Penguin
New member
Black Burn Cave on Garron Point in County Antrim is an interesting and usual cave developed in the Ulster White Limestone (chalk) that underlies the basalt of the Antrim plateau. It has great potential, and diving in the 1980s led to c. 300m of streamway through 4 sumps to a 5th sump. In the last few years the Shannon Group have been actively digging at the end of the dry cave to try to get back to sump 1 to continue exploration following a collapse a year or so after the dives took place. The cave is flood prone, and the wet weather in the latter half of last year stopped us digging. Yesterday (19-02-12) Aileen and myself took a short trip to the cave to see it in flood...
Black Burn waterfall was spectacular (Aileen for scale), and the river was flowing the length of the gorge...normally the river sinks in the pool at the base of the waterfall.
Some new trees had fallen into the gorge or been washed in by floods...
Here's Aileen where the gorge narrows at the upper entrance...there are three entrances, of varying degrees of difficulty.
Looking down the upper entrance...taken from a false floor which was gradually crumbling. This large rift descends over several awkward climbs (now waterfalls) to the main passage.
Because of the waterfalls on the climbs we elected to try the usual, easiest, entrance. Aileen on her way out of the upper entrance traversing above the water...
The other two entrances are lower down in the gorge in this area (on the left side)...
The usual, lowest, entrance was completely blocked and after about 3/4 of an hour we manage to pull out the large tree trunk jammed in it (of course we'd forgotten to bring tools for this likely event)...Aileen admiring our handiwork after we'd re-cleared it. Flood debris here is to be expected.
Once in the entrance it became apparent that the trip was going to be quite sporting. We had to juke around this waterfall cascading over Petie's Climb (entering from the tight tube which leads to the middle entrance)...
The water flowed off to the left and through the floor, leaving the way to the second climb, and the second climb, dry. Me at the top of the second climb...
Aileen climbing down the second climb. The stream was flowing across the floor of the aven/chamber below.
Aileen further down the second climb...
Aileen looking down to the streamway...normally this whole upper section of the cave is dry.
The water from Petie's Climb was entering from a nice waterfall in the parallel pot upstream of the second climb. Aileen getting wet...
Following the water downstream...this is the beginning of c. 100m of horizontal passageway that leads to our dig.
We reached the expected flood sump about 20m downstream of the second climb...some water was entering from the aven above this...
Climbing out on the second climb...
Aileen at the top of the second climb...
Thanks to Bus for lending his Scurion to provide some extra light, and Aileen for modelling in over 170 photos...
Penguin.
Black Burn waterfall was spectacular (Aileen for scale), and the river was flowing the length of the gorge...normally the river sinks in the pool at the base of the waterfall.
Some new trees had fallen into the gorge or been washed in by floods...
Here's Aileen where the gorge narrows at the upper entrance...there are three entrances, of varying degrees of difficulty.
Looking down the upper entrance...taken from a false floor which was gradually crumbling. This large rift descends over several awkward climbs (now waterfalls) to the main passage.
Because of the waterfalls on the climbs we elected to try the usual, easiest, entrance. Aileen on her way out of the upper entrance traversing above the water...
The other two entrances are lower down in the gorge in this area (on the left side)...
The usual, lowest, entrance was completely blocked and after about 3/4 of an hour we manage to pull out the large tree trunk jammed in it (of course we'd forgotten to bring tools for this likely event)...Aileen admiring our handiwork after we'd re-cleared it. Flood debris here is to be expected.
Once in the entrance it became apparent that the trip was going to be quite sporting. We had to juke around this waterfall cascading over Petie's Climb (entering from the tight tube which leads to the middle entrance)...
The water flowed off to the left and through the floor, leaving the way to the second climb, and the second climb, dry. Me at the top of the second climb...
Aileen climbing down the second climb. The stream was flowing across the floor of the aven/chamber below.
Aileen further down the second climb...
Aileen looking down to the streamway...normally this whole upper section of the cave is dry.
The water from Petie's Climb was entering from a nice waterfall in the parallel pot upstream of the second climb. Aileen getting wet...
Following the water downstream...this is the beginning of c. 100m of horizontal passageway that leads to our dig.
We reached the expected flood sump about 20m downstream of the second climb...some water was entering from the aven above this...
Climbing out on the second climb...
Aileen at the top of the second climb...
Thanks to Bus for lending his Scurion to provide some extra light, and Aileen for modelling in over 170 photos...
Penguin.
