Mendip caves: worth a visit or not?

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angelmaz11

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I'm going to be down Mendip again this weekend and my plan is to visit some new caves I haven't been to before.
I'd appreciate any comments/advice/etc. on whether they are worth a visit or not... THANKS!

On my list I have:

- Thrupe Lane Swallet (I found a topo on the CSCC website: 25m, 40m, and 40m rope is this enough?)
- Hunter's Hole (Also CSCC topo: 50m main pitch, Sago 30m, Traverse 50 or Direct route 35m)

- Read's Cavern (are the boulders really very loose??)
- Quaking House Cave (bit short at 300m?)
- Cuckoo Cleeves (worth a poke at only 320m??)
- Honeymead Hole (3 ladders seem excessive for a 380m cave, is it worth it?)

Any other suggestions to keep me entertained?

Cheers xx
 
Hey Marion,
Thrupe Lane is a brilliant cave, but best not go if it rains! The topo you have seen does not include include the entrance pitch of 7m. Also you don't need both 40m ropes as you get the choice between Lateral pitch and Slither Pot. Otherwise the lengths sound about right but I can't say for sure as I've only done it on ladders.
Read's Cavern on the other hand is not very inspiring at all IMO (with loose boulders too as you say).

Have fun
Alexander
 
Hunters Hole is a nice cave but again you don't need lots of ropes, a short rope (optional) to drop down from the entrance ladder to the pitch proper and then you can either do the pitch by direct, right hand or sagos pot route. Unless you want to leave more than one option rigged your 50M rope will be fine. Sagos is not P bolted so you will need three or four hangers for the spits.

Cuckoo Cleeves did have some bad air problems, I have not been recently myself but it could be worth missing off the list.

Jeremy.
 
My personal opinion:

- Hunters Hole is a quick SRT (good for freshers), will take you about 20min to hit the bottom in reality & there's nothing there = dull
- Cuckoo Cleeves is a bit short and dull
- Thrupe is a better SRT trip (than hunters) but again - not much at the bottom (been meaning to go back and learn to rig this for ages)

Depends what your doing really - if its NOT a fresher trip then:
- Priddy Green Sink (Awesome, but a wee bit tight in places)
- Eastwater round trip or west end series (place where rescue is Impossible  :o)
- Blackhole Series in Swildons (scary ladder swinging)
- Rhino is Yorkshire SRT (ish) (never been to the very bottom tho  :-\)

Is Manor farm open yet? (Haven't got Mendip underground handy)
 
Cuckoo Cleeves still has really bad air!! well it did about 2 weeks ago and most of the time doesnt it tend to???

Hels 
 
My understanding is that Quaking House Cave is access denied. Would be keen to hear if you discover otherwise.
 
Thanks to all for your replies.
Since I seem to fancy SRT I shall be hanging around Hunters and Thrupe (if the weather's ok).

I would LOVE to do St Cuthbert's, anyone know any leaders? Someone who'd be free this weekend prehaps??  ;D

Chris, Wigmore is on my list of caves to do, so if you're looking for folk, let me know. KUCC seem to have some extremely keen freshers this year!
 
cap 'n chris said:
My understanding is that Quaking House Cave is access denied. Would be keen to hear if you discover otherwise.
Click to expand...

This is news to me. I probably live nearest to it and last time I visited we just called at the farm. It's not a long cave and the extensions with the nice formations have some tight entrance squeezes which i cannot fit into now (it was 40 years ago i did the extension).
 
Thanks, Peter, for the info - I shall pop round sometime as it's been on my list for ages (p.s. fancy a dig at shhh,you-know-where, soon?: I'm free on Tuesdays again soon).
 
angelmaz11 said:
I'm going to be down Mendip again this weekend and my plan is to visit some new caves I haven't been to before.
I'd appreciate any comments/advice/etc. on whether they are worth a visit or not... THANKS!

On my list I have:

- Thrupe Lane Swallet (I found a topo on the CSCC website: 25m, 40m, and 40m rope is this enough?)
- Hunter's Hole (Also CSCC topo: 50m main pitch, Sago 30m, Traverse 50 or Direct route 35m)

- Read's Cavern (are the boulders really very loose??)
- Quaking House Cave (bit short at 300m?)
- Cuckoo Cleeves (worth a poke at only 320m??)
- Honeymead Hole (3 ladders seem excessive for a 380m cave, is it worth it?)

Any other suggestions to keep me entertained?

Cheers xx
Click to expand...
Thanx to the lovelly C.S.C.C. it is now possible to s.r.t. Manor Farm Swallet,
although essentially only two pitches, it is not a bad trip as this is one of the few caves on Mendip that starts with pitches but goes on to have a fair amount of actual cave.
 
Aubrey said:
No mention so far of Welshes Green - one of Mendip's classic caves. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

I had planed to go on this "classic" trip on Thursday, but unfortunately will be working so I will have to postpone it.  :-\
 
Friends of mine told me how beautiful it was down there too, perhaps another time  :clap2:
I do like a bit of mud  :thumbsup:
 
If you didn't know, Quaking House is in the Quantocks, not the Mendips. Therefore it would be a bit further away if you are actually staying in the Mendips.
 
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