cap n chris
Well-known member
Miss Grace's Lane Cave: Forest of Dean. Friday 21st November 2003: starring Jan Karvik, John Elliot, Andy Sparrow, Chris Castle, Ken Passant, Mike Willett, Glynn Rowland and Chris Binding.
A fine dry, sunny day with slight mist in patches. All of us met at Andy Sparrow's house between 11:00am and 11:30am. The group comprised Andy Sparrow, Chris Castle, Ken Passant, Mike Willett, Glynn Rowland and Chris Binding so it was something of a "Third Eye Films Reunion/Caving Society" trip!
After a hearty breakfast at Arts Cafe in Shipham we headed off for Chepstow. After a brief bit of map debating with Chris Castle to determine the best route to the M5 we set off. Some roadworks on the way meant that Chris Castle's car became lost "in the crowd" and it wasn't until we approached Avonmouth that the two cars joined up again. However, a large lorry got between Binding's and Castle's cars and this meant that unfortunately Chris Castle managed to miss the M48 (old Severn Crossing) and so the lead car containing Passant, Sparrow and Binding waited at the rendezvous ("RV") near Chepstow for about half an hour while Castle drove to the Second Severn Crossing, came off the motorway, drove up through Avonmouth to Aust, regained the M48 and caught up with us some half an hour later. Andy Sparrow meanwhile had pulled out what remained of his hair, phoned John to inform him of our predicament and fumed, occasionally breaking out with "I simply cannot believe that someone could have missed the junction..." etc. etc..
No matter, we managed to meet up with John Elliot at Tiddenham Chase carpark only a handful of minutes later than planned. Ken Passant had hoped John would sign his SRT books but unfortunately Dave Elliot was the author, not John Elliot. However, John said he would be more than happy to sign them anyway.
We then left as a convoy, driving to and along Miss Grace's Lane to a layby at the far end where we bumped into Jan Karvik, sporting a fashionable haircut (please note). We all changed into our "hot, dry cave" gear (as previously warned - this was not a wet cave) and processed to the conveniently located cave entrance (about thirty feet away from the layby, thankfully Chris Castle didn't get lost on the way but... see later). We were informed that the cave dig was originally chosen for its convenient location - right next to a road and a pub.
The entrance is a feat of engineering, to say the very least. With a brick built padlocked steel lid and belay bar; it begins as concrete pipes but soon becomes lined with moulded concrete (in situ); the whole shaft laddered with three sections; the first section of ladder ends after about 5-6m with warning signs on the way down, easily read as you descend, saying "Warning: ladder ends in x metres"; at the end of the first ladder it is necessary to side-step to the right and get on to the next ladder and continue the descent. The shaft was begun in 1994 and is a magnificent example of the digger's art.
Mike Willett was surprised to hear there was a ladder pitch; he had been assured by Andy Sparrow that there wasn't any need for karabiners or consideration of vertical elements in the proposed trip. Chris Binding had previously checked out Grace's Lane on Google and found a 2000 survey showing an entrance shaft of somewhere in the region of 100ft, followed thereafter by another shaft of somewhere in the region of 60ft followed by "Damn, switch the computer off otherwise I'll get all worried and think of a reason not to go".
So it was that we descended the 92ft of ladder without mishap, Jan lifelining us as we went. I think Andy Sparrow must have mentioned to Jan that I (Chris B) was not too good with heights as the rope was held ever-so-tightly during my descent! (Mind you, I did say before descending that it was about time a "worried person" had a go!). Everyone commented on the scale of the digging effort. In the first chamber Ken's watch altimeter read minus 35m. (circa 115ft).
Once John "You can call me Dave", Ken "That is beautiful", Glynn "You can feel a draught" and Mike "We'll be careful, very careful" had descended they set off as a group while Binding awaited the arrival of Sparrow, Castle and Karvik. All down into Autumn Frenzy Chamber, we set off again only this time Chris Castle & Andy Sparrow continued apace while Jan Karvik and Chris B followed; at the next ladder pitch (60ft) Chris B diplomatically asked Jan if he would "be so kind as to operate a lifeline" (just to reassure; thanks, Jan!) and this meant that Ken Passant and Andy Sparrow got ahead somewhat (and soon got lost). Anyway, some way down this second pitch there is a window before the very bottom (down which, apparently, Castle had inadvertently descended, past the bemused Rowland and Willett who watched him do so from the alcove!), the move across from the ladder to the alcove posed a slight necessity for consideration!
