Hatstand
New member
A weekend trip to Yorkshire/Lancashire to visit my mate John (who I met through an email address left in a coffee jar guest book in Cwmorthin years ago) did not get off to a good start when the train I was on slid through Tiverton Parkway thanks to the oh so funny "leaves on the line".... ....anyone who does still think this funny should try stopping several hundred tons of steel plastic blood and muscle on the equivalent of black ice... ...but I digress. It made us very late but not for the pub so no bother really. I am always amused by pompous buisiness men who think that huffing and puffing will make the train run faster - although great fun can be had chuckling at them when they do 
So anyway a quick reccie of Chorley confirmed earlier findings that the pubs are all pretty crap verging on diabolical however they do now have a Weatherspoons so there is a fighting chance of getting some real beer. Unlike last visit where the closest we found was a dodgy looking pump labeled "Creamy Real Ale"... :yucky: Oh and Chorley seems to have the market cornered on kareoke nights - which is good in a way because it automatically removes half the pubs from your "maybe we should try" list. As usual being November the local female population had put away their summer flimsies and broken out their winter thermal belts. :blink:
Friday morning saw a clear head (on account of the shit beer) and an early start and before you can say "crack of noon" we were sat in Bernies enjoying one of the finest breakfasts in the land much shopping then followed in both of Ingleton's fine caving emporiums, although I seemed to have a knack for wanting things nobody sold anymore or hadn't got any until next Wednesday 
John meanwhile was bestowed "sale of the day" in Inglethief after parting with nearly three hundred hard earned Credit Card Points and it was time to go caving! :
(thank God I hear you all cry - this is a caving forum not the shopping channel!)
So anyway neither of us are particularly up on our Yorkshire caves (John despite living a stones' throw from t' dales prefers dangling off bits of dodgy twine down Slate Mines) so we went back to Yordas for a play. This is not a bad thing really because my SRT is pretty ropey :blink: and lots of practice on not so big pitches to get my confidence back is GOOD
Having done the top pitch last year we started at the middle and before long were stood scratching our heads at the bottom pitch. Oh John had forgotten his rigging guide book join the dots thingy.
Never mind, it should be easy really we think, so long as you can think like the blokes that put the bolts in..... :doubt: Perhaps someone can put us right here - there were three odd looking resn anchors at the top of the waterfall which plainly weren't P Hangers. Odd. They seemed perfectly placed to drop you in the water and rub your rope on every available rock on the way so we investigated the P hanger traverse higher up. However after about the thrid bolt we couldn't reach the next hanger and further consideration suggested we would still be foul further down. Must find out how this is done properly sometime!
So anyway we tied on to the funny looking bolts and went down - then rebelayed with a large sling before the final drop although this put you directly in the waterfall - hoods donned and we were at the bottom, so plainly we walked back round and did it again!
Much has been said on the subject but I remember LesW pointing out that being able to change from up to down with your eyes closed could save your life, on account of prussiking up waterfalls being very hard/impossible/deadly depending on the amount of water. It was pretty dry on the weekend so for the hell of it I went up the bottom pitch to derig it while John went round to the top to meet me. Given there wasn't a great deal of water it was still pretty hard and served as a fine practical demonstration that will hopefully save me the discomfort of trying it again somewhere silly with more water!
Anyhew much fannying around later we got out with everything derigged and went to the pub.
Which pub do all the cavers go to?
We went to the - um I've forgotten the name - hotel on the way back from Kingsdale, because John knew some of his mates were staying there as part of a "Go" tournament. I am still none the wiser as to what "Go" is other than a strange tribal board game involving white and black rocks that seems to be played predominantly by Linux fans! 
Still, the pub/hotel bar served a fine pint of Black Sheep so long as you were served by the landlord or the coloured gent - the thin grumpy git was almost instantly christned "Mr Whippy" for obvious reasons! :chair:
Fortunately I stayed on the beer and away from the Whiskeys so Saturday dawned with, well I have no idea because I slept through it but Bernies was still open when we checked out of the Youth Hostel.
