Cave Exploration
I. – New Discoveries.
Ingleborough, Gaping Ghyll. – At Whitsuntide, 1922, H.P. Devenish made his way into a passage and loop from the Great Hall on the Stream Chamber Branch, which are probably new, and have not been surveyed.
The line of descent through Jib Tunnel can no longer be used, owing to a curious displacement and settling down of a very large boulder which masked the entrance to the passage, and now serves as an almost closed portcullis.
Alum Pot. – The mighty underground shaft into which falls the stream which comes from Diccan Pot, by Upper Long Churn, and which crosses Long Churn itself to the twin opening by the Long Churn entrance, was descended 7th June, 1922, by W.V. Brown, C.D. Frankland, and J. Hilton.
Depth 120 feet. They were confronted by another big waterfall pitch, the foot of which could not clearly be seen from the extensive platform on which the observers stood. Wingfield, Stobart and Addyman arrived as they were leaving, and Stobart also made the descent.
Pillar Pots (Nos. 2 and 3). – On 18th May, 1922, the unexplored shaft from the lowest point reached by climbing down either of these two holes, was descended to within 15 feet of the floor, making the shaft about 120 feet deep. Time forbade the lowering of the ladders. The view from the end of the ladders supported the belief that the same chamber had been reached as in Pillar Pot (No. 1).
Penyghent, Little Hull Pot. – Exploration completed 4th June, 1922, by R.F. Stobart, E.T.W. Addyman, N. Bates, and E.E. Roberts.
The difficulties of the fissure passage below the second pitch were more than up to expectations.
Short entrance passage leads to long troublesome pool in a bedding plane 2 feet high, next comes a fine stream passage, say 100 yards. First pitch, 80 feet; second pitch follows immediately, 95 feet ladder climb, 130 feet in all. Straight and very narrow passage of considerable length leads to third pitch, 24 feet ladder, into moderate sized chamber of very great height (new ground). Another stream passage joins here. The cave ends abruptly in a little pool a few yards from the chamber.
Hull Pot. – The upper cave was entered and the waterfall crack climbed by R.F. Stobart and E.E. Roberts in May, 1922. The stream passage is quite 20 feet in height to begin with, and lit up by the hole in the dry bed above, Climbing above a big ruckle of boulders, a traverse leads beyond a fine waterfall, and the passage rapidly degenerates into a low bedding plane, almost filled with a strong current of water.
The condition of the stalactites among the boulders showed that this visit was the first,
High Hull Pot. – In August, 1921, the opening was found blocked up. The place seemed to have opened out a little more, and local information was that the block was due to a further slip in the bank of the sinkhole.
It is amazing that the terrific storm of 21st May, 1922, which filled Hull Pot to overflowing, did not carry the obstruction away and sweep the sink clear.
The hole was opened again at Whitsuntide and sounded up to 140 feet.
Wharfedale, Penny Pot. – The path from Kettlewell to Arncliffe is crossed high up on the Arncliffe slope below a ruined barn by a strongly marked series of sinks. There are several holes easy of descent among those to the north of the path, but in the second sink, 20 yards from the path, is Penny Pot, a vertical descent of 27 feet, in all 35 feet. It was unknown to the local people, was first noticed in April, 1919, and descended March, 1922.
Buckden Pike – Gillhead Pots (M. Botterill and J.F. Seaman in 1912). – This discovery is of interest owing to the height above sea-level. They are almost on the 2,000 feet contour, high up to the north of the old mine at the very head of Buckden Gill. If the miners’ track shown on the Ordnance Map is followed nearly to the mine, a small pot-hole will be found on the far side of the wall above. The deeper shaft, a few paces off, is covered in. Its lower portion is not directly below the upper, and is only gained by a desperate struggle sideways through a very narrow crack. No passage at the bottom. Depth about 50 feet.
Stump Cross Cavern. – A party of Cambridge men about Easter, 1922, did some prolonged excavation at the end of the lower series. After driving a “rat-hole” 30 yards through silt, under a rock roof, they struck the end of a roomy passage 60 yards long. Further additions were made in June and a stream reached. The extensions have been visited since by some of our men.
II. – Other Expeditions.
Pennyghent, Hunt Pot. – A descent, probably the third (see Y.R.C.J., Vol. II., p. 249), was made 6th June, 1922, by Stobart and Roberts, supported by J.D. Ellis and another at the life-line.
The depth is 160 feet, practically vertical, in two climbs. The first of 90 feet, mostly swinging free, leads on to the original floor of the fissure (room for a dozen people), but the water which comes down the end of the fissure plunges directly under the ladder wall into an almost similar parallel fissure. The second climb is a very wet affair.
The view from below is extremely fine. The chamber is about as long as the whole of the surface fissure and some 15 feet wide. Stobart is of the opinion that one end can be climbed and the fissure followed some distance.
Attermire Cave. – Since Cuttriss published his plan in 1897 (Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society, Vol. XIII.), two holes have been artificially enlarged in the small passage described as “too contracted to permit of further progress.” Some vigorous struggling now brings one to a crawl over scree uphill to a dead-end against solid rock. Here the cliff face must be very close, as during a gale the roar of the wind could be heard with the greatest distinctness.
Nidderdale – Eglin’s Hole. – This cave is of more interest than is generally supposed, and progress is mostly by easy walking, not crawling. The total length must approach half a mile. At the end is a very low and interminable bedding plane. In view of conflicting statements about this cave, it is recorded that Jack Buckley and E.E. Roberts, at the Middlesmoor Meet, October 1921, penetrated at least 100 yards beyond an unmistakable stalactite grille, which is a long way inside the crawl, and appeared to have had but one predecessor. Further progress was still possible for a very small man.
Lost and Found. – There is news of Gritstone Pot, which turns out to be the most northerly, by a good 150 yards, of the Newby Moss group. Walkers from Chapel-le-Dale round Ingleborough to Gaping Ghyll usually pass close to it, and a little above it, soon after entering on the terrace opposite Crina Bottom, which broadens out into Newby Moss. As a pot-hole, Gritstone Pot is one of the most obvious of the series.
For Old Ing Cave, described by Moore in Bogg’s Border Country, search has been made in vain by ones and twos during the last ten years. On the assurance, last July, from Old Ing Farm that the cave really existed in the pasture over the hillock to the south, Dismal Hill, a sweep by seven men in line discovered the cave in a sink-hole to the north of a tumbledown sheepfold and almost at the foot of the next hillock, called Rough Hill. It is not in the line of the watercourse which enters the pasture at that corner, but about 50 yards south.
Old Ing Cave is well worth a visit, and is a down-stream cave apparently going south, and to pass the big pools gives plenty of fun.