Knock fell caverns 21/06/2014

[Wormy]

With bleary eyes we left Consett at the ungodly hour of 08:30 on saturday morning and surviving entirely on redbull and Mcdonalds coffee we headed towards the Eden valley.  Part way there however we had a slight detour to look at Great Eggleshope mine, a vast set of workings which I will definately be visiting again in the near future, although not in a Mazda next time as the car did really not like the access track

Anyway, some time later, we reached Knock fell and after parking part way up the road packed our gear and started to walk.
This genuinely has to be one of the most stunning settings for a cave that I have found to date, and we had plenty of time to appreciate the view as we yomped aimlessly around the wrong bit of moor looking for the cave entrance.
For anyone heading up in future go straight up the road, past the turn off to Silverband until the pennine way crosses the road, follow the pennine way to the right (south) and the entrance is in a shake hole on the right hand side of the track, there are hundreds of shakeholes so Im not even going to try and explain which one.

Views from nearly the top of the hill:

I had heard a few different rumours regarding the entrance but its an easy climb down

We had rigged a handline but this really only got used for lowering kitbags and the camera in and out.

The cave itself is amazing, and very complex.  We took maps and a compass, which was a good call, as most of the tape markers I'd read about in other reports had either been removed or covered in clay. 

Vast is another word which springs to mind, also tight.  There are some cracking squeezes in there and some parts with decidedly naughty looking hanging rocks!

I will definately be going back to do a more extensive tour.

Massive thanks to English nature as well for sorting out the permits.

 

[Alex]

Nice report, its a good cave if difficult to find. Especially when everything is covered in snow as it was when I went.

I had heard a few different rumours regarding the entrance but its an easy climb down

Its an easy climb down in summer, in winter its an entirely different story.

 

[Wormy]

Haha! I can imagine, its something I will definately be going back to, will just have to make sure its in the summer.

 

[scurve]

In winter you just jump down onto the big pile of snow.

 

[Alex]

Aye but getting back up without ice axes is another story.

 

[richardg]

What a great report and photos, Thank you for sharing Wormy.

Richard

 

[Simon Wilson]

From the photos it looks like the gate is defunct. I remember the old Nature Conservancy Council gating Knock Fell Caverns. What is the present state of the gate and what role did Natural England play in getting permission?

Simon Wilson, EPC elected CNCC Representative.

 

[Wormy]

English nature now manage Moor House nature reserve which the fell is part of, the eyelets on the gate have been cut through and at some point a chain has been put on with a padlock which locks the gate to the frame, however this has been filled with superglue or something similar.  So basically the gate is totally unlocked, Ive emailed the contact I have at Moor House regarding this. Its also a nightmare to keep it open when entering/exiting hence the use of a random bit of steel to prop it open.  There are also a few random bits of strap and matting left there poked into a hole near the entrance for protecting ropes from the rocks.

There are a few other English nature gates around the moors including one up at Lunehead that I'd be interested in in case theres any link to Lunehead mine caverns, although EN say its just a Witherite mine 

 

[Simon Wilson]

Thanks, that's interesting. When I first heard of the intention to install the gate I discussed it with the officer of the Nature Conservancy Council who was doing the work. I said that in the North there was a tradition of opposition to the gating of caves and I suggested that the gate might not last very long.

Does it need a gate? Has the gate made any difference?

I'm only asking the questions. I had an open mind then and I still do.

Simon Wilson, EPC elected CNCC Representative.

 

[Wormy]

After checking the Nature Conservancy council is Natural England....they just changed their name.  In this case I think the gate is probably a good precaution, the cave entrance is quite close to the Pennine Way and is right in the bottom of a shake hole so could present a hazard to sheep/lost walkers especially in snow. 

 

[Simon Wilson]

There was the NCC then English Nature and now NE. At each change there was a lot more to it then just changes of name. I referred to the NCC because that is what it was called when the gate was installed.

There is a big difference between a gate intended to stop sheep and walkers falling down a hole and a locked gate intended to enforce controls on cavers entering a cave.

 

[Wormy]

True, at the moment the gate isnt really stopping anyone getting in though, although as I said I did report it back to Natural England that the lock had been smashed.  At the end of the day the law in this country has become far too americanised with a sueing culture, gates are therefore a neccesary evil if we want caves to stay caves.  This is only my opinion, it doesnt take much effort to organise access permits!

 

[bograt]

So, perhaps I can intervene here and say that I hope the gate is in place for general public protection and if a lock is insisted upon it should be a "Derbyshire Key"?

There is a big difference between a gate intended to stop sheep and walkers falling down a hole and a locked gate intended to enforce controls on cavers entering a cave.

In my experience, NE have never tried to "enforce controls on cavers entering a cave",?
Simon, you are either showing your niaivity, being a bl**dy idiot, or just playing the devils advocate, this is a good thread by Wormy, most of us enjoy his input and reports, you have decided to insert access politics into it, NOT NICE !!!.

 

[Simon Wilson]

So, perhaps I can intervene here and say that I hope the gate is in place for general public protection and if a lock is insisted upon it should be a "Derbyshire Key"?

There is a big difference between a gate intended to stop sheep and walkers falling down a hole and a locked gate intended to enforce controls on cavers entering a cave.

In my experience, NE have never tried to "enforce controls on cavers entering a cave",?
Simon, you are either showing your niaivity, being a bl**dy idiot, or just playing the devils advocate, this is a good thread by Wormy, most of us enjoy his input and reports, you have decided to insert access politics into it, NOT NICE !!!.

I agree about Wormy and his trip report; I enjoyed reading it, thanks Wormy.

I am not naive or any of the other things you said. I know the person who installed the gate very well and I discussed it with him at the time. I can assure you that it was definitely installed by the Nature Conservancy Council (now NE) to "enforce controls on cavers entering a cave". I'm sorry if you don't like caving politics but the gating of caves is political and is presently a hot topic on this forum. Any mention of Knock Fell Caverns to me instantly brings to mind gates because it is (or was) one the very few gated caves in the North.

Wormy and anyone else, please don't be put off by politics, you can just ignore all the politics of you want and nobody will mind.