Swildons before '68

[glyders]

Something has been on my mind for a while and I'm sure someone here will be able to answer.

Presumably the original route for water was the top of the old 40'. Then at some point it cut what is now the lower route. That then got blocked and diverted water back along the high route. That is how cavers first discovered it. Then in 1968 the blockage cleared and the lower route re-opened. I guess this cycle could have happened more than once.

My big question is how much was blocked in the years running up to '68. Did any water emerge from the eye-hole? If you climbed up to the eye-hole how far could you go before you met the 'underneath' of the blockage?

 

[mrodoc]

I cannot recall ever seeing an eyehole at low level.  Remember we were caving with carbide lamps or rather dim Nife Cells and it was a very wet place one didn't hang around in. Somebody older than me or more observant might have more to add.

 

[susie]

Presumably the original route for water was the top of the old 40'. Then at some point it cut what is now the lower route. That then got blocked and diverted water back along the high route. That is how cavers first discovered it. Then in 1968 the blockage cleared and the lower route re-opened. I guess this cycle could have happened more than once.

My big question is how much was blocked in the years running up to '68. Did any water emerge from the eye-hole? If you climbed up to the eye-hole how far could you go before you met the 'underneath' of the blockage?

Hanwell and Newson have some discussion on the removal of the 40' in their "The Great Storms and Floods of July 1968 on Mendip" which may answer your question.

 

[JeremyG]

My understanding (mostly from my Father who first went down in '46) was that the original explorers went in at a higher level to the eye hole that is used today to get to the top of the old "40" as the eye hole slot itself was choked and opened later by blasting. The original '40 was quite restricted at the pitch head with the ladder being pushed through a narrow crawl shared with the stream. I also believe that the eye hole route is only 32' from the floor and not 40' as the original pitch.

I am sure others will correct me if this is wrong?

 

[graham]

My understanding (mostly from my Father who first went down in '46) was that the original explorers went in at a higher level to the eye hole that is used today to get to the top of the old "40" as the eye hole slot itself was choked and opened later by blasting. The original '40 was quite restricted at the pitch head with the ladder being pushed through a narrow crawl shared with the stream. I also believe that the eye hole route is only 32' from the floor and not 40' as the original pitch.

I am sure others will correct me if this is wrong?

Broadly correct, yes. IIRC there is a photo (Harry Savory?) showing both the original higher eye hole and the later blasted route not far from the top of the 40'.

 

[glyders]

I'll have to have a careful look around next time I'm in - I was unaware of two high-level routes.
It seems I have mis-named what I was taking about. In my original question I meant the current route the water takes, the one you use to avoid all but the last few feet of the pitch.

 

[graham]

Unlike OR and MRODOC I am not (quite) old enough to have gone down Swildons before the flood. I first went down there the following year. However, I am reasonably sure that there was not hint of a passage where the current short climb goes down and that the first visitors after the flood were completely stunned by what they found.

However, it is also said that in the very early days, over a century ago, Balch suggested digging at the beginning of the water rift, roughly where the water currently goes as he recognised it as a choke rather than a solid floor.

 

[mrodoc]

The eye hole at the top is actually known as the Keyhole. The first time I visited the cave in July 1966 we visited the late Luke Devenish the night before and he described a trip round the Upper Series for us complete with sketches. When we did the trip the next day we couldn't work out where we were but sections looked strangely familiar including the Keyhole. I later worked out we had done Luke's described trip back to front!

 

[glyders]

Ah, I know the Keyhole so I think I've got the upper bit sussed now.

A complete absence of the current lower passage when viewing from the bottom of the 40 is interesting. I guess with carbide in the waterfall no-one looked too closely at whether it was solid wall or choke.

 

[rhychydwr1]

Remember the pipe at the top of the 40?  and who removed it.  Now that is going back a bit.

 

[Mrs Trellis]

I went down the 40' with the "elephant's trunk" in place. Dr. Oliver Lloyd lifelined me. Naturally they used the trunk to direct all the water on to me .

We used to do the same in P8 by sitting in the stream and damming it.

I also went down after the flood and couldn't believe the change.

 

[skippy]

Mrs Trellis,
Do you remember Wayne Smith in SCG?  He's started coming out with me again and still attempts that old chestnut.