cap n chris
Well-known member
Club Trip to this lovely little cave in the Black Mountains. Attendees: Zoe W, Rachel P, Megan H, Judi D, Neil R, Andy S, Mark W, Robin G and Me.
We arrived in the pouring rain - obviously it was summer at long last. The eventful drive involved getting lost and having breakfast at ASDA (not in that order). The banter was jovial and face-paced, laced with humour.
Unpleasant weather greeted the gang and we changed in the cold rain on the bleak hillside
After kitting up and sorting ourselves out and taking a (failed) group photo we set off across the moors and headed for the picturesque woods among which the large surface depressions gave a hint at the cave below us. We had a quick demonstration of hand waving and geological processes courtesy Mr. Andy S....
Andy uses the wondrous power of his hands to explain to a rapt audience how caves are formed by beetles gnawing at the bedrock
The fenced off cave approach is quickly reached and no sooner do we point out the warning sign expostulating the imminent death-ness of caving (it is a silly and hazardous pursuit) and Andy has a nasty accident involving the warning sign.... (we mostly laugh at his predicament).
Nasty accident involving warning sign. Someone should do something about these trip hazards in the woods!
Ahem.
Once all NINE of us arrive at the cave entrance - a small hole situated in the cliff face - the usual club tradition of deputising all the newbies as group leaders was done; this involves a crash course in survey interpretation and the supportive words of "Don't just stand there,... get on with it!...."; the old lags then simply wait behind while the newer members starburst everywhere.
Despite holding the survey the right way around everyone's eyes glazed over and there was much dribbling and tutting and sighing...
Andy adjusts someone's missing brain while an intrepid caver uses human origami to effectively force an entry to the cavern
While the others rush on ahead to get lost, the tail-enders finally gain entry to the cave and await the return of the blustering cave kittens.
There is a nice variety of passage morphology (do keep up at the back!) but nothing too strenuous or challenging - this cave is a crowd-pleaser and despite some 160 years of caving heritage still retains many fine formations out of harm's way and a goodly array of enjoyable obstacles.
Judi niftily deals with a smooth traverse
Robin gains reassurance by close proximity to something he relates to
An array of new members decide to spend time pursuing the incorrect way on so I make a dash for freedom and quickly arrive at water chamber 3 (I believe) and splash around whooping'n'a-hollerin' all on my own, `cos I likes that sort of thing, innit.
WHOOP! HOLLER! SPLASH! WOO-HOO!
Neil finds me!
... but the others don't!... so we head back to find them. Having discovered some of the girls I lead them off towards the chamber where there's a bit of a pitch down to the water and rig a rope (`cos I haven't got the ladder - Neil's got it) and abseil down into the water. They wisely decide not to follow and instead bugger off. So I'm on my own. Nevermind, I say to myself, let's have a look around - there's lots to see and do and I spend an enjoyable time furtling around. No-one else joins me and everything goes quiet for a long time. Hmm. Can I get out? Can I buggery.
Eventually I decide to try and climb out. But give up. But have another go. But give up again. But no-one's coming so I feel perhaps I should have yet another go. It's too dodgy so I give up again.
Hmm. I see a possible way of climbing up the far wall with a bridging stance and this works! Wow! Of course everyone then arrives, including the ladder, so we rig that and the whole gang descend from whence I've just managed to heroically climb out so I ab back down again (all that wasted effort!) and we go off for a nice cold swim in deep water and all get soaked and freezing. Mind you it was fun.
Return up the pitch without ado and then make haste to try and locate the furthest water chamber. This goes a bit wrong when I inadvertently route-find a rock bridge over deep water in an echoing rift where everyone follows and then has to back up again. Finally, I figure the correct way on down a narrow rift which opens into the big chamber whereupon Neil and Andy show off their climbing prowess by doing some impressive climbing manoeuvres around the walls of the chamber, Neil going so far as to actually climb all the way up and out of the hanging rift. Remarkable stuff.
We then separate again for a while, getting lost (OK, I admit it, it was my fault) but quite a few people seem convinced that I know what I'm doing and where I'm going so they follow me anyway.
Mark follows
Robin follows too
Eventually we regroup. Well, I say "eventually" but it probably wasn't that long. Having rediscovered each other we then make a break for the surface/daylight and find to our surprise that we've been underground for over three and a half hours.
My camera fell victim to moisture on the return journey so was unable to capture the joyous rapture and beaming smiles that we all exhibited on finding the weather hadn't improved one iota.
Return, reclothe and drive to the Copper Beech for tea and nibbles and to observe foreigners before refuelling and driving very quickly back to terra cognita.
