Car Pot
By Harold Brodrick.
Beyond the swampy ground to the E. of Gaping Ghyll and on the other side of the wall which forms the sky-line in that direction is a pot-hole almost directly above the point at the extreme end of the East Passage of Gaping Ghyll where the water sinks[1] and this pot-hole Rule and I began to explore on the 26th June, 1909.
It consists of an opening in the moor, about 25 feet long and 20 feet wide, the greatest depth being at the N. end, where the rock wall is 27 feet high and divided in the middle by a fissure; while the S. side of the pot is a steep slope of rocks covered with earth and vegetation of all kinds. At the base of the fissure in the N. wall is a narrow opening which is still further narrowed by a rock bridge. There is no passage above this bridge, but after a few minutes’ work at the floor we were able to crawl underneath it and found ourselves in a narrow fissure, with the roof some 20 feet above our heads, and the floor running down at a very steep angle in front and ending some 10 feet below in a hole about 6 inches in diameter. Stones dropped through the hole fell for a considerable distance, but owing to the narrowness of the fissure and the awkwardness of the position it was anything but an easy matter to enlarge the hole. Some of the larger stones we passed up the slope, and pushed the smaller, together with quantities of mud, through the steadily widening opening below. After about four hours’ steady work we found that we could not enlarge the opening any more without dislodging a large boulder and, fearing this might cause a slip of the slope above, we gave up for the day.
On the following Saturday several members of the Club joined us and digging went on for about two hours, when the rain, which had been threatening all morning, came down in earnest, turning the whole slope quickly into a quagmire, and a hurried retreat was made to Clapham. Other members and friends arrived during the evening, bringing up the number of the party next day to about a dozen.
The opening was now sufficiently large for a descent, but, as several boulders in the slope seemed anything but secure, We first got rid of them, by coaxing some into sacks and hauling out by ropes and rolling others down through the opening below.
By mid-day everything was considered safe for a descent and the ladders were accordingly lowered and the floor reached at 44 feet below the lip of the opening and 81 feet below the moor.
The pot was found to consist of a long fissure, with a greatest width of 4 feet, extending 15 feet in a southerly direction from the foot of the ladder. At this end of the pot there was a small shower of water. In the opposite direction the fissure extended for a distance of 28 feet, the moor dropping in three steps to a depth of 18 feet. The bottom was entirely choked with a very thick deposit of mud, consisting almost entirely of peat washings. It is noteworthy that the roof near the end of the E. Passage of Gaping Ghyll rises out of sight, and this new pot-hole is almost directly above this point. It is thus possible that if and when the mud at the bottom of the pot is washed away by floods a new opening into Gaping Ghyll may be found.
Failing a better name we propose to call it ‘Car Pot’ from the dialect word ‘car,’ meaning a marshy place.
About 40 yards to the N. of this pot and nearer to the wall is another, consisting of an open fissure about 20 feet wide, 60 feet long and 35 feet deep, the line of which is approximately N. and S., the S. end consisting of a grass and rock slope, and the N. end and sides of vertical rock faces. As the floor is composed of fragments of limestone, digging operations might shew good results here also.
The party consisted of Barran, Bassett, Booth, Brodrick, J. Buckley, J. H. Buckley, Corbett, Goodacre, C. Hastings, Hill, Horn and Rule.
[Note:- On June 12th, 1910, several members of the Club found another pot-hole about forty yards to the SE. of Car Pot, consisting of an open pot, the N. side being a cliff some 25 feet high and the floor composed of large boulders. With a little trouble they were able to lower a ladder between two of these boulders and descend the fissure below, which was found to be about 30 feet long and 25 feet deep at the deepest point, its line being parallel to that of Car Pot. The moor about this place is dotted with numerous shakeholes and it is proposed to make a careful survey and exploration of them shortly.]