Once done, a short crawl lead out into a series of bouldery chambers, many of which appear to be breakdown. This is Winter Storm series (discovered in December 1999). Numerous, if not all, of the boulders are poised and unconsolidated and caution is required throughout. Binding stood on a wobbly rock and quickly got his shin scraped for good measure; a slightly hostile warning reminding me that this cave was not "user friendly".
A quick sit down for a breather (all hot and sweaty by now) and John Elliot suggested I leave my bag in this chamber (not being one to argue - OK, so I do occasionally! - I did as was suggested and am damn glad I did too!).
A quick head-count revealed that we had lost Castle and Sparrow already so Jan went back through the boulder ruckles and discovered them somewhere beyond earshot; once they returned we set off again, continuing our down and up and crawly progress through various ruckles until we reached a pitch head; the approach to which was a narrow traverse towards a sturdy natural belay and 5m electron ladder. Binding descended this interesting pitch first, a 5m ladder being used where a 6m one would have sufficed!, with a back-step to a ledge manoeuvre being required at the bottom. The passage at the base of this pitch is an old, long since abandoned, stream passage with scalloped walls, about 1-2m in width and with a near-virgin mud floor along its length; at both ends it appears to choke. Once everyone had descended, we turn right and follow the passage "until you see three rocks, then climb up" according to Jan.
An interesting thrutch up about 4m or so (possibly even 5m) leads immediately to a keyhole passage requiring me to crawl whereas the thin jims could slither through with a sideways stoop until we pop out in yet another boulder chamber. A short crawl leads into larger "aven" type passages, with ninety degree turns following the joints and leading to a short traverse over a drop of no more than ten feet to the base of another pitch (this time perhaps 8m, and up); similar to the entrance to Cuthberts but not wet and with convenient thoughtful blasting being previously done as one approached the top "to allow for the fuller figure".
We continue in a similar vein for a short while with a short flat-out crawl and a boulder-hop up into another large chamber swarming with loose boulders (Ken "We always knew this was going to happen" discovering that the one he planned to use as a seat was more suitable as a rocking chair!). Among the few formations we had seen so far were exposed geodes with dog's tooth spar and a white crumbly "dust" in patches on top of the boulders - "a bit like gypsum".
Another short breather and regroup.
The way on is down on the right hand side, under some bristling death. I describe the cave as possibly better named as "Snakes and Ladders Cave" because of all the up and down progress.
Anyhow, underneath the bristling death is the downslope approach to the next pitch (perhaps another 8m) with an interesting "launch" whereby you step out and swing around a bit before descending. At the bottom of the pitch everyone is huddled in a cubby-hole on the left, staying well away from the DZ (drop zone) and wisely since a fair amount of shrapnel finds its way down with each climber. Glynn and I exchanged witticisms about the use of acronyms, "RV at the DZ ASAP & PDQ! etc".
Again, we regrouped and were offered a choice of routes - the one on the left avoided further traversing while the "easier" route on the right didn't. I take the one on the left. Mike Willett takes the one on the right. However, Mike doesn't like traverses, apparently. This was soon to become verbalised.
A stoop and shuffle brings me to a narrow gully down which I climb to find myself exposed on my right to about a, oh, say 30ft void; I step onto a ten inch wide ledge, much of which is taped off requiring one to step on the very edges (most inconvenient!). Meanwhile I hear Mike Willett voicing his concerns about traverses and think myself lucky I didn't go that way! I vaguely recall him using some fancy language to describe his feelings.
Onwards we deal with more minor traverses and narrow pathways until there is another choice - traverse or drop down and follow the floor. Mike and I take the latter option; an awkward step down from a moving boulder to a chock stone wedged half way up a small abyss and then a thrutchy swing onto a further wedged stone before dropping down to ground level; we then slide sideways to the right and right again, into more classic keyhole passage (the Swildon's keyhole passage between the top of the wet way and the oxbows was good training for this!) of narrow proportions which then leads left into another narrow gully, the bottom of which is about a foot deep in thixotropic clay. It narrows, requiring me to crawl along at ground level... a difficult bit of slow and squelchy progress is then made before being able to stand up, sideways, again; here we have another thrutchy climb up about 3-4m to the level of the guys who traversed the last section. We then have the "dodgy rock" to cautiously duck underneath (a narrow piece of limestone, near-horizontally chocked, holding up what appears to be a few tons of long slabs!). There follows further traversing, or a down-climb bypass - I take the low road!
