Was climbing down there this weekend, specifically the cuttings (very polished, probably wont go back), now, there was a "cave" (and i use the term loosely) easily accessible from the ground, just ended with rockfall, however, there was another one, if you scrambled up with the aid of a rope tied round a boulder to around halfway up the "cliff" . There were many many many many birds perched above here, and with a clap or too, i managed to clear the majority. The slope I climbed down (now undergroundish) was compacted slightly slippy mud, and  the passage went down untill there was a hole type thing on the left/on the floor. I did not venture further, as I couldnt see what the drop was like (using some crappy head torch as I wasnt expecting to be going underground) and the floor was slippy slope. I then returned up the slope, slipping and sliding on mud then bird shit back into sunlight. Is this place worth visiting again, (with a decent light) or does it go no further?

cheers

Although Portland is largely composed of limestone there aren't any true karst caves that I'm aware of apart from small solution features.  The chances are that you've found a sea cave, some of which can be quite extensive but aren't really of huge interest to the majority of cavers.  Were you climbing on the coast?

Caves on Portland are rift caves, are they not? Where tectonic movements have opened up cracks in the rock. These can be quite extensive, but I have never visited the Portland caves.

http://www.uk-blue.com/Pages/caving.htm
One of several google hits, apparently some systems are over 1.5 miles long, and are both slip-rift type and vadose/phreatic...
There is a link to the Wessex site but that doesn't work.

Get or have a look at the book "The caves of the Isle of Portland" by Mike O'Conner and Nigel Graham by brilliant book with all caves and locations.

It's only a 20 minute drive for me to get there and have been in most of the easier caves, unfortunately the longer ones are ackward to get to like Sandy Hole and need a bit of preparation.

Blacknor Hole is inaccessable as it's SRT and the bolts have been cut off at the top of the cliff (unless you put your own in :-\).

I would love to have a go at some of the sea caves but the tides can get pretty lairy around there and I don't fancy getting swept out into the English Channel :-[.

It wasnt on the sea, it was at a place called the cuttings, on the path north from church ope cove, the cliffs north east of the museum (east coast), as seen on this map... (not the best i admit, and you can zoom in) http://www.weymouth-pictures.co.uk/dor/por/map/PortlandAttractionsMap.jpg

If that is any help. Any info on this would be appreciated (probably be going to portland sometime in the future, so wouldnt mind checking it out)

Rubber Duck said:

Blacknor Hole is inaccessable as it's SRT and the bolts have been cut off at the top of the cliff (unless you put your own in :-\).

Click to expand...

but it is  egressable from sandy 

dunny said:

It wasnt on the sea, it was at a place called the cuttings, on the path north from church ope cove, the cliffs north east of the museum (east coast), as seen on this map... (not the best i admit, and you can zoom in) http://www.weymouth-pictures.co.uk/dor/por/map/PortlandAttractionsMap.jpg

If that is any help. Any info on this would be appreciated (probably be going to portland sometime in the future, so wouldnt mind checking it out)

Click to expand...

I'll see what I can find out for you. Maybe even some photo's.

menacer said:

Rubber Duck said:

Blacknor Hole is inaccessable as it's SRT and the bolts have been cut off at the top of the cliff (unless you put your own in :-\).

Click to expand...

but it is  egressable from sandy 

Click to expand...

Indeed it is.....

cheers. It has obviously been explored before, (the handline to help you get up there is the give away).

http://www.geoffkirby.co.uk/Portland/700710/70071001.jpg

I am pretty sure this is the place where the cave is, at the top of the slope, left of the red lines.

Dunny,

I lived in Weymouth up to 1993, and spent a great deal of time caving on the island, including much exploration and survey work.  Though I visit less regularly now, I still keep an interest in the underground of Portland.

The cave you have seen in the Cuttings is Cherty Rift.  It is one of the mass movement (Gull Caves) which are common on Portland.  The caves form as the limestone shifts on the clays below, thus the caves are giant cracks.  Cherty Rift has (from memory) somewhere between 100 and 200m of passage and provides a moderately interesting sporting trip.

The Blacknor Hole/Arial/Sandy Hole system is indeed very long, I don't think anyone actually knows exactly how long as the survey has not been published to my knowledge - it is certainly longer than when the Wessex published their book as several discoveries have been made since.

There are significant karst caves on Portland, probably best described as Paleokarst as they are relics of teh landscape as it once was.  The vast majority of the passage in Blacknor/Sandy Hole is of very old fossil phreatic passages.

Many of the sea caves have been explored and described (included in the Wessex publication), and the tides can make things VERY exciting to visit them, particularly those on the far south part of the west coast.

The cliff top P hangers for Blacknor Hole were chopped by the residents of Blacknor Fort (who own the cliff top) due to the actions of sport climbers, and there is now a ban on climbing (at least from the cliff top) in the area around Blacknor Hole.  Putting your own bolts in without getting noticed would be difficult, and only likely to inflame access issues at present.  Blacknor Hole and Sandy Hole are linked, and it is perfectly possible to get into Blacknor from Sandy Hole.  However, please think carefully befor edoing so, as this will tend to drag the horrible mud up from Sandy Hole into the relatively pristine passages in the 1987 extensions of Blacknor.

cherty rift! Sounds good. Will have to take Duo next time and have a poke about.
thanks a lot for the info! 

AM excited now, as I'll be staying in Weymouth next week. Might make use of the excuse to bring my caving gear now!

Are there any issues regarding access to any of these caves? Wouldn't want to step on any toes while I'm clomping around in my wellies down there...

Brains said:

http://www.uk-blue.com/Pages/caving.htm
One of several google hits, apparently some systems are over 1.5 miles long, and are both slip-rift type and vadose/phreatic...
There is a link to the Wessex site but that doesn't work.

Click to expand...

That link is years out of date, and no contact details to let the webmaster know 

We still have some copies of the book mentioned on the website and in posts here. Cost ?6 +p&p

Coincidently this trip report posted today might interest you http://ukcaving.com/board/index.php/topic,6815.0.html

menacer said:

Rubber Duck said:

Blacknor Hole is inaccessable as it's SRT and the bolts have been cut off at the top of the cliff (unless you put your own in :-\).

Click to expand...

but it is  egressable from sandy 

Click to expand...

but this is NOT recommended as you are likely to damage the only decent formations in the system plus the route from Sandy is not obvious (been there and tried to find it once). Sandy now is difficult to enter and requires some climbing skills. Finally as others have pointed out Portland is a fossil karst area, heavily eroded and rent by tectonic activity which is what makes the Blacknor system so special. At some stage I will post some pics of Blacknor and Sandy on my web site when I have scanned the slides.

menacer said:

Rubber Duck said:

Blacknor Hole is inaccessable as it's SRT and the bolts have been cut off at the top of the cliff (unless you put your own in :-\).

Click to expand...

but it is  egressable from sandy 

Click to expand...

but please dont as you will muddy the pristene white walls of the upper cave.

I went to Portland a couple of years ago armed with the Wessex book.

The clutch went on the car and young T was violently sick from a dodgy pub meal - we didn't get underground 

Pics are on my web page at http://www.darkanddeep.co.uk/caving_dorset.asp