A_Northerner
Well-known member
For the more prosaic reader who just wants info on how to tackle this classic through trip - I'm going to write a how-to guide at the end of this report. Feel free to scroll to the end if that's all you're after, instead of my inane ramblings.
This trip has been on my long-list since I chickened out at the Connection's 50th Anniversary event in 2016. Big thanks to SUSS Members Leo and Helen who did the connection that weekend for the beta on how to tackle the ducks.
The Giants/Oxlow Connection seems to have little information available about how to tackle it. In preparation for the trip, we found minimal info beyond talking to friends who have done the connection a few times over the past decade or so. Because the info spreads by word-of-mouth, and the intervals between which people actually visit the Connection are so sparse, I think misinformation puts people off what is actually an incredibly enjoyable evening trip.
When the Connection was first made in 1966, barely a sentence was written about what came to be known as "The Chamber of Horrors". The SUSS report from the first ever tourist trip through the Connection (one week after EPC broke through in the opposite direction) describes it as "a low pool about 15ft long" alongside mentioning another benign pool you encounter right before CoH. I can't remember whether it was the great CDW (who assisted in the connection), or the great WBT (who carried out the first SUSS tourist trip) that told me they considered the passage between the two caves to be "largely a dry crawl" at the time. I counted myself amongst the people who have taken the trajectory of "dry crawl 50 years ago" to "partially/fully sumped passage nowadays" to mean the passage is slowly filling up with percolation and will no longer be passable in the future. Indeed, Reavis's video of the connection from 2014 shows the water level to be lower than that encountered by SUSS in both 2016 and 2018, continuing this trajectory. SUSS completed the through-trip in both those years despite the 3rd and final duck being fully sumped, basically by virtue of Leo having no sanctity for his own life and trusting that his ungloved fingers reaching airspace meant he could get his whole body through and breathe whatever lay beyond.
I digress - here I was with a free Sunday, a neoprene hood, two new CDG members who wanted introducing to Giants, and a really keen student to join me in checking the Connection out. After a swift Giants Round, we turned off at Poached Egg and allowed ourselves a minute to cool down, it was here that we left my CDG friends while we scouted the way through. The Connection is reached by taking the second grovelley crawl on the right side of Poached Egg, after which a couple of minutes of thrutchy low crawling through stagnant diesel-y pools leads to what is unmistakebly the Chamber of Horrors. I had the downlow on how to tackle each of the three ducks in turn: the first is long and straight with low airspace, possibly only lips out of the water; the Second is short and awkward, but with the most airspace; the Third you should expect to be sumped, but can be passed by pulling on a solid handhold in the airspace beyond. Boom. Done.
Leo and Helen also explained how to spot whether it was a go-er. Upon viewing the Connection I was sad to see that it was "a go-er": I could see the whole way through the first duck. It had a convenient face-shaped arch and was maybe an inch high at its apex. Jonah had rushed back to Poached Egg to get his hood so I took my helmet off, put my small light onto my hood, and settled into the duck to acclimatise.
I found the position of lying on my back, neck back, water lapping into my eyes with lips against limestone surprisingly non-panicking. "Damn, this means I'll probably have to do it". I awaited the comfort of Jonah's return before shuffling carefully through the duck, to prevent bow waves. I could have my eyes out of the water most of the time. I was soon in the passage beyond Duck 1, which is comfortable - you can get your whole head out of the water and turn it quite easily. I spotted Duck 2 ahead, and sloshed my way over. Duck 2 is awkward - you can see the airspace is plenty but you can't quite get at it. It's easy to lose the way on because you're focused on where the air is, and not where the passage goes. After a few attempts I gave it up and started backwards to see if Jonah could manage it. I found that returning feet-first through Duck 1 was tricky, because you have to tilt your head backwards to get your nose out and therefore can't see the way on down your body. Luckily I'm short enough that I could turn round entirely in the space between 1 and 2 and return head first, which was much more comfortable.