The passage now becomes easier, if somewhat awkward, progress, with a sideways shuffle along a "corridor" with beautiful small "bushes" of selenite crystals on alternative sides, which we avoid - somewhat reminiscent of moonmilk; further small up and down climbing to avoid chock stones and a lot more sideways manoeuvring brings us to more passage but this time with plentiful flowstone coatings on both walls; the passages (of which there are many) leading off to the left, then to the right, then to the left again are all virgin!... we had been asked by Jan not to explore any side passages since this was only the third trip here (the first one discovered it, the second one surveyed the route we were now taking and this... this was the third). Thus begins the slow process of muddying up pristine passage, I thought cynically to myself.
We open out into a small layby and then comes an awkard (if you're short) thrutch up a few metres to a bench; I place a small elongated boulder against the wall to serve as a step and John Elliot appreciated it - he's rather short! The bench opens to another bouldery stopping off point; Jan has a bottle of water and between us it doesn't last long. Hot work!
From here there is some more flowstone passage (or perhaps this section is the only flowstone passage and my recollection is blurred from the jumble of recollections the trip has provided!) which continues for some way until it narrows and meanders a few times, becoming a stoop, then a flat out, sideways crawl (hell!) until.... pop! It opens out into quite an awesome gulf; the T-junction has Jan, Glynn and Chris Castle bridging their feet out across (back and foot technique) to my right, allowing me to join them and making space for the others following me to see what we've found. The gulf "swallows" mud and rocks we dislodge and which are falling from our wellies as we sidle along a short way; the drop is guessed at between 30-40ft or maybe more and looks like it gets "very Neil Moss" down below. Jan tells us he has been no further apart from perhaps 30m to the left along this gulf. This cave goes. There is plenty more to find, that is almost certain. We have our breather and ready ourselves for the return. This whole series we have been following for perhaps the past hour or so is very aptly named "Canyon Series". Discovered in October. It is now only November; Jan reckons that perhaps 40% of the passage we have seen has been surveyed to date. The survey is dated 16th November. It is the 21st. We are indeed honoured to be here.
Mike and I returned via the route we used coming in and the thixotropic clay was waiting for us; sticky stuff!
The return, although largely uneventful, serves to remind us (a) being fit helps (b) the cave ought to be renamed "Kerplunk" and (c) you could easily have a very nasty accident here. On the way out Jan took us to a side passage which was noteworthy for its characteristic phreatic nature - however, as something of a novelty to me, the roof was almost entirely flat apart from where it curved down to the sides of the passage; further on, the roof showed exposed sections of a reddish rock, possibly ochre, sandstone or somesuch - unfortunately none of us were geologists and Jan had previously asked if any of us were as he no doubt has quite a few intriguing questions to put when the opportunity arises.
We were glad to be reunited with my kit bag since it contained a half litre bottle of Lucozade Energy drink; much needed by now. I can't say I enjoyed stepping back across from the "alcove" to the fixed ladder and then ascending it while lugging my kitbag up; my arms began to ache with overuse and this had me ever so slightly concerned about the up-and-coming big final pitch.
So, by the time I reached the final fixed ladder I knew I was definitely running low on gas and asked for a "tight line". Mike relayed this information to the team up above as he had gone up ahead of me. Half way up (I reckon, maybe slightly more) I shouted my intention to take a breather, being thankful that the concrete tube had foothold voids at the sides which allowed me to lean back and let my arms drop, giving me respite from the lactic acid build-up this trip had induced.
The final section had my line being pulled so vigorously I felt a few stones lighter and was almost dragged up with my feet barely glancing on the ladder rungs; thanks lads!
On the top-side I got my breath back, steaming like a sauna in the early evening darkness; marvelling at the view back down the tube at the cavers following on behind. Regaining my composure it only remained to get a photo of the smiling, happy throng, full of beans and more than capable of doing it all over again. Not! - they mostly look knackered.
On the way back from the cave entrance to the cars Chris Castle managed to mislay the path. We changed, visited a pub for a bevvy and then returned to Merry Mendip. What a trip; "what a cave!".
Footnotes: Having done a quick bit of mental arithmetic and adding up the various ladder pitches (with a "best guess" approach) the following details emerged: Main ladder: approx 95' Second ladder: approx 40' (because we didn't descend it entirely) Third ladder: approx 18' Fourth ladder: approx 25' Fifth ladder: approx 20' Making a grand ball-park guestimate figure of: 198' (say, 200'). Not forgetting that we had to retrace our steps, thereby making a grand total of vertical/ladder work of 400'. Not an insignificant amount when compared with the ladder-work to be done under Mendip!
