MJenkinson
Active member
NOTE: I wrote this initially for a diving forum so apologies for some of the text. I've had a few beers and can't face re-writing it!
A short trip report for you all involving some cave ?diving?. Unfortunately there are no pics, though AH147 (OoT) may have a couple from a previous visit. To my embarrassment, I don?t actually know what the access situation is so please check before having a go. You also end up getting changed in front of some houses so be discreet or else you could really affect the access.
I am naturally cautious person; I drive dive buddies nuts by asking about max depth, air limits etc. I drive my caving club batty by constantly asking the important question of ?will I fit?? ?is this a fat lads cave?? So in advance of this next dive I had bombarded OutofTest with a myriad of questions; ?how tight actually is this??, ?whats the viz like??, ?how are the lines?? and he was very patient in answering them all. However it?s a little difficult to judge someone?s perception of risk when he recently admitted to abseiling on 6mm cord??.
This cave required some fairly different kit config to my usual; no fins, no buoyancy, 3 litre cylinders (so so small to look at!) and no umbilical light ? just a wetsuit, wellies, helmet and harness. It?s a series of low bedding plain passage that have been dug through by a couple of cavers over many years, and exploration continues. Here is a link to a vid of the place but note they have dug it out a fair bit since. It should be fairly obvious in the video ( FYI the very end when he looks up is the airbell in the trip report below) but you WILL NOT get through this in backmount and I really would forget about team diving. The vid is of one of the original explorers during the initial digging hence the lump hammer and crowbar!
Bagshawe Resurgence 2008
Me and OoT met in Bradwell and pulled up by the cave. After a bit of a natter and relaxed kitting up we walked down to the stream and passed the outflow which was kicking out some serious water. You then climb up a short ladder and through a short , crouching height section of passage about half full of water to the dive base. And very comfortable it is complete with bench to sit on.
As usual, I asked OoT to go first as I like to be able to make a dignified retreat if I felt it was all a bit much. You climb down a ladder into the pool of water and I understood this went right down to the bottom of the 4.5m deep pit. However it stops maybe 2m metres from the bottom so you end up making a rather undignified drop of the bottom to the floor. It all felt very ?Siebe Gorman? walking around underwater! All I kept thinking was (between the thoughts of what the f**k am I doing here) ?imagine if my cave instructor from Mexico saw this behaviour. So much for neutral buoyancy and skilled fin kicks.
The line runs from the surface and under a low arch. When I first put my head in I immediately considered sacking it off because even though it?s not tight in a caving sense of the word, its low ? make no mistake , its intimidating. However the line is well laid and pretty sturdy and the viz, whilst not as clear as I hoped, was pretty good. I slowly crawled in and starting making my way along the passage which is full of boulders and cobbles. It opens up a little after the initial arch though you still spend a lot of time with at least a couple of parts of you in contact with the floor / roof / walls. There was a reasonable amount of clanging going on. The passage is apparently 30m long but it felt shorter due to the concentration and you eventually ascend a steep slope into a small airbell. OoT was waiting here for me and give me a bit of a ?well done and welcome to Bagshawe?. He mentioned that the viz was really good ahead and that I should go first but again I said I would rather deal with the lesser viz initially to get used to it. The next section is possible the most tricky bit.
You drop down a steep slope head first and immediately have to make a sharp left hand turn under an arch and then through a fairly snug section where I head to duck my head and look sideways to get my helmet through. This bit is only short though and I soon caught up with OoT who had kindly waited to make sure I got through. He indicated I was to go first and I decided to take him up on the offer.
Wow. I knew this cave was known for having pretty good viz but the scene in front of me was incredible. For those who have dived Holme Bank mine I can say the viz was better. Super clear with a hint of blue as far as my torches would reach. I tried my very best to preserve the viz by carefully puling and gliding through the passage which was about 1m high and really wide although still full of boulders. OoT had said it was bit snaggy and he was right, I kept catching various bits on the sharp rock including at one point my welly which was a bit awkward. I also kept trying to frog kick which is useless in wellies I can tell you.
You soon come to a line junction where I knew I had to go right, so after marking the out line I headed off quickly reaching the second junction. Again after marking it I headed off into the blue. The next bit is a bit awkward and the roof lowers requiring a bit of a wriggle though to find the biggest route but with the viz at it was this was no real issue. Soon enough I saw the mirrored surface of an airbell and pulled myself up and out onto the dry cave. The cave is frankly nothing to get excited about; its muddy and low and I really couldn?t be bothered having an explore.
We had a quick chat about gas margins (I had used 30 bar from each of my three litres to get here) as OoT wanted to have a look up another passage at one of the junctions. I said if I had suitable gas I would follow him and have a nosey as he wanted to lay some line. He ducked under and set off after which I gave him a couple of minutes and followed him back into the sump. The viz was disturbed but mainly in pockets through the narrower sections and so you kept breaking out into good viz. At the second junction I checked my line marker and turned right to have a look at the other passage. Within 2m I came to an almost immediate halt. The viz was pretty screwed and each time I tried to get into the passage I could feel it getting a bit snug ? I could have got through but it felt a bit too committing for me. I took a moment and elected to head out, I retrieved my marker and set off the for the airbell.