Jonah and I swapped places rather intimately, and I let him have a go. He managed Duck 1 with ease, shouted through that he was at #2. After a significant amount of sloshing he shouted that he was at #3 and it was sumped. Almost immediately after this I heard a jubilant whoop, confirming he had just full-sent Duck 3. I rushed into the passage, sculled through the first and reached the second. Jonah shouted through advice; keep your mouth in the airspace and move your body away from the airspace to pass through. Your neck is at an awkward angle the whole time if you're trying to keep the most airspace. With confidence you can just plough through and sod the airspace, but you're immediately at the Third (sumped) Duck and could overshoot. The space between Ducks 2 & 3 is very small, half of your body is still in the Second Duck while you're at the Third. Using the limited space available I turned to face the way on and couldn't see it. Sure as anything, it was sumped. I fumbled around in the Cadbury-brown water to figure out the passage shape. I could feel a way on, inching as close to the edge as I could, with my right arm outstretched. I couldn't feel airspace so I removed my glove to help feel the surface of the water, with my eyes fully submerged and my arm reaching ahead I could slap the water's surface beyond. Air! I waved my hand around for a bit to try and located the "bomber handhold" that Leo told me was the key to getting through. I grabbed something positive and Jonah confirmed it was the right one, with a quick pull I was on the other side.
Jonah and I cheered with joy. Though my joy was tempered by wondering how hard it would be to return, luckily the ducks are easier on the way back. I probably wouldn't recommend approaching from the Oxlow side though, as you'll likely be met with a sumped passage and no indication of how passable Ducks 2 & 1 are. Before we knew it we were beyond CoH and thrutching our way out to meet Nell and Jonny to continue our round trip. We exited the cave and vowed to return on a mid-week evening to complete the through trip.
Wednesday came and we'd recruited Toby and Tan to do the through trip. Toby and Jonah rigged Oxlow and left our 4 SRT kits at the top of Pilgrim's Way, returning on borrowed kits. Tan and I parked at the Oxlow layby just as the boys were walking back from Oxlow and we kitted up in gorgeous weather. We decided parking here, and having the longer walk to Giants in the warm daylight, was the best way to run the logistics. Unsure of the condition of the Oxlow Connection which usually requires digging, to allow for the potential of an hour or so's digging plus a potential dejected return trip out of Giant's, we set a generous callout of 4:30am; the time at which Will wakes up for his Tajiki lessons. We were hoping to make it out in time for last orders though.
We wandered over the hill to Giants, and entered the cave at 7pm. A bit of faff on Garlands while we shuttled 2 kits between 4 people, but we were soon in the Crabwalk before almost immediately climbing back up out of the Crabwalk to reach Poached Egg via the Windpipe. Jonah went first into the Connection, whilst I sat back and fettled my GoPro. I was halfway through giving Toby and Tan the explanation, tips, and tricks I outlined above when Tan said "oh, are there ducks?". It turns out she hadn't really had the trip explained to her - she was just told to turn up to Giants with a wetsuit and neoprene hood. Oh well, she was here now.
I turned the GoPro on and checked the time - 7:30pm, the possibility of food at the Peak Hotel was slim-to-nil but at this pace we would make last orders. I allowed Jonah a generous couple of minutes to pass all three ducks. His passage was unnervingly silent as he went through each one with the graceful composure of someone who had done this only 2 days ago. He shouted that he was through, I got into the first duck with helmet in one hand and GoPro pointing towards my face with the other. I was less than a metre into it when Toby shouted "Are you through yet!?", clearly he wasn't giving me the generous time allowance that I'd given Jonah. Not being in the physical or mental position to put up with any of Toby's shit I shouted "I can't hear a fucking word you're saying mate" and carried on. Going through the second time was a breeze. Knowing the way to approach each one, how long they are, and having the confidence of knowing the passage beyond makes the whole thing so much easier and really quite exciting.
I reached the far side of Duck 3 and pointed my GoPro back towards the Ducks, shouting Toby through. He found the first one easy, then thought he had done the third when he was through the second and became confused as to where the way on was. I told him to reach through for the handhold, and with a couple of attempts he was through. Finally, despite being the least prepared for the ordeal, Tan breezed through all three with ease. We were all on the other side.
