Swildon's Hole, graffiti vandalism, Friday 23rd February 2007

[cap n chris]

Cock!

Really. Disheartening.

Definitely some time between Tuesday 20th February and Friday 23rd February a mindless arse has decided it would be a whizzo idea to etch/scratch/carve a large phallic symbol into a flowstone bank below the stal floor of the Old Grotto in Upper Swildon's, on the RHS looking upstream as you approach underneath from Water Chamber direction: you can't miss it. It's a perfect self-portrait of the prick who did it.

How can ANY leader of ANY trip FAIL to impress upon their charges the absolute necessity to preserve caves of this quality?

 

[graham]

It seems that there are more mindless pricks going underground than ever before.

Chris: are you reporting this to the police? Given the number of cases of this that there have been recently, I think we need to make them understand that it is taken seriously by us.

I suspect that this is restorable, if done in the right way, but would need to see it first.

 

[SamT]

It seems that there are more mindless pricks going underground than ever before.

Why dont we have a 'Try caving weekend' and invite loads more people to take up the sport eh. 

Seriously though, it does piss me off this kind of thing. Noticed a load of mud splats on the beautiful white flowstone wall in boss aven. Wankers. (either the culprits or the people in charge of the school kids that did it).

 

[wormster]

Oh No not more ffs as somebody who visits swillies a few times a year this really gets my goat.

I know that there's very little that can be pratically done to stop it (short of the dreaded GATE option)

It just annoys the F********K out of me that those that care about our underground fun are constantly fighting stupid W********s like this.

gerrrrr

 

[ttxela]

I loved my first trip to Swildons a few months back, looking forward to going back soon, really terrible to hear about this.

 

[Hughie]

It seems that there are more mindless pricks going underground than ever before.

Why dont we have a 'Try caving weekend' and invite loads more people to take up the sport eh. 

Hmmmmm.

 

[cap n chris]

Chris: are you reporting this to the police? Given the number of cases of this that there have been recently, I think we need to make them understand that it is taken seriously by us.

Well it is criminal damage to a SSSI so I'll report it (but not until Monday `cos I've got too much else to do - and after the last criminal damage incident in SH I'll only be doing it for the sake of recording the event rather than any hope that anything will come from it: we can remove the offending article as soon as it's been photographed so that other people don't copy it and results in a rash of graffiti). 

 

[Dep]

I must have been in a remarkably unobservant mode as I did not see it.
But I have noticed the other places where people have broken big bits of formations, Barnes Loop and TTemple.
It really puzzles me what sort of person can go that far into a system, see the formations and think to themselves; "Aha!  I'll have that...".

Don't know the local situation but would it carry more weight if the owner made a complaint to the police?

 

[cap n chris]

A dick-head's interpretation of themselves, carved into flowstone on a rimstone dam below the false floors in the Old Grotto, Swildon's Hole. Karabiner and Petzl Stop for scale (i.e. it's not to scale  ).

 

[Stupot]

The Swildon's pricks is getting beyond a joke now, the only true way to preserve the cave is to gate it and control the access.

If this pisses people off then so be it.

Stu.

 

[graham]

The Swildon's pricks is getting beyond a joke now, the only true way to preserve the cave is to gate it and control the access.

If this pisses people off then so be it.

Stu.

Right up until the moment that some "heroes" (see Cymystwyth thread) take the gate off ...

 

[Stupot]

If someone has the mentality to engrave a knob into the flowstone I really don't think that their limited brain power will stretch to that of removing a well installed gate, the chances are they burnt 75% of their brain cells putting on their bin liners and building hats.

Stu.

 

[emgee]

A dick-head's interpretation of themselves, carved into flowstone on a rimstone dam below the false floors in the Old Grotto, Swildon's Hole. Karabiner and Petzl Stop for scale (i.e. it's not to scale  ).

Can't say I'm impressed by this persons artistic talent any more than by their choice of medium to work in. Graffitti in caves is hardly a new phenomenon there's stuff in Gaping Gill that apparently dates from the fifties for example (and in places surprisingly far from main chamber). Anyone got any idea why generally anti-social behaviour seems to be becoming such a problem on Mendip? Other areas have their problems but not apparently to the same extent.

