Faggergill Mine Cave

C.Raven

Member
I have just been reading the Swaledale section of vol 2 of Caves and Karst of the Yorkshire Dales and was surprised about the size and amount of passage in Faggergill Mine Cave does anyone know if there is any access to this site.
 

Chunks

New member
I'm led to believe it's very limited (from a respectable source), never tried gaining access even a good few years back when I first heard how significant it was, despite it sounding very interesting. The mere fact that so little is known about such a sizeable system and practically nothing published is telling. I'd like to think those behind the exploration will be more open now that details have, partly, been made public.  :doubt:
 

JAA

Active member
Access is very limited indeed unless you belong to the select group favorited by the explorers who re located it, and all entrances are locked and gated. A project for CNCC access officer but sadly I would be amazed if anyone makes any headway here! Very disappointing from a personal perspective as my distant relatives mined there and owned the entrance for a while! I've long since given up trying to get in by asking and removing the gate would be awkward..  :cautious: o_O
 

Beardy

Member
Yes a sorry state of affairs for the second longest cave system in the dales.  Who controls access? Is it still the Earby Mines Research Group? 

Sent from my GT-I8190N using Tapatalk

 

ChrisJC

Well-known member
It is still Earby Mines who control access. It is primarily seen as a mine that happens to have some cave in it.
As a mine, the access control has resulted in a spectacularly well preserved mine, particularly with regard to the artifacts.
True scholars of mining heritage with the right personal contacts may be able to visit.

Why not contact the authors of that chapter in the book?

Chris.
 

Chunks

New member
ChrisJC said:
It is primarily seen as a mine that happens to have some cave in it.
A few hundred metres might be considered 'some', not many kilometres.  ::)

True scholars of mining heritage with the right personal contacts may be able to visit.
As eluded to above, a very privileged few. A rather sad state of affairs if you ask me.

Why not contact the authors of that chapter in the book?
I don't recall seeing contact details in the book, so that's rather an unhelpful and cheap comment.
 

ChrisJC

Well-known member
Chunks said:
Why not contact the authors of that chapter in the book?
I don't recall seeing contact details in the book, so that's rather an unhelpful and cheap comment.
Have you actually tried to find these people? The caving community is very small.......
Are you in any clubs? Have you asked around?
How much more helpful should I be?

Chris.
 

Pitlamp

Well-known member
It's almost always easily possible to make contact with people in the caving community if you're willing to make just a little effort.

I think your comments are extremely helpful Chris - the fact that you even spared the time to try to help should foster gratitude.)
 

JAA

Active member
The folks involved are certainly contactable. I have contact details myself but I'm not prepared to give them out without the permissions of those involved but with reasonable "Google fu" and an ask about for active Swaledale Cavers should sort you out.

I find it disappointing personally that they've taken the view that doing some digging has made them self appointed guardians who are free to grant or refuse permission as the whim takes them and refuse entry to those not "in the know".

I appreciate that effort goes into any major discovery but for me part of that is then disseminating information on what we've found to the general caving world when appropriate. The faggergill stuff isn't new, it's been explored for years, and still it's explorers find new bits almost every time.

And yes there may be important artifacts to consider. Consider a well decorated cave as requiring the same level of care and put in place similar conservation measures perhaps?

When Eli Simpson "gated" Lancs to protect their discovery for the select few, people didn't accept that as just one of those things and in hindsight I think most consider it to be a rather selfish move. I don't see this as much different to be honest. People are naturally going to be interested and Id like to think that some form of more general access could move forward in future, probably with a leader system which personally I'd have no problem with as a way of mitigating the risk to artefacts.

A locked gate and an aura of mystery doesn't still well with me for something in the northern dales but that's a personal view obviously and there's a little bit of personality clash on a personal level in the mix there so make of it what you will

J
 

Chunks

New member
I'd agree with the above, gated, pretty much no access and an aura of mystery does not sit well with me either, I think the same applies to a lot of other cavers/mine-explorers too.

As for comments being helpful; I'm sorry but if everyone started pestering the authors of that chapter they would no doubt get p'd off - is one of the others "part of the in-crowd"? I'm more than capable of using Google, know a number of people in the caving world that could point me in the right direction, but should I have to, would it even be worth it? It's been made blatantly clear that only those "in the know", "true scholars" or "buddies" of the explorers will get in - a very disappointing state of affairs.

And yes, I'm in a couple of clubs, I did ask someone in one of those clubs, who basically said he was looking in to it (this was a few years back). It would appear he's still looking in to it as I've not heard anything, so the best I can say is that comments about who to contact are unhelpful. I'm not going to reveal the persons name, but he is well known and respected, so if he can't gain ground then what hope of anyone else.
 

Peter Burgess

New member
I find it easier to arrange trips to places that are heavily managed if I haven't bleated all over the internet beforehand about how hard it is and how unfair it is. But maybe that's just me.
 

Chunks

New member
Peter Burgess said:
I find it easier to arrange trips to places that are heavily managed if I haven't bleated all over the internet beforehand about how hard it is and how unfair it is. But maybe that's just me.
This is probably the first time it's been "bleated all over the internet" and people have tried to gain access well before this happened and failed. Heavily managed - meaning a very select few, I guess those words might work, at a push. Maybe the more that people become aware of this issue the better, so maybe, just maybe, the internet might help. Who knows.

I don't like smug people posting on issues they don't know the background too, but maybe that's just me.
 

JAA

Active member
I imagine a polite enquiry to members of the moldywarps speleological group may pay dividends as some of their members have been active in this project.

I still think my original points stand and I'm personally not willing to display the required level of fawning to get invited because frankly I don't feel I should have to. People are more than welcome to join me on any projects I have and if they're interested then I've no problem with people getting involved. As someone who's lived within a mile of faggergill for the past 34 years I find it irksome that it's gated but as has been pointed out, complaints on here won't alter that. Perhaps time will.
 

Peter Burgess

New member
I don't make personal comments. But the overall impression I get reading this topic is that somewhere in the interactions between the various parties, there is an attitude problem.
 

JAA

Active member
Ok, thanks for the reply Peter. I think you're probably right. Locally it's quite an emotive issue with people (and I include myself!) in fairly entrenched positions on it.
 

RobinGriffiths

Well-known member
Not having access to the BCRA book as it's being published online (but looking forward to it's hard copy release), would be interested in a synopsis of the mine/cave should anyone spare the time to do so.

Robin
 

Blakethwaite

New member
It's a gated lead mine which intersects a cave system. Much like the various other lead mines thereabouts which also intersect cave systems which despite being without access restrictions still don't get visited a great deal. Presumably because they are more than twenty minutes away from Inglesport and you can't do a through trip.

Actually, that's not entirely true. One of them does get a few visitors. It used to have loads of miners clog prints through lengthy sections of it but they've largely gone now as people weren't troubling themselves not to stand on them despite the polite notice in place asking them not to do so.
 
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