a record-breaker, but the total effect definitely makes this cave a very serious undertaking, particulary as many of the tightest bits are rifty sections where you continually struggle against gravity to keep yourself in the widest bit.

How does the impossible rift in Gingling Hole measure up? I took one look at this and decided it was indeed "impossible", but presumably some people can do it.

I've not done the cave, but the first pitch of Strans Gill has a wicked reputation. A vertical squeeze is different again and if like the Bastard Hole in Marble Sink it has a reasonable amount of water coming down, you are under considerable time pressure to get through as the water backs up!

Mark
 
E

epik

Guest
Stupot said:
I wouldnt say Lobster Pot is tight, it's just awkward as it's vertical

I would call the lobster pot large (for me - being only a 40" chest and very squeezable) but just incase any confusion i meant the passage passed the top of the lobster pot! tight squueze small chamber, tight squeeze and largish drop (rope helps especially on way back up!

Lots of good answers coming though so keep them coming!
 

graham

New member
MSD said:
... I've not done the cave, but the first pitch of Strans Gill has a wicked reputation...

Another I could do in my youth. Funnily enough I found the head of the next pitch nastier than the entrance
 
A

andymorgan

Guest
Hellish tight in Goatchurch is worth a try, I got stuck there and I'm not a salad dodger. I know people who are bigger than me have gone through it, so it was probably poor technique on my part.
There is also f***ing tight in Goatchurch between the boulder and water chamber that is for kids only!

Birthday squeeze and the bit above the lavatory pan in Swildons aren't tight to me :LOL:

The squeeze to the lower series in Pierre's Pot, is it the rift with the bolt at the top or is it below the rift?
 

Brains

Well-known member
I am told that Yoga Hole is exceptionally awkward, and to visit the end of Winnats Head Cave is not for the large of girth. I am afraid Pippikin Pot defeated me, so I didnt try these...

The photo of Colin Boothroyd in Race Against Time after mostly being removed from P5 definetly makes that one out to have been tight then, if not now
 

Katie

Active member
How about the upper series squeeze in giants hole in derbyshire through the sump near the pull through.
with ya on that one. It is good fun too, thru the sump then the squeeze.
Also about 3 on the way to where i dig :)
 

graham

New member
andymorgan said:
The squeeze to the lower series in Pierre's Pot, is it the rift with the bolt at the top or is it below the rift?

The crux is generally considered to be that rift owing to the lack of footholds on the return. The squeeze below isn't that bad IIRC
 
Any one done Iron Maiden Squeeze in Perryfoot Cave, that's meant to be tight. Parts of the next door cave, Dr Jackson's are meant to be pretty small as well.
 
Top