Its funny how your mind plays tricks on you as I was convinced that the way back too much longer and I started to think I had gone the wrong way. However I soon came to a section I recognised and my heart rate slowed.
The CDG have always said that dry caving experience counts, which I have always thought a bit daft; it?s a flooded hole ? diving is diving. However, there was one section where the passage bends left, narrows and then dips under an arch. Instinctively I wanted to just go straight at it staying horizontal but then I thought in a dry cave I would do this and then that so my back is bending the right way ? and I did and it worked. Being used to being in cave passage did help on this dive, being able to judge what you can fit through and how best to do it does make life easier.
After this ther is the slope up to the airbell and I pulled myself out of the water and waited for OoT. A few minutes later bubbles started to appear and his lights came into view. A minute later he was on the surface and we had a quick natter before I set of for the exit. A few minutes later of clanging and banging I ducked under the arch and floated / climbed up to the ladder before making my exit followed by OoT.
In the end, this is a really short dive; due to the depths my computer registered 2 dives of 8 minutes and 11 minutes (it was longer but the shallow depth kept resetting it) and a max depth of 3.5m. The dry cave is nothing special at all (NOTE - as far as divers are concerned, I am sure its interesting to cavers!) and the dive was done (for me) purely as a bit of a test and to gain some experience in smaller caves. The underwater sections are interesting if only to appreciate the efforts of those who dug through and the incredible viz. This was something that I have wanted to do for a while and OoT reckons it?s his favourite dive. It really is fun but make no mistake, it?s pretty far removed from Mexico / France / Florida cave diving. I reckon you would get through in a drysuit with 7 litre cylinders but I wouldn?t bother ? although it is very cold and both of us were shivering in the airbell.
I would like to point out that there is an active cave digging / diving project on the far side of the sumps and the lines have been laid very well, and are maintained, to allow this work to continue. If for some reason you wish to have a go please be careful of the lines as this is in effect someone?s project. I think the guys digging are from a Derbyshire caving club ? and they are all fricking nuts so best not annoy them ha!
Again, this is a trip with very little point; I didn?t explore anything, there are no real cave formations and the diving isn?t really diving. But hope you find it interesting.
A short trip report for you all involving some cave ?diving?. Unfortunately there are no pics, though AH147 (OoT) may have a couple from a previous visit. To my embarrassment, I don?t actually know what the access situation is so please check before having a go. You also end up getting changed in front of some houses so be discreet or else you could really affect the access.
I am naturally cautious person; I drive dive buddies nuts by asking about max depth, air limits etc. I drive my caving club batty by constantly asking the important question of ?will I fit?? ?is this a fat lads cave?? So in advance of this next dive I had bombarded OutofTest with a myriad of questions; ?how tight actually is this??, ?whats the viz like??, ?how are the lines?? and he was very patient in answering them all. However it?s a little difficult to judge someone?s perception of risk when he recently admitted to abseiling on 6mm cord??.
This cave required some fairly different kit config to my usual; no fins, no buoyancy, 3 litre cylinders (so so small to look at!) and no umbilical light ? just a wetsuit, wellies, helmet and harness. It?s a series of low bedding plain passage that have been dug through by a couple of cavers over many years, and exploration continues. Here is a link to a vid of the place but note they have dug it out a fair bit since. It should be fairly obvious in the video ( FYI the very end when he looks up is the airbell in the trip report below) but you WILL NOT get through this in backmount and I really would forget about team diving. The vid is of one of the original explorers during the initial digging hence the lump hammer and crowbar!
Bagshawe Resurgence 2008
Me and OoT met in Bradwell and pulled up by the cave. After a bit of a natter and relaxed kitting up we walked down to the stream and passed the outflow which was kicking out some serious water. You then climb up a short ladder and through a short , crouching height section of passage about half full of water to the dive base. And very comfortable it is complete with bench to sit on.
As usual, I asked OoT to go first as I like to be able to make a dignified retreat if I felt it was all a bit much. You climb down a ladder into the pool of water and I understood this went right down to the bottom of the 4.5m deep pit. However it stops maybe 2m metres from the bottom so you end up making a rather undignified drop of the bottom to the floor. It all felt very ?Siebe Gorman? walking around underwater! All I kept thinking was (between the thoughts of what the f**k am I doing here) ?imagine if my cave instructor from Mexico saw this behaviour. So much for neutral buoyancy and skilled fin kicks.
