Swallowneck
Member
We (Nick, Tony and Chris) met in How Stean cafe once again for coffee and cake....nice but the chairs grab you and it is hard to leave! Once changed and 2.45pm we set off for the hole briefly stopping on the way to spot and discuss fault features in that area. In particular we are interested in the two large faults by Guscott that are part of the trio of faults that create the small limestone inlier.
Once underground we were all surprised to see Tony's newly adapted tipping bucket still in operation merrily tipping away. We took this out while working leaving just the filling hose to assist the digging. The goals for this session were to dig back and down the shale band to hopefully reach the limestone beneath. Nick used a long bar to hack off the shale while Chris created a gully to take away the mud, shale and gravel and Tony somehow managed to find slots to store the rocks coming out the dig. In a shorted time than expected we managed to uncover the limestone beneath the shale and immediately used this to install a fresh leg for the scaffold. That was good because we had just undermined the previous one installed!
We then installed a few short lengths of scaffold to brace the frame over to the solid wall and create a box structure all be it one side missing which we hope to remedy on the next session. After this the two large boulders were attacked, one demolished completely and the other partially. Nick was finishing work on this when suddenly a noise of a large collapse occurred. Nick looked behind him to see that the large slab in the choke had disappeared down and now gravel and rocks were slowly following it into the void beneath. It is an good job trousers are already brown when digging!
It was time now for Tony to re-set his tipping bucket. The first full bucket washed away so much debris that it uncovered a long section of wall going down into the choke. Turns out that limestone band is only 30-40cm think and beneath it is yet another long section of shale. It would be good to get the matched to the strata elsewhere to know when we will hit the Middle Limestone. The newly exposed section after being washed encouraged a bit more digging. Eventually after 4.5hrs we left the dig once again very pleased and smug with our progress.
The whole thing was washed down with a few pints at the Crown Hotel and a taste of their new meal menu...very nice too
Guscott pot an overview...
Guscott pot is strategically placed between Goyden pot (already dry link with Manchester Hole) and the Aquamole Series (already dry link with New Goyden pot). There is a dig at the end of Test of Faith passage in Guscott pot in line with the extension made beyond North choke in the Aquamole series. There is also a dig in the choke by the entrance chamber of Guscott pot at present heading north west along the major fault. We are hoping that this dig gives us access to Goyden 4 or 5.
The next big push on the choke dig will be Nov 24th all welcome as there is lots of rock that needs bringing all the way back to the surface 23m above.
It looks like the dig is about to come to life, but then we are always saying that! Watch this space.
https://youtu.be/s_rvNAnAZiI
Once underground we were all surprised to see Tony's newly adapted tipping bucket still in operation merrily tipping away. We took this out while working leaving just the filling hose to assist the digging. The goals for this session were to dig back and down the shale band to hopefully reach the limestone beneath. Nick used a long bar to hack off the shale while Chris created a gully to take away the mud, shale and gravel and Tony somehow managed to find slots to store the rocks coming out the dig. In a shorted time than expected we managed to uncover the limestone beneath the shale and immediately used this to install a fresh leg for the scaffold. That was good because we had just undermined the previous one installed!
We then installed a few short lengths of scaffold to brace the frame over to the solid wall and create a box structure all be it one side missing which we hope to remedy on the next session. After this the two large boulders were attacked, one demolished completely and the other partially. Nick was finishing work on this when suddenly a noise of a large collapse occurred. Nick looked behind him to see that the large slab in the choke had disappeared down and now gravel and rocks were slowly following it into the void beneath. It is an good job trousers are already brown when digging!
It was time now for Tony to re-set his tipping bucket. The first full bucket washed away so much debris that it uncovered a long section of wall going down into the choke. Turns out that limestone band is only 30-40cm think and beneath it is yet another long section of shale. It would be good to get the matched to the strata elsewhere to know when we will hit the Middle Limestone. The newly exposed section after being washed encouraged a bit more digging. Eventually after 4.5hrs we left the dig once again very pleased and smug with our progress.
The whole thing was washed down with a few pints at the Crown Hotel and a taste of their new meal menu...very nice too
Guscott pot an overview...
Guscott pot is strategically placed between Goyden pot (already dry link with Manchester Hole) and the Aquamole Series (already dry link with New Goyden pot). There is a dig at the end of Test of Faith passage in Guscott pot in line with the extension made beyond North choke in the Aquamole series. There is also a dig in the choke by the entrance chamber of Guscott pot at present heading north west along the major fault. We are hoping that this dig gives us access to Goyden 4 or 5.
The next big push on the choke dig will be Nov 24th all welcome as there is lots of rock that needs bringing all the way back to the surface 23m above.
It looks like the dig is about to come to life, but then we are always saying that! Watch this space.
https://youtu.be/s_rvNAnAZiI
