Cherry Tree Hole TR

adamski555

New member
Todays plan for the last trip of the was to be Wretched rabbit ,but at the last minute we choose cherry tree hole.An early start had us driving through a deserted malham.We called in at Darnbrook Farm to ask permission .After a quick change in the cold morning air  we set off to the cave we managed to go straight to it as i have been to the entrance before.We rigged the entrance with a ladder and abbed down we set off down  Crossover passage and on to Main Junction.On arrival here we decided to head up Far Stream Passage ,on the way we came across a tricky waterfall which was over come by some bridging .Next was the main reason we chose to go Cherry tree Hole the duck as i had not done this before.Grrr it was cold .We carried on to Auroa Hall which has some nice formations in it.From here we returned to Main Junction and went up South Stream Junction into Large Chamber from here the route was not so obvious so we turned for home.The entrance pitch was soon reached and we climbed up to a cold raw winters day.A quick walk back down saw as i warm clothes .It took all the journey home for my feet to warm up.A great trip down a great cave.
PS Goes any body know were the water resurges  from Cherry Tree Hole.
 

graham

New member
CHERRY TREE HOLE - explored 1960: Length 1.25km.

This system has two streamways that were initially thought to unite and make their way to a downstream sump. However temperature recordings suggest that the North Passage finds a different route and possibly a different rising from the South Passage stream. A possibility is that South Passage water goes direct to Cowside Beck and the North Passage water goes to Thoragill Cave .

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Pitlamp

Well-known member
H'm - Graham's information reveals how much is NOT known about the drainage of that part of the fell.

The original test was performed by the Brindles et al several decades ago - I understand that the tracer was injected into the stream on the surface, not into any of the underground streams. As far as I'm aware the tracer came out of a rising in the valley bottom on stream left down valley from what Northern Caves describes as "Cowside Beck Flood Rising". This Cherry Tree Rising has been explored in recent years (by diving) by Rupert Skorupka for a short distance to where it becomes too tight in bedrock. I believe that another group of well known Wharfedale-associated cavers has done some more hydrological work a few years ago but I don't think it was completed and I'm not aware of it having been published.

I don't think the destinations of the separate streams in the cave have ever really been sorted out. CTH is certainly high enough that Thoragill Cave could be a rising for one of the CTH underground streams. We were kindly given permission to go for a dive at Thoragill Cave this summer (which has been closed to cavers for a long while, understandably due to it being used as a water supply). We got to a place where it was too small in bedrock. We did a survey of Thoragill Cave which got published this Autumn in the CPC Record.

If you have a special interest in the hydrology of the area send me a PM and I'll try to help further.
 
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