Cave Exploration

 

I.—New Discoveries

Ingleborough,GapingGillHole(1,300ft.abovesea).—June 4th, 1933. The last hope of further discoveries ceased when J. D. Brown was lowered to the bottom of the very narrow rift inside the Lower Letterbox, below the chockstones reached by Frankland and Hilton in 1924. Digging has been begun at points in the Main Chamber.

Ingleborough,Allotments,MarblePot (alt. 1,350 ft., 1 mile from G.G.).—17th March, 1933. Messrs. E. Simpson, Waller and Clarkson. The crack which swallows the water at the bottom of the open pot-hole was cleared, a very tight squeeze forced and an internal pot, 49 ft. deep, descended. Four feet above the floor is a well marked bed of shale and clay. In a big recess, one side appears to be a pipe of conglomerate and the roof a mass of jammed boulders.

By the 5th June the tight place had again been sealed, but was reopened and the descent made by Yates, Higgins, Nelstrop and E. E. Roberts.

Ribblesdale,Selside,WashfoldCave (alt. 1,200 ft., 1,000 yds. due north of Alum Pot).—11th June, 1933. Griffiths, Sutcliffe, Gudgeon, Barrow (Gritstone Club). A bedding plane had been found by Binns, eight feet up, which turned the obstruction and led to a pitch. This shaft, 105 ft. deep, opened into a chamber at the bottom, 18 ft. wide, from which a stream passage (fissure type) led straight and fairly comfortably for 80 yards.

It then narrowed and descended in 10 and 15 ft. pitches with many jammed stones. The party were stopped by a very narrow section, 150 yards from the shaft and 6o ft. below it, at a point estimated as 250 yards from the entrance and 220 ft. below it (alt. 980 ft.).

LeckFell,RumblingHole (alt. 1,160 ft., near Kirby Lonsdale, 3½ miles from Cowan Bridge, last two up a rough grass road).—26th June, 1932. Yates, Higgins, E. E. Roberts, Dean, Nelstrop, Vivian, H. Armstrong, F. Booth, H. and E. Leach. The existence of pitches beyond the open 160 ft. pot was discovered in 1931 by the first four. New ladder descents of 54, 40, and 50 ft. lead to a final, almost level, passage of about 80 yards. Total depth over 360 ft.

LeckFell,LostJohns’ Cave (alt. 1,190 ft., 480 yds. south of Rumbling Hole).—August and September, 1933. Messrs. E. Simpson, Waller, Clarkson and others. Cave resurveyed, results confirm Foley. At the upper end of the Master Cave a short climb through the boulder roof was cleared, leading to the Lyle Chamber, 100 ft. high, 100 ft. long. On 3rd September, a narrow channel was followed into an upper extension of the Master Cave. In 200 yards it degenerates and is flooded. On 10th September the passage was regained by an up and down climb, and the party with some Northern Cavern and Fell Club men waded a long way till a small passage was reached which stopped in a belfry, a total addition of about a quarter of a mile. A few hours later three Y.R.C. men reached the same point, but at the start they did not do a lengthy branch passage with stalactites.

GragrethEnd,MarbleStepsPot (alt. 1,250 ft., reached by a track from Mason Gill).—Easter,1933. The Craven Pot-hole Club devoted several days to the cavern, and succeeded in exploring the narrow passage at the bottom of the “ hole in the floor ” above the 90 ft. shaft. An eyehole pitch of 20 ft. was followed by a pot requiring a 30 ft. ladder. A twisting passage led to a point from which a handkerchief was dropped into the “ sump ” at the lowest point, and to another from which a 20 ft. chimney was climbed to the bottom of the big shaft.

BarbonFell,BullPotoftheWitches (alt. 990 ft., rough grass road 3 miles up from Casterton, near Kirby Lonsdale, or half a mile from good road, 2 miles from Barbon).—May and June, 1932.—Messrs. E. Simpson, Clarkson, and Waller completely surveyed this cave, and in the upper regions near the entrance, noted as doubtful, discovered a large chamber, the Thirty-Two Cavern, following this up by finding a way in from HiddenPot, by another route apparently than through the unsafe area which forced back Woodman and Roberts. Falls of debris in HiddenPot have now covered up both holes.

They also dug one passage through clay from the open pot into Thirty-Two Cavern, and cleared another on the opposite side which led to a point whence one ladders into the 1926 cavern. The plan shows that chambers and passages lie in a remarkable manner along closely parallel joints.

