Cave Exploration

I.—New Discoveries

Ingleborough,Gaping Ghyll. — Whitsuntide, 1928. At this Meet the first crossing of the Pool Canal was accomplished on a petrol tin raft, two Ramblers succeeding in making a through passage from the Pool Chamber to the West Chamber. Owing to the difficult nature of the landing at the northern end of the canal, about 8 feet above the water level, it was not found feasible for a journey to be made in the other direction with the craft available. The canal is 87 feet long and the distance from its northern extremity to the West Chamber another 79 feet. The depth of water varies from a few inches to six or eight feet, whilst the width is fairly uniform between four and six feet. A rock barrier about half-way along its course stretches right across, but affords a good landing. The true bearing of the canal fissure, which extends into the West Chamber, is 339 degrees.

Kingsdale, Swinsto Hole. — August , 1929. Hainsworth, Walker and others. Completed, June, 1930, Gritstone Club.

Along the “ unpleasant passage ” and through the “ deeper water ” at which everyone else has stopped, Hainsworth and his Ingleton friends crawled for 350 yards—a gallant effort only to be fully appreciated by those who have done what appears to be several miles with all the benefit of a lower water level. The remarkably regular tunnel has little fall, and gets gradually worse up to a desperate place, seventy yards from the end. Here a strong tributary joins in and an easy 15 ft. pitch is followed by vigorous waterfalls of 30 feet into a short high passage, and of 12 feet into a big pool at the head of the fifth pitch. Six ladders were dragged in in three trips.

In May, 1930, led by Hainsworth, the Gritstoners descended the long wet pitch, by passage and crawl went 500 yards to a dry 70 ft. pitch, then down another of 40 feet, and stopped at the head of a 20 ft. drop, which they proved in June to be the last of all. A formidable cavern.

Leck Fell, Three Trees Pot, etc. — Whitsun,1929.  A long way down the wall from Leck Fell House and near to Easegill, a well marked line of sinks is crossed. There is a minor pot-hole on the west side, but two larger ones lie 200 yards east.

Three Trees Pot contains an open hole of some size, 25 ft. deep, but in the east bank of the sink a 75 ft. ladder climb through a small hole leads into a fine chamber. The rock at the head of the next shaft is in most places extremely dangerous. At the bottom a narrow slit opens into a 40 ft. pot-hole. Wood and Griffiths first reached this point, but Lipscomb of the second party is the only man who has risked the chance of not being able to get back through the window, and therefore the first man to reach the bottom of the cavern.

Number Two begins with two simple pitches, but the third has its difficulties, and we will not spoil the entertainment by describing them.

Leck Fell, New Pot (unnamed). — Whitsun, 1929.  Lipscomb and Innes Foley. An amazing crater, 30 ft. in diameter, not far from Easegill Kirk, developed in the winter of 1928. It is reported to go down only 15 feet below the loose slope, and in spite of a nasty climb over a mud bank and among loose stuff to lead to nothing much. The storms of a few winters will probably open out something better.

Swaledale, Hollow Mill Pots. — (Yates & Roberts, August, 1929).

This group is within 300 yards of the road over the Tailbrigg Pass, north of Hollow Mill Cross, the highest point. Four daylight shafts up to sixty feet were descended. The pot-hole, 22 ft. deep, into which a beck tumbles, was found to possess a dark shaft. Heavy water on a frosty day forbade more than one descent to what proved later to be a pinnacle in the floor.

In May, 1930, Butterfield, Marshall and Wood were added to the party, and an almost dry descent made of 100 feet from the moor. No outlet at the foot of the shaft.

Jingling Cove, an open pot-hole just south of the Cross was also descended.

Swaledale, Lamps Moss, Blue John Hole. — (Yates and Roberts, 27th October, 1929).
Near the Tailbrigg Pass to Kirby Stephen, about 400 yards east of the road, a strong beck is swallowed in an imposing cave entrance. A striking passage closes abruptly against a rock face after only fifty yards. We cannot trace any reference to the cavern, although the name is shown on the six-inch map.

Wensleydale, Cotter End, Scots Hole Pots. — Four pot-holes up to 25 ft. deep on the Highway between Tarn Gill and Scots Hole have been descended, August, 1929, as well as Tarn GillPot and some minor shafts near it. The same expedition also took the trouble to make quite sure that the only one of the Buttertubs which cannot be climbed was descended. It proved to be a double shaft of fifty-eight feet.

Nidderdale, Goyden Pot. — 16th June, 1929. Brown, Hilton, Yates, Marshall and Roberts invaded the Labyrinth and made half a dozen new connections. The Timber Jam was found to be open as in 1922, and the belfry to the south to connect with the adjacent passage. Five Ways was found to be Six Ways. The furthest belfry, on the stream, proved to have a short passage beyond it to the south, with an amusing finish.