Chris Castle drove back to Mendip apparently without mishap, although he did take the wrong turning on attempting to leave the pub and wandered into a dead-end alcove. Bless him.
A fine dry, sunny day with slight mist in patches. All of us met at Andy Sparrow's house between 11:00am and 11:30am. The group comprised Andy Sparrow, Chris Castle, Ken Passant, Mike Willett, Glynn Rowland and Chris Binding so it was something of a "Third Eye Films Reunion/Caving Society" trip!
After a hearty breakfast at Arts Cafe in Shipham we headed off for Chepstow. After a brief bit of map debating with Chris Castle to determine the best route to the M5 we set off. Some roadworks on the way meant that Chris Castle's car became lost "in the crowd" and it wasn't until we approached Avonmouth that the two cars joined up again. However, a large lorry got between Binding's and Castle's cars and this meant that unfortunately Chris Castle managed to miss the M48 (old Severn Crossing) and so the lead car containing Passant, Sparrow and Binding waited at the rendezvous ("RV") near Chepstow for about half an hour while Castle drove to the Second Severn Crossing, came off the motorway, drove up through Avonmouth to Aust, regained the M48 and caught up with us some half an hour later. Andy Sparrow meanwhile had pulled out what remained of his hair, phoned John to inform him of our predicament and fumed, occasionally breaking out with "I simply cannot believe that someone could have missed the junction..." etc. etc..
No matter, we managed to meet up with John Elliot at Tiddenham Chase carpark only a handful of minutes later than planned. Ken Passant had hoped John would sign his SRT books but unfortunately Dave Elliot was the author, not John Elliot. However, John said he would be more than happy to sign them anyway.
We then left as a convoy, driving to and along Miss Grace's Lane to a layby at the far end where we bumped into Jan Karvik, sporting a fashionable haircut (please note). We all changed into our "hot, dry cave" gear (as previously warned - this was not a wet cave) and processed to the conveniently located cave entrance (about thirty feet away from the layby, thankfully Chris Castle didn't get lost on the way but... see later). We were informed that the cave dig was originally chosen for its convenient location - right next to a road and a pub.
The entrance is a feat of engineering, to say the very least. With a brick built padlocked steel lid and belay bar; it begins as concrete pipes but soon becomes lined with moulded concrete (in situ); the whole shaft laddered with three sections; the first section of ladder ends after about 5-6m with warning signs on the way down, easily read as you descend, saying "Warning: ladder ends in x metres"; at the end of the first ladder it is necessary to side-step to the right and get on to the next ladder and continue the descent. The shaft was begun in 1994 and is a magnificent example of the digger's art.
Mike Willett was surprised to hear there was a ladder pitch; he had been assured by Andy Sparrow that there wasn't any need for karabiners or consideration of vertical elements in the proposed trip. Chris Binding had previously checked out Grace's Lane on Google and found a 2000 survey showing an entrance shaft of somewhere in the region of 100ft, followed thereafter by another shaft of somewhere in the region of 60ft followed by "Damn, switch the computer off otherwise I'll get all worried and think of a reason not to go".
So it was that we descended the 92ft of ladder without mishap, Jan lifelining us as we went. I think Andy Sparrow must have mentioned to Jan that I (Chris B) was not too good with heights as the rope was held ever-so-tightly during my descent! (Mind you, I did say before descending that it was about time a "worried person" had a go!). Everyone commented on the scale of the digging effort. In the first chamber Ken's watch altimeter read minus 35m. (circa 115ft).
Once John "You can call me Dave", Ken "That is beautiful", Glynn "You can feel a draught" and Mike "We'll be careful, very careful" had descended they set off as a group while Binding awaited the arrival of Sparrow, Castle and Karvik. All down into Autumn Frenzy Chamber, we set off again only this time Chris Castle & Andy Sparrow continued apace while Jan Karvik and Chris B followed; at the next ladder pitch (60ft) Chris B diplomatically asked Jan if he would "be so kind as to operate a lifeline" (just to reassure; thanks, Jan!) and this meant that Ken Passant and Andy Sparrow got ahead somewhat (and soon got lost). Anyway, some way down this second pitch there is a window before the very bottom (down which, apparently, Castle had inadvertently descended, past the bemused Rowland and Willett who watched him do so from the alcove!), the move across from the ladder to the alcove posed a slight necessity for consideration!
Once done, a short crawl lead out into a series of bouldery chambers, many of which appear to be breakdown. This is Winter Storm series (discovered in December 1999). Numerous, if not all, of the boulders are poised and unconsolidated and caution is required throughout. Binding stood on a wobbly rock and quickly got his shin scraped for good measure; a slightly hostile warning reminding me that this cave was not "user friendly".
