Kingsdale bore

Brains

Brains

Well-known member
Certainly Kingsdale, I am sure it was taken a year or three back. The original footage is a lot more extensive, probably on YT or somewhere...
 
JAA

JAA

Active member
It is. It’s a fascinating thing to see in person. Although I’ve only seen it once.
 
Pitlamp

Pitlamp

Well-known member
Thanks all; thought I recognised that new(er) bridge on the track to Braida Garth.

Speaking of intermittent surface streams, is anyone aware of any footage of the Ease Gill bore? I've seen it once (and I was glad I wasn't underground at the time!)
 
Babyhagrid

Babyhagrid

Well-known member
COWDUB.JPG
i can find this photo of Cow Dub in flood and reference to "Ease Gill Beck and hence the cave system can respond rapidly to flood with a flood pulse 0.5 m high having been seen making its way down the beck after heavy rain." from http://www.rrcpc.org.uk/easegill/text/science.htm
not sure who the author is but hopefully someone from RRCPC can shed some light on the original account.
 
cap n chris

cap n chris

Well-known member
On this general topic, and thinking it might be of benefit to a wider audience, I routinely used to include this link/footage of the consequences of a flood pulse (aka flash flood) on my cave leadership training courses. Make of it what you will. On Mendip "some water is fun; more water is funner" but that's because the catchments there are pathetic; increase the catchment(s) by orders of magnitude and life-threatening consequences can be literally minutes away. Food for thought.

 
cap n chris

cap n chris

Well-known member
A forum pendant can provide more accurate details but if memory serves Swildon's Hole catchment is around the 168ha mark, whereas Longwood/August is 212ha; and that compares with Porth-yr-Ogof at 5,400ha, and Easegill of 7,200ha. This is purely off the top of my head and may be significantly out; accurate figures warmly welcomed. Remember kids: white water rapids aren't rapid (turbulent flow is slower than laminar deep water flow - check out Manning's Equation). Deep water is the silent killer but white water is the stuff you can't float in (cos it doesn't have buoyancy-giving density; if it's bubbling, you instantly sink in it); never ceases to amaze me that people need to be told this.
 
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Pitlamp

Pitlamp

Well-known member
Tripod said:
I have seen the River Manifold do that.
Click to expand...

Thanks; I heard that can happen but I never had the opportunity to witness that one. Is Lathkilldale another example?

Just to clarify; the reason I posted this topic is because I'm interested in intermittent streams in limestone areas, where normal flows are underground in cave systems but floods cause rivers to flow on the surface (as opposed to "ordinary" dry stream beds that can flash flood alarmingly fast in convectional rainfall events).

Does anyone know of any other examples of the former, in the UK?
 
cap n chris

cap n chris

Well-known member
There is an occasional river flowing out of Withyhill towards Hilliers on the surface when the cave is in flood. I have not seen it for myself but many have and the surface erosion attests to it.
 
danthecavingman

danthecavingman

Member
Pitlamp said:
Thanks; I heard that can happen but I never had the opportunity to witness that one. Is Lathkilldale another example?

Just to clarify; the reason I posted this topic is because I'm interested in intermittent streams in limestone areas, where normal flows are underground in cave systems but floods cause rivers to flow on the surface (as opposed to "ordinary" dry stream beds that can flash flood alarmingly fast in convectional rainfall events).

Does anyone know of any other examples of the former, in the UK?
Click to expand...
Cressbrook Dale flows on the surface in flood. Top end of Chapel-Le-Dale as well.
 
Brains

Brains

Well-known member
There is some footage somewhere of Sleets Gill becoming a resurgence and flowing down the intermittent dry valley below it. I believe in this state of flood the cave is full. There was a rescue with divers to retrieve dry cavers trapped beyond a flood sump that didnt completely fill the system
 
wellyjen

wellyjen

Well-known member
Brains said:
There is some footage somewhere of Sleets Gill becoming a resurgence and flowing down the intermittent dry valley below it. I believe in this state of flood the cave is full. There was a rescue with divers to retrieve dry cavers trapped beyond a flood sump that didnt completely fill the system
Click to expand...
It's towards the end of the Sid Perou film Hard Decisions at Sleets Gill, about the 1992 rescue when the dry cavers were dived out.
 
A

andybrooks

Member
Pitlamp said:
Thanks; I heard that can happen but I never had the opportunity to witness that one. Is Lathkilldale another example?

Just to clarify; the reason I posted this topic is because I'm interested in intermittent streams in limestone areas, where normal flows are underground in cave systems but floods cause rivers to flow on the surface (as opposed to "ordinary" dry stream beds that can flash flood alarmingly fast in convectional rainfall events).

Does anyone know of any other examples of the former, in the UK?
Click to expand...
I think this would be the case for all three Welsh rivers: Nedd Fechan, Mellte, and Hepste.
 
M

mikem

Well-known member
The effect is exactly the same whether caves are involved or not, once the usual channels are at capacity, see Lynmouth (1952), Cheddar (1968) or Boscastle floods (2004), or this week - Zaragosa
 
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