Whernside,BruntscarandBoggartHoleCaves.—Sept., 1932. The Editor found BruntscarCave all the 550 yards reported, but with the advantage of others’ labours penetrated into very narrow regions beyond all trace of previous parties. At a fork, a broken stalactite on a ledge now points to the accessible left branch. In the next 30 yards many ” rags ” were broken off. Free use of a hammer will enable the next man to force himself further than the candle on the left bank.

By lowering the pool inside the difficult part of BoggartHole (Ivescar) he was able to make the through trip.

Littondale,PenyghentGill,Giant’sGraveGroup (alt. 1,300 ft., on the road between Halton Gill and Stainforth).—1st May, 1932. Yates, Higgins, J. Williamson, E. E. Roberts. Through routes, in spite of total immersion by the first two, could not be forced in the upper parts of the Giant’sGraveCaves, but the longest and pleasantest portion under the house and the road offered no difficulty to the other two. LockeyCave, just below the bridge over the adjacent tributary, was also explored, ninety yards crawl.

22nd May, 1932.—Yates and Butterfield discovered a little lower down the Gill, PenyghentHouseCave, 110 yards, and quarter of a mile lower on opposite banks, UpperHesledenCavesI.andII., 40 and 70 yards. These three caves discharge

very cold little becks, and finish in the same manner, each in a belfry with a fall from high above.

KidstonesPass,BishopdaleGavelPots (alt. 1,840-1,650 ft., extend for two miles, high up on east side of Bishopdale). Referred to as BuckdenPikePots,Vol.VI.,p.155. Two fenced pot-holes were discovered and descended by Messrs. E. M. Hindle and F. Heys (Northern C. and F.C.) in 1930. It is surprising that I. has not been noticed before as it is not far north of the county boundary, one mile west of the Pass.

No. I. is in several pitches, one laddered, and finishes at 90 ft. after 20 ft. down a sort of “chimney flue.” No. II., three quarters of a mile north, reaches 75 ft. with a similar “ flue.” No. III., a very fine hundred-foot pot close at hand was dug out in June, 1932, and almost descended by Hilton and C. E. Burrow, being finished off in July by W. V. Brown, Hilton and E. E. Roberts.

Within half a mile north, just beyond a watercourse continuous through a dip in the escarpment, a rill disappears into No. V. A rift, 15 ft. deep, was opened out in April, 1933, at the end of which a narrow crack now offers further possibility. No. VI. is in a fine big rocky sink, 200 yards north of the swallow-hole of the waterfall of the beck pointing directly to Smelter Plantation. No. VI. contains a fine belfry.

All these pots are much safer now and very different to what they were.

Wharfedale,BirksFellCave (alt. 1,100 ft., one mile from Buckden on the path to Litton, 100 yards north of shooting house).—18th June. W. V. Brown and E. E. Roberts. Entrance now clear and obvious. Extremely easy going, 12 ft. high, 4-6 ft. wide, one stretch 50 yards dead straight. Suddenly closes down to a bedding plane at 350 yards. Half way across from the house, the WalledCave, entered by a little climb, becomes a painful crawl through a low canal and seems to continue.

Swaledale,EastGill.—A cave of 100 yards has been found by Goggs on the left bank, close to a rising.

Nidderdale,GoydenPot.—The very curious connection between the belfry in Gaskell’s Passage and the further reach of the Nidd has again been detected, and in October, 1932, the new area was completely explored to a second dead end, as described in this number.

Somerset,WookeyHole (near Wells).—The three long exploited chambers are now magnificently lit up by electricity. In January, 1934, Mr. Balch and the owner, Capt. Hodgkinson, took advantage of the exceptionally low water level to visit by boat the Holy Hole and the Fourth Chamber, usually cut off, and were able to push their craft into an unknown fifth chamber. .

A 90 ft. scaffolding in the Second Chamber reached a short passage in the roof, and across the river in the First a way was blown into a space 35 ft. by 12 ft.

Mendip,GreenOreMine (100 yards south of Green Ore crossroads, 4 miles from Wells).—A narrow shaft, of which there was no local mining record or tradition, opened out recently and was heard of by Platten. In March, 1933 he and two others were lowered in turn by rope 140 ft., the shaft being probably 250 ft. in all. A Y.R.C. party in September put over ladders and found a choke at 120 ft., probably owing to the curious throwing down the many large stones lying handy. At 8o ft. communication by sound was cut off, and a telephone would have been necessary.

