Which (Mendip) cave have you visited this week?

[bagpuss]

A month long hiatus from caving thanks to a really nasty respiratory bug. Swildons tonight felt like being baptised back into the underworld (just a short trip around the upper series, short dry way in and out the wet way) *handline is there, hidden by the water!

 

[VWScully]

I went into Swildon's for the first time on Tuesday! It was fab! (although ,as expected , wet!)

Photo by @mrodoc

 

[bagpuss]

I went into Swildon's for the first time on Tuesday! It was fab! (although ,as expected , wet!)
View attachment 25271
Photo by @mrodoc

Glad you had a good trip, I enjoyed your video Will you be returning for more trips?

 

[bagpuss]

King mine and Sandford Levvy this afternoon. Last visited King Mine ten years ago and was a bit confused as there was no big pool of water on that trip, looks like water levels have risen into main chamber.

 

[mikem]

Water is apparently also high in mangle hole

 

[mrodoc]

Glad you had a good trip, I enjoyed your video Will you be returning for more trips?

She has booked a Shatter trip before she returns to Canada! Other photos from that trip last week - water levels were quite high but OK. I quite like a leisurely trip with a good light as you get a chance to see formations you normally whizz past. This column is near the Twenty. Photos, for those interested, taken with a TG6 on max ISO in RAW with two Chinese dive torches. Post processing in Photoshop using the denoise facility. I put this in because I notice a number of posts where people ask for those sort of details. I do use flash and another camera but for 'on the fly' photography you cannot beat this set up. Tara used her mobile phone and got some decent results but post processing outside the phone is more fiddly.

 

[bagpuss]

She has booked a Shatter trip before she returns to Canada! Other photos from that trip last week - water levels were quite high but OK. I quite like a leisurely trip with a good light as you get a chance to see formations you normally whizz past. This column is near the Twenty. Photos, for those interested, taken with a TG6 on max ISO in RAW with two Chinese dive torches. Post processing in Photoshop using the denoise facility. I put this in because I notice a number of posts where people ask for those sort of details. I do use flash and another camera but for 'on the fly' photography you cannot beat this set up. Tara used her mobile phone and got some decent results but post processing outside the phone is more fiddly.

I agree there's lots of really nice formations in the upper series if you slow down and look up..

We are visiting Shatter cave at the weekend, really looking forward to it, I first visited when I started out caving and had a really dim caving light with a large battery pack on the belt, there will be lots more to see with better lighting!

 

[The Old Ruminator]

Have a nice trip Bagpus. See the rock in the roof near the entrance marked with a red cross. We did that in 1969 thinking it unsafe. Its still there.

 

[bagpuss]

Coral cave last night, a very short cave in length, but impressive chamber. First visit for me, always enjoyable to go underneath an area we've hiked a lot. Half of us did SRT and the other half laddered it.

 

[mikem]

There is an interesting traverse to your left that allows practice circuits, depending on how you rig it

 

[cap n chris]

Digging, four times this last week. The most fun you can have without it being remotely fun.

 

[mikem]

Apparently you used to have to collect the key for coral (not actually coral, as it's splash deposits of calcite) from Frankie Howard himself (youngsters don't worry about who)

 

[bagpuss]

Apparently you used to have to collect the key for coral (not actually coral, as it's splash deposits of calcite) from Frankie Howard himself (youngsters don't worry about who)

I thought they must be calcite. On the side point the Frankie Howard Trust (set up with proceeds of House sale?) has a great community cafe in Loxton.

 

[alanw]

Is that THE Frankie Howerd (with an "e")? Titter ye not.

 

[mikem]

Tis (twas) indeed. As far as I'm aware the house hasn't been sold yet, as it now belongs to their adopted son

 

[cap n chris]

Is that THE Frankie Howerd (with an "e")? Titter ye not.

Thricely, yay, missus.

 

[cap n chris]

Tis (twas) indeed. As far as I'm aware the house hasn't been sold yet, as it now belongs to their adopted son

Not any more. He karked it some years back. Buried at Weare cemetery with FH and DH.

 

[bagpuss]

Tis (twas) indeed. As far as I'm aware the house hasn't been sold yet, as it now belongs to their adopted son

Ah okay, this was the history of the Trust which I was reading https://frankiehowerdobetrust.org/trust-history/

 

[mikem]

8 years ago, so the house has been sold, but the Frankie Howerd Trust was set up long before then.

FH passed 1992, DH 2009

 

[bagpuss]

Visited Shatter cave and Fernhill today, what a brilliant way to spend a Sunday with an excellent leader (thanks Dave)We started the trip with a good look at the survey for the whole quarry, visited Shatter cave which was one of the most diverse caves I've been into for variety of formations (particularly all sorts of micro ones) I've only been there once before and that was using an old minors lamp with a huge battery pack, so it was like visiting a different cave with all the light. The rain held off for a picnic outside of the cave then on to Fernhill which involves a ladder pitch (2 linked together) to get down the cave and a view of the best display of curtains I've ever seen. We finished off with a look at the dig progressing in the cave. Throughout the trip Dave imparted huge amounts of knowledge about all the caves within the quarry which really added to the trip.