More shopping/faffing ensued - John umming and arring, then umming, then arring, then oh fuckit you get the idea about sit harnesses before eventually deciding on, none of them. I managed to purchase a slightly used Dragon Chest Harness, which made me very very very happy and pushing Inglethief Man's Karma (oh no not that again!) to almost stratospheric heights! :kiss2:
John sulked because he wanted one and nobody seems to make the bra type ones any more
We didn't quite get underground before midday, but the sun saw us from its highest vantage walking up to Bull Pot, and discovering one party already down it, and another just kitting up. Bugger.
I'm not sure what the ettiquette is - hell I don't even know how to spell it! - but Yorkshire Knitting isn't my favourite hobby. I recall a trip to Lancaster Hole where we were the second team down, however by the time I went up there were FIVE ropes in situ
which was, um, interesting. Either way after some discussion we decided three was probably doable without being too much problem (awaits flames :doubt
The second team was from Cambridge Uni and had several members who had never done SRT before which very nearly put us off but then I reminded John that I am a complete clutz and that enforced faffage would be a good thing as I could rig slowly behind them. I enjoyed reminding myself how to rig badly, and I'm sure the first mob of super fit caving heros we met on their way out at the top of the slot had a damn good laugh at my shit ropework! :tease:
Oh remind me just how much I hate creaking knots it doesn't seem to matter how much you set them beforehand sometimes!!!
still, a good trip down to the bottom of the third pitch it was, with no shonky shanky or whatever the word was bolts discovered on the way, just crappy rigging on my part But seriously it *was* a good trip, even though its the third time I've been and I've not done much else in Yorkshire because I really need the practice and it was very good for my confidence 
Oh and a big to Cookie who a few months back suggested the "fix your hand jammer with a crab so you've got both a third cows tail and easy footloop for rebelays" method... ...I used it for both at the weekend and it's great - particularly being able to screwgate yourself in nice and tight when reaching right out over the pitch to rig the y hang. I owe you a pint!
So anyway caving done with we went to the pub, John selflessly volunteering to stay sober while I drank more Black Sheep, then back to Chorley where the pubs were STILL crap but the kebabs quite alright! To be fair, we did eventually find a nice proper pub a bit out of town where the beer was lovely but John sulked since there wasn't any skirt under 50. Dunno what he's moaning about they're more his age! 
A magical mystery Sunday engineering diversion tour home later and I was back in the wonderful arms of the missus who had spent the weekend springcleaning the house and had dinner waiting :bow: :bow:
So anyway a quick reccie of Chorley confirmed earlier findings that the pubs are all pretty crap verging on diabolical however they do now have a Weatherspoons so there is a fighting chance of getting some real beer. Unlike last visit where the closest we found was a dodgy looking pump labeled "Creamy Real Ale"... :yucky: Oh and Chorley seems to have the market cornered on kareoke nights - which is good in a way because it automatically removes half the pubs from your "maybe we should try" list. As usual being November the local female population had put away their summer flimsies and broken out their winter thermal belts. :blink:
Friday morning saw a clear head (on account of the shit beer) and an early start and before you can say "crack of noon" we were sat in Bernies enjoying one of the finest breakfasts in the land
much shopping then followed in both of Ingleton's fine caving emporiums, although I seemed to have a knack for wanting things nobody sold anymore or hadn't got any until next Wednesday John meanwhile was bestowed "sale of the day" in Inglethief after parting with nearly three hundred hard earned Credit Card Points and it was time to go caving! : (thank God I hear you all cry - this is a caving forum not the shopping channel!)So anyway neither of us are particularly up on our Yorkshire caves (John despite living a stones' throw from t' dales prefers dangling off bits of dodgy twine down Slate Mines) so we went back to Yordas for a play. This is not a bad thing really because my SRT is pretty ropey :blink: and lots of practice on not so big pitches to get my confidence back is GOOD
Having done the top pitch last year we started at the middle and before long were stood scratching our heads at the bottom pitch. Oh John had forgotten his rigging guide book join the dots thingy.
