Off down to yorkshire this weekend, not been caving for a while and was wondering what you thought the best wet weather trip in the dales was, as it looks like being a wet weekend.
Only thing is it's got to be a non ease-gill trip, and not require a permit (ish, if you get what i mean).
Your suggestions please, and hopefully i wont have been there before!

TUBBY TWO (cool effect!).

tt.

Pub Pot - usually a good choice, plenty of activity in a short space.. :roll:

How about Bar or even Flood Entrance Pot (and going for a wander at the bottom) - kinda needs a phone call to the estate but from what I gather of previous posts they are ok about next day permits..

Rift Pot (Allotment) - never done but it sounds dry! Juniper Gulf is ok but wet and and draughty at the bottom of big pitch.. Again permission needed from Ingy estate.. Might be closed season - would need to check..

Rowten Pot - bit spray lashed near the bottom but gives a pleasant srt trip.
Aquamole Pot - someone told me it was ok in damp weather - just needed all deviations on the big pitch (anyone know for sure?)

Large Pot - (not the vertical trip as that does get wet at the bottom) I would have thought the Secret Seven/Colosus route would be ok in wet weather??

Stretching things you could do a Sell Gill exchange..
If its really bad then Pikedaw Calamine Caverns is different!

Alright tt,

It's really not that wet over here at the moment, so I imagine most of the standard SRT trips would be OK, unless it starts getting a bit silly over the next couple of days.

Anyway, my reccomendations would be:

Knock Fell Caverns - Excellent, and completely floodproof. Devis Hole mine caves in Swaledale are similar, and closer, but much less interesting imo.

Dissappointment Pot - A really good trip, but probably not ideal if it really pelts it down.

Coniston Copper Mines - A bit out of the way, but definitely worth a trip.

George.

Got the same problem myself - taking a group of mixed experience (including no experience) for a Dales weekend. Proabably go for the multiple short trips option on Saturday - maybe Great Douk and Sunset, or Calf Holes and the adjacent caves. Forecast isn't too bad currently for Saturday but Sunday may be a problem. Bullpot of the Witches is another option for wet weather - and Mistral into Pippikin is OK.

Went down Juniper Gulf on saturday, good trip, plenty of the wet stuff down there, good but not sure its the best vertical cave in the dales like selected caves said? Also though the alternative dry entrance needed something more like 55m instead of 45m, ended up doing some inventive rigging to get to the floor.
Went over to wharfedale saturday, did hagg gill pot which was a great little trip. Had a look at crook gill nr cray for a bit of alternative climbing entertainment, but was far too green and aqueous for me!

tt.

tubby two said:

Went down Juniper Gulf on saturday, good trip, plenty of the wet stuff down there, good but not sure its the best vertical cave in the dales like selected caves said? Also though the alternative dry entrance needed something more like 55m instead of 45m, ended up doing some inventive rigging to get to the floor.
Went over to wharfedale saturday, did hagg gill pot which was a great little trip. Had a look at crook gill nr cray for a bit of alternative climbing entertainment, but was far too green and aqueous for me!

tt.

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Hagg gill is a fab cave isn't it?

Took my group to Calf Holes, Birkwith and Old Ing on Saturday. Awesome water but everything was passable with considerable care. Also had a quick look down the new cave next to the path to Old Ing.

Questions: Has anyone done this cave and if so what was it like? And has anyone done the sump bypass in Old Ing? Where does it start? Is it the tight bedding crawl in the roof about 30 metres from the sump?

Did Wretched Rabbit on Sunday and went to Gypsum Caverns - superb place.

good but not sure its the best vertical cave in the dales like selected caves said

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Its a fine place but I wouldn't say the best either, depends what you like I guess.

Hagg gill is a fab cave isn't it?

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I'd agree with that!

I did Cherry Tree Hole on Saturday - which is another wet weather option.

Questions: Has anyone done this cave and if so what was it like? And has anyone done the sump bypass in Old Ing? Where does it start? Is it the tight bedding crawl in the roof about 30 metres from the sump?

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Don't know about new cave and not been to Old Ing (shameful to admit that!) - according to the book its just after a chamber/sharp left - a 'tortuous muddy roof bedding' - sounds like fun!

Yeah, Hagg gill was brilliant . There was a rope hanging down the rift next to the downstream sump which we climbed that went in to a small roof passage heading over the top of the sump, we didnt go very far as one of our group had headed out with a blister from walking up to the allotment so we didnt want to be too long. Does anyone know where the passage goes? does it bypass the sump? The cvae is too new to be in NC1 so i have no idea how long it is?


And the old ing bypass is up in the roof where you said, tight bedding going off right thats quite hard to find. Its not too tight, i last went through with some not too small guys and they managed it, though were rather vocal at times! No problem to a mendip man though. It takes you in to dismal hill which has an excellent in-situ assault course type thing which i'm told was rigged by the army. There are a few waterfalls to climb down then a canal which used to have scaffold to balance across but last time i was there it had gone and you had to swim, only about 5m. You need to rig dismal hill, about 10m ladder i think? to get out but it's a wicked trip and well worth doing, good for freshers after calf holes.


Speaking of old ing, has anyone dived the sumps, i'm told they are alright free dives?

tt.

What about the new entrance on the opposite side of the footpath to Old Ing that Andy was asking about? I understand it goes more or less straight down to the Leeds-Liverpool Canal and that there is then an exciting traverse along to Old Ing/Dismal Hill - is this the traverse you (tubby2) were talking about, or is it another?

If Mr Sparrow means the entrance to dismal hill then yes, but there is another alternative to old ing thats meant to be proper tight, though i've never been in it.

The entrance to dismal hill is on the right of the track with a wooden board over it, next to a small boulder, if you lift the lid a drum lined top to the shaft has two bits of rope to rig from. Its about halfway between the stile at the end of the track you park on and old ing itself.

And it would match your description, dropping into a canal/ streamwaY, upstream to traverses and downstream to.... well, dunno, never been very far downstream.

tt.

The entrance to dismal hill is on the right of the track with a wooden board over it, next to a small boulder, if you lift the lid a drum lined top to the shaft has two bits of rope to rig from. Its about halfway between the stile at the end of the track you park on and old ing itself.

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Now that matches what I assumed Andy was talking about when he said 'new cave', so I reckon you've answered both his questions. Easily visible from the path, on the right as you head towards Old Ing. It wasn't there when I started caving (which wasn't long ago)

(The original Dismal Hill entrance according to Northern Caves: 'Entrance, in a small rocky shakehole to the S side of Dismal Hill, is a low bedding plane for 4.5m to a 3m climb followed immediately by a second climb of 3.6m'. There follows a good deal of crawling before finally emerging at roof level in a large stream passage.')

this thread was really usefull on monday. I dont know the dales that well so remembered this thread. Spotted that Juniper Gulf was OK for wet weather and off we went - fabulous trip.

I have never seen so much water - most of the valley was flooded below and the stream was in full speight.

Marvellous.

kay said:

What about the new entrance on the opposite side of the footpath to Old Ing that Andy was asking about? I understand it goes more or less straight down to the Leeds-Liverpool Canal and that there is then an exciting traverse along to Old Ing/Dismal Hill - is this the traverse you (tubby2) were talking about, or is it another?

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This entrance has now been blocked by a very large boulder, don't know why though.