Fairy Cave Quarry. The Last 45 Years.

Worth trying another slide show link.

http://www.photobox.co.uk/slideshow?album_id=1857565731

Sorry may be an unauthorised web link above. Try-


http://www.photobox.co.uk/creation/1858499210

The few of me were taken by Peter assuming the link works and can be viewed.

First link worked as a slideshow for me, second worked and looked like a photobook layout, both could be enlarged to full screen.. 

Thanks. The photos of me remain Peter Glanvill's copyright. :kiss2:

A bit of background then.

I must add that the photos of me remain the copyright of Peter Glanvill.There are historic dig photos in there. The man with the dig tray ( I nicked from Boots ) is the late John Keat at the very start of our Faiiry Hilliers dig ultimately joining the two caves.The man with the beard in Shatter is the cave's discoverer. I forget his name but he got little credit in later years as did others .May still be a sore point so best desist.Those pic's would have been on one of the earliest trips in the cave. Me sans beard is during early digs at Dunstan's Well Cave.Pete Rose looking young is everywhere. He must have mirror copies of me. The workings are all 1970's with the crushing plant and boulder slope, part of Balch Cave. The green Teddy is my old dive buddy who comes along at times and still resides in the car.Graham Price is the silhoutte in Withyhill's Elephant trunk Chamber.The Karabiner shot shows the helectites before they got trodden on. That despite the tape. Other missing formations are the twisted stal at GP Junction ( Me in shot and others ) also the big curly curtain behind Pete Rose in the Column Chamber shot in Withyhill.There is also a close up of that. Ahh then there is the CSS cottage now in ruins. Happy days and the value of photography.

I should know the bearded man as I wrote the History of caving at FCQ published Aug 1977 by the Cerberus. Anyway it was Conway and Saxton who first entered Shatter Cave on the evening of April 8th 1969 after a fair bit of diggng. Mendip's big guns soon appeared and Conway and Saxton were relegated to history. Willie Stanton being the first to enter Tor Chamber. Others appeared willy nilly and a Wessex member walked over the crystal floor in Pillar Chamber. The mud is still there. For some weird reason Border Caving Club were allowed to take army cadets into Shatter and it was one of these that trod on the helectites.

So many photos are 1970's. Willie Stanton did consultation work for Hobb's Quarries and would have been called in immediately as would Bob Whittaker representing the Water authority. WL Cave had been recently found ( Whittaker Lavis ) though it was not known at the time that this was the ongoing fossil passage from Balch to Shatter. WL and Shatter were linked by us at a later date. The Shatter entrance was not part of the main cave but a hole blown into the side of it. Conway and Saxton found a draught from cracks here and started the dig. If that had not happened when it did quarrying may have continued on that part of the face destroying all of the cave up to Tor Chamber .Those that knew Balch Cave prior it it's destruction in the mid 60's doubted that the continuation into WL Cave ( under the crystal flow ) would ever have been found without the quarrying.

Ahh. The iffy photo of Naomi with Duncan leering was not at all as it seemed. Naomi was assisting in the re survey and had to strip off to get though a tiny hole. At least that's what we told her.

I pretty much covered the history of exploration at Fairy Cave Quarry here -

http://www.darkplaces.co.uk/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=9413

I dont think I had this one in the album and to be honest I cant remember if I even took it.  A youthful Brian Prewer ( " Prew " ) and the twisted stal in Withyhill now sadly no longer with us.

Duncan's re survey of a couple of years back. Shatter top and Withyhill right. You can see that  Glistening Pool Series in Withyhill is heading straight to Shatter. There is almost certainly a strong draught between the two and Shatter and G.P. Series have lookalike features that include the broken early generation stal. Capture seems to have taken place between the two caves with Wthyhill becoming active after Shatter had ceased to carry the main water flow. Shatter and Balch were formed close to the Withybrook fault whose flat plane can be seen in the quarry photos.

My log entry. The discovery of Green Lake Grotto 1973.

Ahh got he name now. Ray Saxton the joint discoverer ( and savior ) of Shatter Cave seen here in The Ring Road on one of the first photo trips into the cave.

The completion of the Fairy Hilliers link. Weds nights then into the chip shop at Street covered in mud. Drop Out Rift occurred when we caused the floor to disappear.



Shatter WL link. This achieved before an accurate survey and was rather unexpected.

St Dunstan's Well Cave at the time of the breakthrough at Domestos Bend. A true Mendip collector's piece.



My discovery of Jonathan's Chamber in Withyhill. Son Jonathan was one year old the same month. Nearly 42 now.

One for the new Wells Caving Museum. Pete  Rose at the quarry in the 1970's. Spot the self build wet suit.



C1969/70. Shatter Cave. Ray Saxton and the crystal floor in Pillar Chamber. Muddy footprint from the first trip centre.



Exploring a new chamber in Shatter Cave 1969.

Exploring WL Cave 1967.



Withyhill Cave at the time of discovery after being cleared of boulders by the quarry excavator.



I named Withyhill Cave and Hillwithy Cave to reflect the fact that they were sections of the same original cave between Withybrook Slocker and Hilliers's Cave.

Withyhill Cave at the time of discovery behind the centre excavator.



Withyhill, first entrance. We got the quarry to backfill the hole. Graham Price in the stripy jumper.



Graham Price in Withyhill 1970's.



Trevor Knief in Canopy Chamber possibly 1980's.

Double stal polished section. Personal collection from excavations at F.C.Q.



Normal stal with secondary encrustation.



Lithostrotion - Fossil Coral - Hillwithy Cave.



Straw with secondary encrustation ( pool deposit ).

No comments as yet so do folks want me to run this on ?? :-\