Elaine
Active member
There is a lot of talk on this forum about caving. Hugh and I used to do a lot of caving, though in the last few years we have been obsessed with digging at Templeton and had no time left for anything else. In recent weeks digging at Templeton had ground to a temporary halt, and what with lots of long days working on the farm, we had slipped into that 'Oh-so-easy' habit of missing out the tricky caving/digging bit and just going straight to the Hunters!
Which is what we did a week ago last Thursday.
It's easy. Just park the car outside, walk in, have two lovely pints of lager and lime and a cheese and onion roll, talk about caving and digging then go home to bed. No kit to clean or anything!
However, whilst there we bumped into two other ACG members who remembered that I used to know a little round trip in Lionel's Hole and would I show it to them next Thursday (yesterday).
LesW Darkplaces and Gnomie (Known by none) were in the pub too and my attempts to lure Gnomie along too was met with pretend enthusiasm and vague excuses - I don't think he trusted me! After all, if a slightly tipsy (ok I admit it!) middle aged woman tried to lure you underground you might be keen to escape too wouldn't you?
Anyway, during usual forum banter throughout the week, LesW said he would come along, and the others felt safer and agreed to come too.
That was fine, I thought 'Oh good, I don't have to remember the way round - Les will do it!' However, Les had to drop out, due to Hidden Earth commitments, and the rest of them decided to go to Goatchurch instead! Apart from Darkplaces who I understand had a better offer - care to explain DP?
So it was just the four ACG members who went. Me, Hughie, Simon and Steve. Lionels is a bit of a pig of a place to learn your way around. Once, a few years ago, I went there with some MCG members. One of whom knew that there was a connection somewhere between Junction Chamber and the first duck. So after a couple of trips where we failed to find it we went back again with a bigger group and split up into two groups and went opposite ways round. We shouted and called to each other until we finally worked out where the other group was and made the connection.
We then went again the following week to make sure we did not forget it and I never have.
So off I went, I was quietly confident that I could do this - apparently it had been 5 years since I was last there - there were just a couple of places where I wasn't quite 100% sure of exactly where the tiny wriggly holes I wanted were, but I did know what they looked like, so I recognised them as soon as I saw them.
There are 6 awkward squeezes on this route, but we all managed them ok - with just the one 'I'm stuck' coming from Hughie who was bringing up the rear! If you look around you as you go you see that much of this cave is just a pile of boulders with many little routes - most of them going nowhere! Even Junction Chamber isn't really a chamber, just larger boulders with larger gaps between. In a little muddy squalid chamber close to Junction Chamber, there was a mud willy. There was also the initial A beside it. I would like you all to know that it wasn't me! Those of you who know me, know that my first name is Elaine (and Anne is just my middle name). I don't know what this fixation cave mud-modellers have with phallic stuff. Mud men is my thing. If I pick up a bit of mud - usually off my oversuit or wellies - I automatically roll it into a ball. It looks too nice to flatten then and I feel the need to make a head to go on the top, and on it goes etc etc...
Anyway, I digress. We had no trouble finding the way out, or at least I didn't; the other three were totally lost within 5 minutes of being in the cave! There is something nice about being the only one who knows where we are and where the way on/out is, it means they are forced to go at my speed! Which I didn't think was too slow considering I haven't done any caving for eons. We were out in about an hour and a quarter, and off to the Hunters feeling mightily pleased with ourselves.
We met up with the Goatchurch crew who claimed their trip must have been harder as it took them longer! We also met Hatstand who was apparently going to join us as well, but got stuck in traffic. Without ukCaving we would not know who these people were. It was only because Hatstand heard us talking about Lionels that he worked out who we were. So all in all it was a very enjoyable evening, though I have still got my caving stuff to clean off
Which is what we did a week ago last Thursday.
It's easy. Just park the car outside, walk in, have two lovely pints of lager and lime and a cheese and onion roll, talk about caving and digging then go home to bed. No kit to clean or anything!
However, whilst there we bumped into two other ACG members who remembered that I used to know a little round trip in Lionel's Hole and would I show it to them next Thursday (yesterday).
LesW Darkplaces and Gnomie (Known by none) were in the pub too and my attempts to lure Gnomie along too was met with pretend enthusiasm and vague excuses - I don't think he trusted me! After all, if a slightly tipsy (ok I admit it!) middle aged woman tried to lure you underground you might be keen to escape too wouldn't you?
Anyway, during usual forum banter throughout the week, LesW said he would come along, and the others felt safer and agreed to come too.
That was fine, I thought 'Oh good, I don't have to remember the way round - Les will do it!' However, Les had to drop out, due to Hidden Earth commitments, and the rest of them decided to go to Goatchurch instead! Apart from Darkplaces who I understand had a better offer - care to explain DP?
So it was just the four ACG members who went. Me, Hughie, Simon and Steve. Lionels is a bit of a pig of a place to learn your way around. Once, a few years ago, I went there with some MCG members. One of whom knew that there was a connection somewhere between Junction Chamber and the first duck. So after a couple of trips where we failed to find it we went back again with a bigger group and split up into two groups and went opposite ways round. We shouted and called to each other until we finally worked out where the other group was and made the connection.
We then went again the following week to make sure we did not forget it and I never have.
So off I went, I was quietly confident that I could do this - apparently it had been 5 years since I was last there - there were just a couple of places where I wasn't quite 100% sure of exactly where the tiny wriggly holes I wanted were, but I did know what they looked like, so I recognised them as soon as I saw them.
There are 6 awkward squeezes on this route, but we all managed them ok - with just the one 'I'm stuck' coming from Hughie who was bringing up the rear! If you look around you as you go you see that much of this cave is just a pile of boulders with many little routes - most of them going nowhere! Even Junction Chamber isn't really a chamber, just larger boulders with larger gaps between. In a little muddy squalid chamber close to Junction Chamber, there was a mud willy. There was also the initial A beside it. I would like you all to know that it wasn't me! Those of you who know me, know that my first name is Elaine (and Anne is just my middle name). I don't know what this fixation cave mud-modellers have with phallic stuff. Mud men is my thing. If I pick up a bit of mud - usually off my oversuit or wellies - I automatically roll it into a ball. It looks too nice to flatten then and I feel the need to make a head to go on the top, and on it goes etc etc...
Anyway, I digress. We had no trouble finding the way out, or at least I didn't; the other three were totally lost within 5 minutes of being in the cave! There is something nice about being the only one who knows where we are and where the way on/out is, it means they are forced to go at my speed! Which I didn't think was too slow considering I haven't done any caving for eons. We were out in about an hour and a quarter, and off to the Hunters feeling mightily pleased with ourselves.
We met up with the Goatchurch crew who claimed their trip must have been harder as it took them longer! We also met Hatstand who was apparently going to join us as well, but got stuck in traffic. Without ukCaving we would not know who these people were. It was only because Hatstand heard us talking about Lionels that he worked out who we were. So all in all it was a very enjoyable evening, though I have still got my caving stuff to clean off