Serious question not trying to start an inter area flame war.

 

[graham]

It's a valid question, emmgee. Mendip caves are, relatively speaking, closer to centres of population than in other areas. There is thus a larger source of idiots close to hand. Having said that, given the number of cases we have recently had in a very short period of time, I cannot help but think they may be linked in some way.

 

[emgee]

It's a valid question, emmgee. Mendip caves are, relatively speaking, closer to centres of population than in other areas. There is thus a larger source of idiots close to hand. Having said that, given the number of cases we have recently had in a very short period of time, I cannot help but think they may be linked in some way.

Was going to suggest nearer to centres of population but Sheffield/Manchester to the Peak isn't much difference from Bristol to Mendip. Last serious damage on Peak that I can recall (no doubt someone will be along to correct me if wrong) was a couple of years ago when someone decided to help themselves to some calcite floor in Carlswark. Definitely undesirable but not the prettiest cave in the world or even in that bit of hillside.

 

[Peter Burgess]

It's a valid question, emmgee. Mendip caves are, relatively speaking, closer to centres of population than in other areas. There is thus a larger source of idiots close to hand. Having said that, given the number of cases we have recently had in a very short period of time, I cannot help but think they may be linked in some way.

Quite likely. Troublemakers usually make a much bigger impression on our perceptions of an area, a neighbourhood, or an activity than is perhaps justified. It only takes 4 morons to make people start thinking there are 400 of them causing trouble.

 

[Andy Sparrow]

There is a trend in outdoor education that concerns me and which may be related to recent events in Swildons.  Education authorities have the problem of what do do with excluded troublesome kids and a favourite solution is to send them for a day of 'outdoor education'.  While responsible parents with well behaved kids have to pay through the nose for such extra-curricular activities these little darlings get it all for nothing.  You can usually spot them instantly underground as they tend to be swearing, shouting and gobbing.

Now, to be fair, I have dealt with a lot of such groups and some of the kids, once you get past the bravado, are actually not too bad, but unfortunately the majority seem to have almost no redeeming qualities.  I suspect that the scumbags responsible for the recent deliberate vandalism in Swildons probably knew about the cave because at some point they were taken down there in a misguided attempt to broaden their life experience. 

I have a serious proposal to make - I don't think kids with behavioural difficulties, under normal circumstances, should be taken to Swildons.  Implementing this would not be easy but there are various avenues that can be pursued.  We (BCA or CSCC) can contact the local centres or use the Outdoor Pursuits Liason Group which is hosted at Charterhouse and exists to deal with these issues. 

 

[emgee]

There is a trend in outdoor education that concerns me and which may be related to recent events in Swildons.  Education authorities have the problem of what do do with excluded troublesome kids and a favourite solution is to send them for a day of 'outdoor education'.  While responsible parents with well behaved kids have to pay through the nose for such extra-curricular activities these little darlings get it all for nothing.  You can usually spot them instantly underground as they tend to be swearing, shouting and gobbing.

Now, to be fair, I have dealt with a lot of such groups and some of the kids, once you get past the bravado, are actually not too bad, but unfortunately the majority seem to have almost no redeeming qualities.  I suspect that the scumbags responsible for the recent deliberate vandalism in Swildons probably knew about the cave because at some point they were taken down there in a misguided attempt to broaden their life experience. 

I have a serious proposal to make - I don't think kids with behavioural difficulties, under normal circumstances, should be taken to Swildons.  Implementing this would not be easy but there are various avenues that can be pursued.  We (BCA or CSCC) can contact the local centres or use the Outdoor Pursuits Liason Group which is hosted at Charterhouse and exists to deal with these issues. 

Again this happens all the time on Peak. I've posted here in the past about dope smoking kids being "led" in Carlswark but they don't seem quite so keen to trash the place. Possibly just they're too stoned to bother.

 

[graham]

Mr Sparrow, you say that such people should not be taken to Swildons; which caves should they be familiarised with instead?

 

[Andy Sparrow]

Goatchurch everytime for a first trip and then, for follow-up trips, other Burrington caves.