A quick sit down for a breather (all hot and sweaty by now) and John Elliot suggested I leave my bag in this chamber (not being one to argue - OK, so I do occasionally! - I did as was suggested and am damn glad I did too!).
A quick head-count revealed that we had lost Castle and Sparrow already so Jan went back through the boulder ruckles and discovered them somewhere beyond earshot; once they returned we set off again, continuing our down and up and crawly progress through various ruckles until we reached a pitch head; the approach to which was a narrow traverse towards a sturdy natural belay and 5m electron ladder. Binding descended this interesting pitch first, a 5m ladder being used where a 6m one would have sufficed!, with a back-step to a ledge manoeuvre being required at the bottom. The passage at the base of this pitch is an old, long since abandoned, stream passage with scalloped walls, about 1-2m in width and with a near-virgin mud floor along its length; at both ends it appears to choke. Once everyone had descended, we turn right and follow the passage "until you see three rocks, then climb up" according to Jan.
An interesting thrutch up about 4m or so (possibly even 5m) leads immediately to a keyhole passage requiring me to crawl whereas the thin jims could slither through with a sideways stoop until we pop out in yet another boulder chamber. A short crawl leads into larger "aven" type passages, with ninety degree turns following the joints and leading to a short traverse over a drop of no more than ten feet to the base of another pitch (this time perhaps 8m, and up); similar to the entrance to Cuthberts but not wet and with convenient thoughtful blasting being previously done as one approached the top "to allow for the fuller figure".
We continue in a similar vein for a short while with a short flat-out crawl and a boulder-hop up into another large chamber swarming with loose boulders (Ken "We always knew this was going to happen" discovering that the one he planned to use as a seat was more suitable as a rocking chair!). Among the few formations we had seen so far were exposed geodes with dog's tooth spar and a white crumbly "dust" in patches on top of the boulders - "a bit like gypsum".
Another short breather and regroup.
The way on is down on the right hand side, under some bristling death. I describe the cave as possibly better named as "Snakes and Ladders Cave" because of all the up and down progress.
Anyhow, underneath the bristling death is the downslope approach to the next pitch (perhaps another 8m) with an interesting "launch" whereby you step out and swing around a bit before descending. At the bottom of the pitch everyone is huddled in a cubby-hole on the left, staying well away from the DZ (drop zone) and wisely since a fair amount of shrapnel finds its way down with each climber. Glynn and I exchanged witticisms about the use of acronyms, "RV at the DZ ASAP & PDQ! etc".
Again, we regrouped and were offered a choice of routes - the one on the left avoided further traversing while the "easier" route on the right didn't. I take the one on the left. Mike Willett takes the one on the right. However, Mike doesn't like traverses, apparently. This was soon to become verbalised.
A stoop and shuffle brings me to a narrow gully down which I climb to find myself exposed on my right to about a, oh, say 30ft void; I step onto a ten inch wide ledge, much of which is taped off requiring one to step on the very edges (most inconvenient!). Meanwhile I hear Mike Willett voicing his concerns about traverses and think myself lucky I didn't go that way! I vaguely recall him using some fancy language to describe his feelings.
Onwards we deal with more minor traverses and narrow pathways until there is another choice - traverse or drop down and follow the floor. Mike and I take the latter option; an awkward step down from a moving boulder to a chock stone wedged half way up a small abyss and then a thrutchy swing onto a further wedged stone before dropping down to ground level; we then slide sideways to the right and right again, into more classic keyhole passage (the Swildon's keyhole passage between the top of the wet way and the oxbows was good training for this!) of narrow proportions which then leads left into another narrow gully, the bottom of which is about a foot deep in thixotropic clay. It narrows, requiring me to crawl along at ground level... a difficult bit of slow and squelchy progress is then made before being able to stand up, sideways, again; here we have another thrutchy climb up about 3-4m to the level of the guys who traversed the last section. We then have the "dodgy rock" to cautiously duck underneath (a narrow piece of limestone, near-horizontally chocked, holding up what appears to be a few tons of long slabs!). There follows further traversing, or a down-climb bypass - I take the low road!
