Ludwell Rising
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danthecavingman
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Get Team Awesome on it quick!
Lankyman
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'It seem that when you start poking around and creating a disturbance in the ground it provokes a response from Mother Earth'
ludchurchmyblog.wordpress.com
Ludwell.
Close to the picturesque Derbyshire village of Hartington can be found in the limestone hills a stream which pours out of a well known as Ludwell. In the past these sources of water were the life b…
ludchurchmyblog.wordpress.com
Orpheus did a lot of investigating here back in the 1970's in the spring which is not that close to the farm but between the road and the river. We couldn't use Dr. Nobel's linctus, being so close to the farm, but instead used a car jack to move a recalcitrant boulder. Then we found that the 2 inch deep slot was definitely not people-shaped so had to give up. We didn't investigate what is referred to as "the well" in Lankyman's quote - so we weren't guilty of mucking up the farm's water supply. I assume that's the well entrance in the small copse behind the farm and the Ludwell spring coming out directly into the river certainly doesn't look like that inside. We had a flat-out crawl in water once we'd moved the boulder and negotiated the left turn in the passage. Doubtless they are all connected underground as they are so close.
The first picture in this article quoted is definitely NOT "the Ludwell", it's actually the Crowdwell in Crowdicote village, about 4 miles further north up the valley from Ludwell. That flows out from under the road and is reached by a short track leading off opposite the pub in the village. The Crowdwell is completely impenetrable but there is also a short cave on the right of the track just before you reach the Crowdwell rising, which can be entered and it does sometimes emit water, presumably as an overflow from the Crowdwell.'It seem that when you start poking around and creating a disturbance in the ground it provokes a response from Mother Earth'
Ludwell.
Close to the picturesque Derbyshire village of Hartington can be found in the limestone hills a stream which pours out of a well known as Ludwell. In the past these sources of water were the life b…
Some of the other pictures may be of what the writer of the blog calls the Ludwell, which is usually taken to be the small rising immediately below the Pilsbury to Hartington road.
The Derbyshire Cave Registry (reached via the thedca.org.uk) gives 3 different names for the Ludwell springs: the Ludwell, Ludwell Spring 1 and Ludwell Spring 2 but all are marked in the same place on the map so no help there.
The Crowdwell is quite separate and a comparison with the photos on the Registry site and the ones in the article show quite clearly the difference between at least two sites, possibly even three, which have been conflated.
The photo of what the writer calls the farmer's water supply is not of the Ludwell spring nor the Crowdwell but must be the entrance in the small copse just above the Ludwell farm. Orpheus never looked at that because it was clearly on private ground and close to the farm. That isn't mentioned at all in the Registry but may be the Ludwell itself, if it really was a well with a built-up entrance.
There is also a short blind mine level, possibly a trial, a little way south towards Hartington on the uphill side of the road. So there definitely is at least some lead mine interest nearby so traces of lead in the water supply would be expected.
The springs in the Upper Dove Valley run from those above Glutton Bridge in the north down to the furthest south which seem to be those in the Ludwell area. All emerge on the eastern side, very close to river level. It's a fascinating area and well worth a look, including Dowell Dale, to the east of Chrome Hill, which has its own series of caves and springs.
Lankyman
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I've only walked/climbed in Dovedale so don't know the hydrology of the dale. When I was googling 'Ludwell Rising' I only got results from Mendip (which even I knew wasn't right). Perhaps you could contact the blogger I originally linked to in order to correct his article? Does anyone know where the water comes from, Jenny?
Mrs Trellis
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Slightly O/T - does anyone know if Wormhill Springs is still flowing?
Mrs Trellis
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Thanks for that Rob. Vairy interesting.
The person who knows most about the area is Prof JG - he did some research a year or so ago visiting and recording all the springs. I'd guess it's to do with the dip of the limestone beds in that area - the east side of Dovedale is limestone but the west side is gritstone so maybe (in very simplistic terms) the water is coming out along lowest point on the line where the two meet, which is the river bed. All the springs are right down on or within a few feet of river level and the only known sinks are high up above Dowell Dale to the north or else so far to the east that they drain to the Lathkill systems. I'm not a geologist so take anything I say with a big pinch of salt!
Definitely worth looking these up in the Derbyshire Cave Registry as one person recorded and did the photos for many of these springs.
I've no idea who the blogger is. He's managed to muddle things thoroughly - but then he doesn't know the area well. He seems to be just conflating several different things lifted from others who know more about it than he does just so he can have an online presence. That's IMHO anyway.
Lankyman
Well-known member
The Great Earth Mother Goddess who protects the under realms will be angry at your impudence! I'd take care next time you're caving?
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