II. OTHER EXPEDITIONS.

Ingleborough,GapingGillHole.—In 1932 and 1933 six or seven descents have been made. In June, 1932 the Northern Cavern and Fell Club went in and out by Flood Entrance between 8.30 a.m. and 4.30 p.m., a strenuous day, twelve out of fourteen reaching the Main Chamber.

The Craven Pot-hole Club camp in 1932 covered the week-ends 24th and 31st July. Number of descents, 79. On the 27th Fell Beck was in flood, 18 inches up the winch, and again on the 29th. The telephone was swept from its usual place and found ten feet up the East Slope. A primus stove was found on the West Slope.

Ingleborough,Allotments,RiftPot.—Direct descent from Long Kin East.—2 July, 1933. Hilton, Y ates, Higgins, J. D. Brown, Nelstrop, E. E. Roberts, supported by W. V. Brown and Wood. After years of incredible fatality the Yorkshire Ramblers have at last managed to get at this grand 200 ft. ladder climb (actually 190 ft. from the boulders, 12 ft. below the working chamber). Yates and Nelstrop crawled along the lowest waterlogged passage for 100 yards.

For a serious expedition in a single day, it was unique in the Editor’s experience in having brilliant weather from first to last.

Ribblesdale,Selside,DiccanPot.—12th June,1932. The water was dammed off and the round trip through Alum Pot was made by members of the Craven Pot-hole Club and others, Messrs. Haighton, Thrippleton, Waterfall, E. Simpson, Waller, E Smith, and Nield.

Stockdale(Settle),SouthBankPot.—3rd September, 1933. W. V. Brown, Hilton, F. Booth, J. Williamson, Roberts. Third descent. All the holes at the bottom were descended, deepest 36 ft. The extreme depth was made 125 ft., which agrees with Mr. Simpson’s survey on the second descent, 133 ft. with 32 ft. from entrance to moor level.

Wharfedale,Hubberholme,JinglePot (half a mile above the church, 50 feet above the Wharfe).—June,1933. W. V. Brown, F. Booth, E. E. Roberts. Name carved on a tree. A natural cavity 35 ft. deep broken into by miners. A charnel house which requires a large packet of chloride of lime instead of the twopenn’orth provided.

GreenhowHill,StumpCrossCavern.—The Editor’s attention has been drawn to an article in the YorkshireWeeklyPost, 12th December, 1903, which gives an account of the work done in two visits the previous July by F. Botterill, H. B. Jesper, and E. Simpson, with a plan of the Old Cave drawn by Mr. Simpson. The latter has also procured a plan of the new portion from Mr. Raistrick, which entirely confirms the Editor’s estimates, the Old Cave being 1,040 yards including everything, and the New Cave 960 yards.

In view of Baker’s remarkable discovery of the Irish Poulnagollum with its two miles of continuous watercourse, fivemilesinall, it is very annoying that grotesque figures should have got into Kendall and Wroot’s GeologyofYorkshire.

Derbyshire,Monyash,Hillock’sCave.—Yates, Nelstrop and Dean spent six hours in a mud choked cave, partly dug out by miners, possessing two ladder pitches. In the large bottom chamber were an old family Bible and twenty hymn books. An old mining authority says this must be due to the miner’s reluctance to burn religious books.

Mendip,EastwaterCavern.—In October, 1932, Devenish, Platten and the Editor, with a large party, had an amusing day in the upper reaches, going in by the Traverse, the scene of Baker’s escape from below. Devenish did a fine climb, last down the chimney into the Canyon. There is another very interesting climb, up the great rift which is to be found by keeping to the right above the first vertical pitch.

Mendip,StokeLaneSwallet.—This swallet takes a considerable stream, is frequently entered, and reported as anything down to a mile long. In September, 1933, Platten, Devenish, Roberts, Wigmore and Boucher, junior, did all that can be done, and after arduous crawling reached a dead end. Owing to the use of sixty yards of string, cold science guesses a length of 200 yards for three hours of toil.

Eisriesenwelt(Werfen, near Salzburg).—Albert Humphreys has followed Puttrell’s example, and describes the visit as well worth the journey for itself. The cavern is not occupied by ice throughout. The guidebook is of 44 pages, published 1928, but the plan is brought up to 1933. The main passage runs something like two miles, and the total in the extraordinary labyrinths shown on the plan seems to exceed six miles.

A total of 18 kilometres (not 18 miles) is claimed, that is 11 miles. The cavern must be one of the biggest things in Europe, but before going out, Humphreys advises that enquiry should be made about seeing the inner portions and that the book should be obtained from Eisriesenwelt Gesellschaft, Imbergstrasse 20/2, Salzburg, Bavaria.