The passage now becomes easier, if somewhat awkward, progress, with a sideways shuffle along a "corridor" with beautiful small "bushes" of selenite crystals on alternative sides, which we avoid - somewhat reminiscent of moonmilk; further small up and down climbing to avoid chock stones and a lot more sideways manoeuvring brings us to more passage but this time with plentiful flowstone coatings on both walls; the passages (of which there are many) leading off to the left, then to the right, then to the left again are all virgin!... we had been asked by Jan not to explore any side passages since this was only the third trip here (the first one discovered it, the second one surveyed the route we were now taking and this... this was the third). Thus begins the slow process of muddying up pristine passage, I thought cynically to myself.
We open out into a small layby and then comes an awkard (if you're short) thrutch up a few metres to a bench; I place a small elongated boulder against the wall to serve as a step and John Elliot appreciated it - he's rather short! The bench opens to another bouldery stopping off point; Jan has a bottle of water and between us it doesn't last long. Hot work!
From here there is some more flowstone passage (or perhaps this section is the only flowstone passage and my recollection is blurred from the jumble of recollections the trip has provided!) which continues for some way until it narrows and meanders a few times, becoming a stoop, then a flat out, sideways crawl (hell!) until.... pop! It opens out into quite an awesome gulf; the T-junction has Jan, Glynn and Chris Castle bridging their feet out across (back and foot technique) to my right, allowing me to join them and making space for the others following me to see what we've found. The gulf "swallows" mud and rocks we dislodge and which are falling from our wellies as we sidle along a short way; the drop is guessed at between 30-40ft or maybe more and looks like it gets "very Neil Moss" down below. Jan tells us he has been no further apart from perhaps 30m to the left along this gulf. This cave goes. There is plenty more to find, that is almost certain. We have our breather and ready ourselves for the return. This whole series we have been following for perhaps the past hour or so is very aptly named "Canyon Series". Discovered in October. It is now only November; Jan reckons that perhaps 40% of the passage we have seen has been surveyed to date. The survey is dated 16th November. It is the 21st. We are indeed honoured to be here.
Mike and I returned via the route we used coming in and the thixotropic clay was waiting for us; sticky stuff!
The return, although largely uneventful, serves to remind us (a) being fit helps (b) the cave ought to be renamed "Kerplunk" and (c) you could easily have a very nasty accident here. On the way out Jan took us to a side passage which was noteworthy for its characteristic phreatic nature - however, as something of a novelty to me, the roof was almost entirely flat apart from where it curved down to the sides of the passage; further on, the roof showed exposed sections of a reddish rock, possibly ochre, sandstone or somesuch - unfortunately none of us were geologists and Jan had previously asked if any of us were as he no doubt has quite a few intriguing questions to put when the opportunity arises.
We were glad to be reunited with my kit bag since it contained a half litre bottle of Lucozade Energy drink; much needed by now. I can't say I enjoyed stepping back across from the "alcove" to the fixed ladder and then ascending it while lugging my kitbag up; my arms began to ache with overuse and this had me ever so slightly concerned about the up-and-coming big final pitch.
So, by the time I reached the final fixed ladder I knew I was definitely running low on gas and asked for a "tight line". Mike relayed this information to the team up above as he had gone up ahead of me. Half way up (I reckon, maybe slightly more) I shouted my intention to take a breather, being thankful that the concrete tube had foothold voids at the sides which allowed me to lean back and let my arms drop, giving me respite from the lactic acid build-up this trip had induced.
The final section had my line being pulled so vigorously I felt a few stones lighter and was almost dragged up with my feet barely glancing on the ladder rungs; thanks lads!
On the top-side I got my breath back, steaming like a sauna in the early evening darkness; marvelling at the view back down the tube at the cavers following on behind. Regaining my composure it only remained to get a photo of the smiling, happy throng, full of beans and more than capable of doing it all over again. Not! - they mostly look knackered.
On the way back from the cave entrance to the cars Chris Castle managed to mislay the path. We changed, visited a pub for a bevvy and then returned to Merry Mendip. What a trip; "what a cave!".
Footnotes: Having done a quick bit of mental arithmetic and adding up the various ladder pitches (with a "best guess" approach) the following details emerged: Main ladder: approx 95' Second ladder: approx 40' (because we didn't descend it entirely) Third ladder: approx 18' Fourth ladder: approx 25' Fifth ladder: approx 20' Making a grand ball-park guestimate figure of: 198' (say, 200'). Not forgetting that we had to retrace our steps, thereby making a grand total of vertical/ladder work of 400'. Not an insignificant amount when compared with the ladder-work to be done under Mendip!
Chris Castle drove back to Mendip apparently without mishap, although he did take the wrong turning on attempting to leave the pub and wandered into a dead-end alcove. Bless him.