Trip Dates: Sun 6/5/25 + Wed 9/5/25
Members: Jack, Jonah, Nell, Jonny (Sunday day)/Jack, Tan, Toby, Jonah (Wednesday night)This trip has been on my long-list since I chickened out at the Connection's 50th Anniversary event in 2016. Big thanks to SUSS Members Leo and Helen who did the connection that weekend for the beta on how to tackle the ducks.
The Giants/Oxlow Connection seems to have little information available about how to tackle it. In preparation for the trip, we found minimal info beyond talking to friends who have done the connection a few times over the past decade or so. Because the info spreads by word-of-mouth, and the intervals between which people actually visit the Connection are so sparse, I think misinformation puts people off what is actually an incredibly enjoyable evening trip.
When the Connection was first made in 1966, barely a sentence was written about what came to be known as "The Chamber of Horrors". The SUSS report from the first ever tourist trip through the Connection (one week after EPC broke through in the opposite direction) describes it as "a low pool about 15ft long" alongside mentioning another benign pool you encounter right before CoH. I can't remember whether it was the great CDW (who assisted in the connection), or the great WBT (who carried out the first SUSS tourist trip) that told me they considered the passage between the two caves to be "largely a dry crawl" at the time. I counted myself amongst the people who have taken the trajectory of "dry crawl 50 years ago" to "partially/fully sumped passage nowadays" to mean the passage is slowly filling up with percolation and will no longer be passable in the future. Indeed, Reavis's video of the connection from 2014 shows the water level to be lower than that encountered by SUSS in both 2016 and 2018, continuing this trajectory. SUSS completed the through-trip in both those years despite the 3rd and final duck being fully sumped, basically by virtue of Leo having no sanctity for his own life and trusting that his ungloved fingers reaching airspace meant he could get his whole body through and breathe whatever lay beyond.
I digress - here I was with a free Sunday, a neoprene hood, two new CDG members who wanted introducing to Giants, and a really keen student to join me in checking the Connection out. After a swift Giants Round, we turned off at Poached Egg and allowed ourselves a minute to cool down, it was here that we left my CDG friends while we scouted the way through. The Connection is reached by taking the second grovelley crawl on the right side of Poached Egg, after which a couple of minutes of thrutchy low crawling through stagnant diesel-y pools leads to what is unmistakebly the Chamber of Horrors. I had the downlow on how to tackle each of the three ducks in turn: the first is long and straight with low airspace, possibly only lips out of the water; the Second is short and awkward, but with the most airspace; the Third you should expect to be sumped, but can be passed by pulling on a solid handhold in the airspace beyond. Boom. Done.
Leo and Helen also explained how to spot whether it was a go-er. Upon viewing the Connection I was sad to see that it was "a go-er": I could see the whole way through the first duck. It had a convenient face-shaped arch and was maybe an inch high at its apex. Jonah had rushed back to Poached Egg to get his hood so I took my helmet off, put my small light onto my hood, and settled into the duck to acclimatise.
I found the position of lying on my back, neck back, water lapping into my eyes with lips against limestone surprisingly non-panicking. "Damn, this means I'll probably have to do it". I awaited the comfort of Jonah's return before shuffling carefully through the duck, to prevent bow waves. I could have my eyes out of the water most of the time. I was soon in the passage beyond Duck 1, which is comfortable - you can get your whole head out of the water and turn it quite easily. I spotted Duck 2 ahead, and sloshed my way over. Duck 2 is awkward - you can see the airspace is plenty but you can't quite get at it. It's easy to lose the way on because you're focused on where the air is, and not where the passage goes. After a few attempts I gave it up and started backwards to see if Jonah could manage it. I found that returning feet-first through Duck 1 was tricky, because you have to tilt your head backwards to get your nose out and therefore can't see the way on down your body. Luckily I'm short enough that I could turn round entirely in the space between 1 and 2 and return head first, which was much more comfortable.