So, there you go, gang. That's my version of events. What's yours?.... where did you go, what did you find, what fun and games did you have? Who fell over? Who fell in? Who? Wh? W?
We arrived in the pouring rain - obviously it was summer at long last. The eventful drive involved getting lost and having breakfast at ASDA (not in that order). The banter was jovial and face-paced, laced with humour.
Unpleasant weather greeted the gang and we changed in the cold rain on the bleak hillside
After kitting up and sorting ourselves out and taking a (failed) group photo we set off across the moors and headed for the picturesque woods among which the large surface depressions gave a hint at the cave below us. We had a quick demonstration of hand waving and geological processes courtesy Mr. Andy S....
Andy uses the wondrous power of his hands to explain to a rapt audience how caves are formed by beetles gnawing at the bedrock
The fenced off cave approach is quickly reached and no sooner do we point out the warning sign expostulating the imminent death-ness of caving (it is a silly and hazardous pursuit) and Andy has a nasty accident involving the warning sign.... (we mostly laugh at his predicament).
Nasty accident involving warning sign. Someone should do something about these trip hazards in the woods!
Ahem.
Once all NINE of us arrive at the cave entrance - a small hole situated in the cliff face - the usual club tradition of deputising all the newbies as group leaders was done; this involves a crash course in survey interpretation and the supportive words of "Don't just stand there,... get on with it!...."; the old lags then simply wait behind while the newer members starburst everywhere.
Despite holding the survey the right way around everyone's eyes glazed over and there was much dribbling and tutting and sighing...
Andy adjusts someone's missing brain while an intrepid caver uses human origami to effectively force an entry to the cavern
While the others rush on ahead to get lost, the tail-enders finally gain entry to the cave and await the return of the blustering cave kittens.
There is a nice variety of passage morphology (do keep up at the back!) but nothing too strenuous or challenging - this cave is a crowd-pleaser and despite some 160 years of caving heritage still retains many fine formations out of harm's way and a goodly array of enjoyable obstacles.
Judi niftily deals with a smooth traverse
Robin gains reassurance by close proximity to something he relates to
An array of new members decide to spend time pursuing the incorrect way on so I make a dash for freedom and quickly arrive at water chamber 3 (I believe) and splash around whooping'n'a-hollerin' all on my own, `cos I likes that sort of thing, innit.
WHOOP! HOLLER! SPLASH! WOO-HOO!
Neil finds me!
... but the others don't!... so we head back to find them. Having discovered some of the girls I lead them off towards the chamber where there's a bit of a pitch down to the water and rig a rope (`cos I haven't got the ladder - Neil's got it) and abseil down into the water. They wisely decide not to follow and instead bugger off. So I'm on my own. Nevermind, I say to myself, let's have a look around - there's lots to see and do and I spend an enjoyable time furtling around. No-one else joins me and everything goes quiet for a long time. Hmm. Can I get out? Can I buggery.
Eventually I decide to try and climb out. But give up. But have another go. But give up again. But no-one's coming so I feel perhaps I should have yet another go. It's too dodgy so I give up again.
Hmm. I see a possible way of climbing up the far wall with a bridging stance and this works! Wow! Of course everyone then arrives, including the ladder, so we rig that and the whole gang descend from whence I've just managed to heroically climb out so I ab back down again (all that wasted effort!) and we go off for a nice cold swim in deep water and all get soaked and freezing. Mind you it was fun.
Return up the pitch without ado and then make haste to try and locate the furthest water chamber. This goes a bit wrong when I inadvertently route-find a rock bridge over deep water in an echoing rift where everyone follows and then has to back up again. Finally, I figure the correct way on down a narrow rift which opens into the big chamber whereupon Neil and Andy show off their climbing prowess by doing some impressive climbing manoeuvres around the walls of the chamber, Neil going so far as to actually climb all the way up and out of the hanging rift. Remarkable stuff.
We then separate again for a while, getting lost (OK, I admit it, it was my fault) but quite a few people seem convinced that I know what I'm doing and where I'm going so they follow me anyway.
Mark follows
Robin follows too
Eventually we regroup. Well, I say "eventually" but it probably wasn't that long. Having rediscovered each other we then make a break for the surface/daylight and find to our surprise that we've been underground for over three and a half hours.
My camera fell victim to moisture on the return journey so was unable to capture the joyous rapture and beaming smiles that we all exhibited on finding the weather hadn't improved one iota.
Return, reclothe and drive to the Copper Beech for tea and nibbles and to observe foreigners before refuelling and driving very quickly back to terra cognita.
So, there you go, gang. That's my version of events. What's yours?.... where did you go, what did you find, what fun and games did you have? Who fell over? Who fell in? Who? Wh? W?
