Nookey Hole

tim.rose2

Active member
Two days, two breakthroughs...
The first was in Persil (see other thread).
After our day in Persil and a bit of kit cleaning (it was pretty grim) I met Mike for some celebratory fish and chips and an evening wander.  The intention was to have a look at the entrances to Neddyfields Rift (still not properly explored due to the potential of death) and Emergries Rift to see if we fancied either, or both on the Sunday.  As it turns out we chose neither in the end!  We also decided to have a poke around the nearby disused quarries.  Although I've done this before, another pair of eyes can only help and I've always though this part of the island was bizarrely void of cave.  Mike spotted a surface feature which looked like a blocked rift.  Off we trotted to have a look - I instantly dismissed it as full of mud and pointless.  Mike however gets his phone out and pokes it down a hole and declares there's cave to be found!
Sunday morning we returned with sufficient kit to remove the boulders / mud blocking the entrance to see what lies below.  Initially we removed the bare minimum to fit in and discovered around 5 m of rift approx. 70 cm wide which ended at a choke.  Another hour or so was then necessary to make the entrance a sensible size and more importantly safe (ish).  Three drill batteries and multiple uses of the plug and feathers and we were ready to properly assess inside the cave. 
Naturally we decided to start hacking away at the infill causing the choke with a hammer and crowbar.  I'd guess an hour passed and then Mike declared 'it's massive' beyond the boulder.  Just a little more to clear and we'd be through.  Turns out mine and Mike's definition of massive varies a tad but most importantly it was 'big enough' and continued.  After a short distance the crawl broke out into a large section of rift a few metres long ending at another choke.  This was where we left it for the day.  In total I'd estimate our new cave was around 30 m in length.  There's certain potential for more by digging the terminal choke.  Given the cave is found at The Nook, we decided on the obvious name of Nookey Hole.

As always some pictures:

The entrance:
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The initially found rift:
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Pokey, pokey time:
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And then we were through:
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It's massive.  Hmmm:
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Terminal rift:
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A few danglies:
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PeteHall

Moderator
tim.rose2 said:
Mike spotted a surface feature which looked like a blocked rift.  Off we trotted to have a look - I instantly dismissed it as full of mud and pointless.  Mike however gets his phone out and pokes it down a hole and declares there's cave to be found!

He's certainly got an eye for new caves!

Good effort and good name by the way ;)
 

tim.rose2

Active member
So for the truth about Nookey Hole...
Since posting about this site 4 weeks ago we've had another 3 trips into Nookey Hole to check out the end, enlarge a few bits, conduct a survey and do some making safe before revealing more about the cave.  The boring bit - the survey makes the cave 24 m long ending at a choke which none of us think is worth poking, particularly as it's very close to the surface.  The more exciting bit; Nookey Hole is a top entrance to Red Door Tunnel found at the base of the cliff below.  The connecting pitch is 26 m and the first through trip was completed yesterday by a group of 5 of us.  Obviously it's a short trip but we all agreed a fine addition to the underground world of Portland. 

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If anybody wants further information PM me.
 

tim.rose2

Active member
Fantastic opportunity to be the next bitch of Nookey Hole. 
We're offering a 1 year contract with interviews held on 14th March. 
The successful applicant must be an excellent communicator, used to operating in the dark, good on your knees and comfortable in a harness. 
Previous experience with a shaft desirable but not essential.
 
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