Jonah and I swapped places rather intimately, and I let him have a go. He managed Duck 1 with ease, shouted through that he was at #2. After a significant amount of sloshing he shouted that he was at #3 and it was sumped. Almost immediately after this I heard a jubilant whoop, confirming he had just full-sent Duck 3. I rushed into the passage, sculled through the first and reached the second. Jonah shouted through advice; keep your mouth in the airspace and move your body away from the airspace to pass through. Your neck is at an awkward angle the whole time if you're trying to keep the most airspace. With confidence you can just plough through and sod the airspace, but you're immediately at the Third (sumped) Duck and could overshoot. The space between Ducks 2 & 3 is very small, half of your body is still in the Second Duck while you're at the Third. Using the limited space available I turned to face the way on and couldn't see it. Sure as anything, it was sumped. I fumbled around in the Cadbury-brown water to figure out the passage shape. I could feel a way on, inching as close to the edge as I could, with my right arm outstretched. I couldn't feel airspace so I removed my glove to help feel the surface of the water, with my eyes fully submerged and my arm reaching ahead I could slap the water's surface beyond. Air! I waved my hand around for a bit to try and located the "bomber handhold" that Leo told me was the key to getting through. I grabbed something positive and Jonah confirmed it was the right one, with a quick pull I was on the other side.
Jonah and I cheered with joy. Though my joy was tempered by wondering how hard it would be to return, luckily the ducks are easier on the way back. I probably wouldn't recommend approaching from the Oxlow side though, as you'll likely be met with a sumped passage and no indication of how passable Ducks 2 & 1 are. Before we knew it we were beyond CoH and thrutching our way out to meet Nell and Jonny to continue our round trip. We exited the cave and vowed to return on a mid-week evening to complete the through trip.
Wednesday came and we'd recruited Toby and Tan to do the through trip. Toby and Jonah rigged Oxlow and left our 4 SRT kits at the top of Pilgrim's Way, returning on borrowed kits. Tan and I parked at the Oxlow layby just as the boys were walking back from Oxlow and we kitted up in gorgeous weather. We decided parking here, and having the longer walk to Giants in the warm daylight, was the best way to run the logistics. Unsure of the condition of the Oxlow Connection which usually requires digging, to allow for the potential of an hour or so's digging plus a potential dejected return trip out of Giant's, we set a generous callout of 4:30am; the time at which Will wakes up for his Tajiki lessons. We were hoping to make it out in time for last orders though.
We wandered over the hill to Giants, and entered the cave at 7pm. A bit of faff on Garlands while we shuttled 2 kits between 4 people, but we were soon in the Crabwalk before almost immediately climbing back up out of the Crabwalk to reach Poached Egg via the Windpipe. Jonah went first into the Connection, whilst I sat back and fettled my GoPro. I was halfway through giving Toby and Tan the explanation, tips, and tricks I outlined above when Tan said "oh, are there ducks?". It turns out she hadn't really had the trip explained to her - she was just told to turn up to Giants with a wetsuit and neoprene hood. Oh well, she was here now.
I turned the GoPro on and checked the time - 7:30pm, the possibility of food at the Peak Hotel was slim-to-nil but at this pace we would make last orders. I allowed Jonah a generous couple of minutes to pass all three ducks. His passage was unnervingly silent as he went through each one with the graceful composure of someone who had done this only 2 days ago. He shouted that he was through, I got into the first duck with helmet in one hand and GoPro pointing towards my face with the other. I was less than a metre into it when Toby shouted "Are you through yet!?", clearly he wasn't giving me the generous time allowance that I'd given Jonah. Not being in the physical or mental position to put up with any of Toby's shit I shouted "I can't hear a fucking word you're saying mate" and carried on. Going through the second time was a breeze. Knowing the way to approach each one, how long they are, and having the confidence of knowing the passage beyond makes the whole thing so much easier and really quite exciting.
I reached the far side of Duck 3 and pointed my GoPro back towards the Ducks, shouting Toby through. He found the first one easy, then thought he had done the third when he was through the second and became confused as to where the way on was. I told him to reach through for the handhold, and with a couple of attempts he was through. Finally, despite being the least prepared for the ordeal, Tan breezed through all three with ease. We were all on the other side.
.