Never mind, it should be easy really we think, so long as you can think like the blokes that put the bolts in..... :doubt: Perhaps someone can put us right here - there were three odd looking resn anchors at the top of the waterfall which plainly weren't P Hangers. Odd. They seemed perfectly placed to drop you in the water and rub your rope on every available rock on the way so we investigated the P hanger traverse higher up. However after about the thrid bolt we couldn't reach the next hanger and further consideration suggested we would still be foul further down. Must find out how this is done properly sometime!So anyway we tied on to the funny looking bolts and went down - then rebelayed with a large sling before the final drop although this put you directly in the waterfall - hoods donned and we were at the bottom, so plainly we walked back round and did it again!
Much has been said on the subject but I remember LesW pointing out that being able to change from up to down with your eyes closed could save your life, on account of prussiking up waterfalls being very hard/impossible/deadly depending on the amount of water. It was pretty dry on the weekend so for the hell of it I went up the bottom pitch to derig it while John went round to the top to meet me. Given there wasn't a great deal of water it was still pretty hard and served as a fine practical demonstration that will hopefully save me the discomfort of trying it again somewhere silly with more water!
Anyhew much fannying around later we got out with everything derigged and went to the pub. Which pub do all the cavers go to?
We went to the - um I've forgotten the name
- hotel on the way back from Kingsdale, because John knew some of his mates were staying there as part of a "Go" tournament. I am still none the wiser as to what "Go" is other than a strange tribal board game involving white and black rocks that seems to be played predominantly by Linux fans! Still, the pub/hotel bar served a fine pint of Black Sheep so long as you were served by the landlord or the coloured gent - the thin grumpy git was almost instantly christned "Mr Whippy" for obvious reasons! :chair:Fortunately I stayed on the beer and away from the Whiskeys so Saturday dawned with, well I have no idea because I slept through it but Bernies was still open when we checked out of the Youth Hostel.
More shopping/faffing ensued - John umming and arring, then umming, then arring, then oh fuckit you get the idea about sit harnesses before eventually deciding on, none of them. I managed to purchase a slightly used Dragon Chest Harness, which made me very very very happy and pushing Inglethief Man's Karma (oh no not that again!) to almost stratospheric heights! :kiss2:
John sulked because he wanted one and nobody seems to make the bra type ones any more
We didn't quite get underground before midday, but the sun saw us from its highest vantage walking up to Bull Pot, and discovering one party already down it, and another just kitting up. Bugger.
I'm not sure what the ettiquette is - hell I don't even know how to spell it! - but Yorkshire Knitting isn't my favourite hobby. I recall a trip to Lancaster Hole where we were the second team down, however by the time I went up there were FIVE ropes in situ
which was, um, interesting. Either way after some discussion we decided three was probably doable without being too much problem (awaits flames :doubtThe second team was from Cambridge Uni and had several members who had never done SRT before which very nearly put us off but then I reminded John that I am a complete clutz and that enforced faffage would be a good thing as I could rig slowly behind them. I enjoyed reminding myself how to rig badly, and I'm sure the first mob of super fit caving heros we met on their way out at the top of the slot had a damn good laugh at my shit ropework! :tease:
Oh remind me just how much I hate creaking knots
it doesn't seem to matter how much you set them beforehand sometimes!!!still, a good trip down to the bottom of the third pitch it was, with no shonky shanky or whatever the word was bolts discovered on the way, just crappy rigging on my part
But seriously it *was* a good trip, even though its the third time I've been and I've not done much else in Yorkshire because I really need the practice and it was very good for my confidence Oh and a big
to Cookie who a few months back suggested the "fix your hand jammer with a crab so you've got both a third cows tail and easy footloop for rebelays" method... ...I used it for both at the weekend and it's great - particularly being able to screwgate yourself in nice and tight when reaching right out over the pitch to rig the y hang. I owe you a pint! So anyway caving done with we went to the pub, John selflessly volunteering to stay sober while I drank more Black Sheep, then back to Chorley where the pubs were STILL crap but the kebabs quite alright!
To be fair, we did eventually find a nice proper pub a bit out of town where the beer was lovely but John sulked since there wasn't any skirt under 50. Dunno what he's moaning about they're more his age! A magical mystery Sunday engineering diversion tour home later and I was back in the wonderful arms of the missus who had spent the weekend springcleaning the house and had dinner waiting :bow: :bow:
