Great Douk Dig

[gus horsley]

Years ago there was a substantial dig at the base of the cliff in the bottom of the entrance depression.  Did it eventually go anywhere?

The other question I've just thought of is:  where does the water from Football cave at Ribblehead resurge?

 

[tubby two]

It was alan speights dig i think, went down, along a wet crawl, into a choked chamber and then i dont know where. It made it into descent with a survey some time back. Great douk pot if i recall.

tt.

 

[dunc]

It was alan speights dig i think, went down, along a wet crawl, into a choked chamber and then i dont know where.

There was a dig in the floor of the chamber which didn't go too far (don't know if the dig was ongoing or not?) and there was a kind of upper chamber - I guess that went nowhere too?

 

[Pitlamp]

GREAT DOUK DIG: dug extensively in the 70s by the CPC, then in the 80s by the NCC who reached a large breakdown chamber.  More recently by YSS / NPC / other friends, who I believe have an interest in it still.

FOOTBALL CAVE: drains to Goat Close Rising at approx NGR SD 77357910.  Note, the CDG Northern Sump Index 1995 states on page 58 that the water resurges at Batty Beck Rising not much further down the riverbed.  However in lowish flow Batty Beck Rising dries up when Football Cave still swallows a substantial stream.  It is possible, but I think unproven, that BBR is a flood overflow to this system but the permanent rising is at Goat Close near the valley bottom.  From memory there is a short article in a Cambridge University Caving Club journal from the 70s about BBR (i.e. the Shackleton / Griffiths era) but I can't remember whether it says that they actually did a dye test or just presumed it flowed to there.

If you want further information about either of these two then PM me.

 

[newcastlecaver]

the great douk pot dig isn't at the base of the cliff exactly, it's closer to where the water sinks (about 5m (?)) from the cliff, you can freeclimb the entrance pitch then you join the stream, crawl along a narrow semi blasted passage and emerge in a relatively pretty bit at head of a 6m or so pitch which didn't have a ladder on it when I last went (I don't think it is free-climable). From there you can see a large breakdown chamber, on the far wall you can see the next scaffolded shaft going down, I think they got about another 15m down and hit water which seemed a bit odd (given the distance to the resurgance and the potential size of the passage???) Not sure what has happened since then. Last time I heard they were trying to get rid of the water somehow!!! I don't think the trip would be safe in very wet weather just as an afterthought