Beyond the High Fissure and the Pot-hole, three connections, two by sight at an upper level, and one by repeated journeys, were made with the Carbide Tin Passage.

Yates has since returned with Armstrong and others, climbed from the first belfry up into a new and very awkward passage, dragged a ladder along, and, bad luck, has found himself descending into the second belfry instead of into a new area. These two belfries are marked “ High ” on the map.

In 1930, Yates, Butterfield and Nelstrop met with more important success. The Cap Passage was followed about 150 yards until it subdivided and closed. Then the low crawl at the entrance to the Carbide Tin Passage was attacked, and followed with difficulty for 50 yards until it broke into thc roof of a fine stream channel 8 ft. high, 3 ft. wide, which ran down 130 yards to a water-trap of great depth, and upstream 160 yards to a low bedding plane.

II.—Other Expeditions

Clapham Cave. — 8th March,1930. Low Level Area. Hill has shown from Mr. Farrer’s Cave Book (Y.R.C.J., IV., p. 108), that the first party in 1837 did not enter the Giant’s Hall but gained the low level some other way. A visit by Bonner and the Editor in 1920 showed that this was probably through a slit in the S. wall of the Gothic Arches opposite the entrance of the Giant’s Hall. At this date the descent from the latter was hopelessly buried, but in 1930 the Club found it far more open than it was in 1913. On the other hand the sand was banked high against the S. wall of the Gothic Arches.

The party of three who reached Lake Avernus report that Brodrick’s plan (Vol. IV., p.106) is no doubt sternly accurate horizontally. Turning right after sliding down the sand, they crawled a bit and found on the right bank an important landmark to the way out, namely, a round pot hole, 2 ft. above the floor, in which one could stand up. This is Hill’s “ chamber” from which one can talk to a man 12 ft. above at the end of the Gothic Arches and is probably also “ The Hole ” of plan on p.60,Vol. II. A by-pass tunnel off this dodges the water, and it seems to be a little longer than shown on Brodrick’s plan.

To gain the “dry crawl“ of Calvert and Green (Vol.I., p.223), it is necessary to cross the stream when entered again and keep up its left bank.

Downstream comes the worst bit., which the 1930 party take oath is not 3 ft. high as on the plan, or even 2 ft. The next incident is a sheet of water, from which they did not observe two streams ran, though this would seem not to be always the case. Keeping right they arrived at “ False Avernus,” passing a noisy little tributary which evidently came from the sink of the Cellar Gallery water. The tunnel to the right in line with “ False Avernus ” they miserably failed to explore. Brodrick does not show it. Returning by the left bank they were rather staggered to find the water suddenly going the wrong way, but persevered, reached the real Lake Avernus, turned right and waded up into False Avernus and round the corner for home, somehow not feeling up to tackling after dinner the “ long dry crawl,” of which the right branch is rumoured to go for ever.

Ingleborough, Long Kin West. — 30th June, 1929. A most successful day without a hitch was spent over what appears to be the fifth descent, six men reaching the bottom. The pitches were considered to be 70, 150 (not 160), 70, and 20 feet.

The second descent, Whitsun, 1905, not hitherto recorded, was made by Booth, Parsons, Buckley, Hill, Brodrick, Hastings, Green and Lamb.

Leck Fell, Lost Johns’ Cave. — At Whitsun, 1930, three of the original explorers, Innes Foley, J. R. Kennedy, and Hicks with Nuttall and five Ramblers, Brown, Hilton, Yates, Marshall, and E. E. Roberts all went down to the Master Cave, using ten ladders. The one on the Bayonet can be replaced by a rope. The Battleaxe ladder, 36 feet, is long enough for the little pitch below as well. The dam held for 2½ hours, giving time for the work below.

The block upstream could not be penetrated. Downstream Roberts and Yates turned back at 960 yards from Groundsheet Junction in the final region of deep water and sticky mud.

On 13th July, Hilton,Yates, Nelstrop and Roberts supported by Brown and Bottomley, made what appears to be the only descent to the end of the Old Cave since that of Booth and Parsons. They tied the ladders to the beam put in 32 years ago, still perfectly sound. Some change has taken place below. Clean rock now, with a narrow lofty crack running away. Yates chimneyed out furthest and is of the opinion that when short beams are jammed in, a descent can be made to the water.

Leck Fell, Death’s Head Pot. — This was descended by four Ramblers in July, and we believe it has also been done in 1929 by the Gritstone Club.

Somerset, Swildon’s Hole. — 13th October, 1929. In spite of heavy rain during the previous week, Devenish and E. E. Roberts were able to go right to the end of the magnificent cavern, the pipe which some benefactor has concreted into the top of the only serious pitch shooting the water far out over their heads. The point between the Twin Pots at which Baker and the Editor were stopped in 1914 is not difficult when you have a rope or when you know it.