The line runs from the surface and under a low arch. When I first put my head in I immediately considered sacking it off because even though it?s not tight in a caving sense of the word, its low ? make no mistake , its intimidating. However the line is well laid and pretty sturdy and the viz, whilst not as clear as I hoped, was pretty good. I slowly crawled in and starting making my way along the passage which is full of boulders and cobbles. It opens up a little after the initial arch though you still spend a lot of time with at least a couple of parts of you in contact with the floor / roof / walls. There was a reasonable amount of clanging going on. The passage is apparently 30m long but it felt shorter due to the concentration and you eventually ascend a steep slope into a small airbell. OoT was waiting here for me and give me a bit of a ?well done and welcome to Bagshawe?. He mentioned that the viz was really good ahead and that I should go first but again I said I would rather deal with the lesser viz initially to get used to it. The next section is possible the most tricky bit.
You drop down a steep slope head first and immediately have to make a sharp left hand turn under an arch and then through a fairly snug section where I head to duck my head and look sideways to get my helmet through. This bit is only short though and I soon caught up with OoT who had kindly waited to make sure I got through. He indicated I was to go first and I decided to take him up on the offer.
Wow. I knew this cave was known for having pretty good viz but the scene in front of me was incredible. For those who have dived Holme Bank mine I can say the viz was better. Super clear with a hint of blue as far as my torches would reach. I tried my very best to preserve the viz by carefully puling and gliding through the passage which was about 1m high and really wide although still full of boulders. OoT had said it was bit snaggy and he was right, I kept catching various bits on the sharp rock including at one point my welly which was a bit awkward. I also kept trying to frog kick which is useless in wellies I can tell you.
You soon come to a line junction where I knew I had to go right, so after marking the out line I headed off quickly reaching the second junction. Again after marking it I headed off into the blue. The next bit is a bit awkward and the roof lowers requiring a bit of a wriggle though to find the biggest route but with the viz at it was this was no real issue. Soon enough I saw the mirrored surface of an airbell and pulled myself up and out onto the dry cave. The cave is frankly nothing to get excited about; its muddy and low and I really couldn?t be bothered having an explore.
We had a quick chat about gas margins (I had used 30 bar from each of my three litres to get here) as OoT wanted to have a look up another passage at one of the junctions. I said if I had suitable gas I would follow him and have a nosey as he wanted to lay some line. He ducked under and set off after which I gave him a couple of minutes and followed him back into the sump. The viz was disturbed but mainly in pockets through the narrower sections and so you kept breaking out into good viz. At the second junction I checked my line marker and turned right to have a look at the other passage. Within 2m I came to an almost immediate halt. The viz was pretty screwed and each time I tried to get into the passage I could feel it getting a bit snug ? I could have got through but it felt a bit too committing for me. I took a moment and elected to head out, I retrieved my marker and set off the for the airbell.
Its funny how your mind plays tricks on you as I was convinced that the way back too much longer and I started to think I had gone the wrong way. However I soon came to a section I recognised and my heart rate slowed.
The CDG have always said that dry caving experience counts, which I have always thought a bit daft; it?s a flooded hole ? diving is diving. However, there was one section where the passage bends left, narrows and then dips under an arch. Instinctively I wanted to just go straight at it staying horizontal but then I thought in a dry cave I would do this and then that so my back is bending the right way ? and I did and it worked. Being used to being in cave passage did help on this dive, being able to judge what you can fit through and how best to do it does make life easier.
After this ther is the slope up to the airbell and I pulled myself out of the water and waited for OoT. A few minutes later bubbles started to appear and his lights came into view. A minute later he was on the surface and we had a quick natter before I set of for the exit. A few minutes later of clanging and banging I ducked under the arch and floated / climbed up to the ladder before making my exit followed by OoT.
In the end, this is a really short dive; due to the depths my computer registered 2 dives of 8 minutes and 11 minutes (it was longer but the shallow depth kept resetting it) and a max depth of 3.5m. The dry cave is nothing special at all (NOTE - as far as divers are concerned, I am sure its interesting to cavers!) and the dive was done (for me) purely as a bit of a test and to gain some experience in smaller caves. The underwater sections are interesting if only to appreciate the efforts of those who dug through and the incredible viz. This was something that I have wanted to do for a while and OoT reckons it?s his favourite dive. It really is fun but make no mistake, it?s pretty far removed from Mexico / France / Florida cave diving. I reckon you would get through in a drysuit with 7 litre cylinders but I wouldn?t bother ? although it is very cold and both of us were shivering in the airbell.
I would like to point out that there is an active cave digging / diving project on the far side of the sumps and the lines have been laid very well, and are maintained, to allow this work to continue. If for some reason you wish to have a go please be careful of the lines as this is in effect someone?s project. I think the guys digging are from a Derbyshire caving club ? and they are all fricking nuts so best not annoy them ha!
Again, this is a trip with very little point; I didn?t explore anything, there are no real cave formations and the diving isn?t really diving. But hope you find it interesting.
