Bagshawe Cavern
The Eldon always have a number of active digs undergo in Bagshawe.
One that is currently receiving quite a lot of attention is the "Dead Ahead Dig" in the Full Moon Series.
[For more information regarding Bagshaw Cavern go to the dedicated page]
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- Written by: Jim Thompson
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Team: Jim / Bog / Dave
In a week that saw metaphorical clouds roll across much of England, the land seemed anything other than green and pleasant. However my countenance was rendered divine via a message from Bog: ‘fancy digging in England’s Green and Pleasant Land, tube off the top?’ Of course I did, and so a long overdue reunion between Bog, Dave and me was a joy to behold in a pleasantly warm Bagshawe car park.
The objective tonight was to reach the big chamber at the top of EGAPL and place a bolt to secure a handline that was looped precariously round a stal and commence digging operations in the tube. Reports from the previous week of collapsing slopes suggested that a secure line would be a sensible precaution so Dave had come prepared with kit and we had a reasonably quick jaunt up the New Series and through a bone dry Pool Chamber. I took Dave’s bag and made an enjoyable climb up to the big block that marks the last bit of solid before moving onto the chossy bit. Shouting behind me, it was obvious that I couldn’t hear them, and they couldn’t hear me, I tried whistling but that was orders of magnitude quieter so I just had to sit tight and hope someone would get bored of waiting. Soon enough, I heard panting and Bog appeared, followed quickly by Dave.
Over the block and onto the slope, I could see where Dave had collapsed a big chunk of it, so opted to stay by the left-hand wall with a view to keeping as much weight off my feet as possible and ready to grab the handline should my sketchy footholds part company. Everything behaved and I ensconced myself by the stal, understanding why Dave had been worrying about it all week.
I got cracking with the bolt and Dave and Bog headed off into the tube to crack on.
I’d been looking forward to a tube that was tube shaped, so making my way into a rocky bedding that appeared to continue as a rocky bedding made me wonder if I’d picked the wrong place to catch them up but I could hear them ahead so carried on.
Pushing on I found myself on a big wide hump of hard mud, quite reminiscent of sidetrack i.e there’s a tube there but you’re at the top of it because it’s full. Not so low as to be pushing tight, but just low enough to prevent any meaningful crawling, and with just too little moisture to prevent adhesion, the mud was sticky, and I dragged myself along for what seemed like ages wondering when the dig face would appear.
Just round the corner I came face to face with Bog’s wellies and got stuck in to an uncomfortable session of kibble emptying. With only enough height to turn a kibble over and not enough space to bash it, this involved clawing the mud out in balls and attempting to get them to the back of the passage like a T Rex throwing a heavy ball, while Dave filled and demanded fresh kibbles at an unreasonable pace. Luckily there was enough shit banter flying about to make it all less minging and I was glad to be there rather than anywhere else.
After a while we all simultaneously decided we’d had enough and hauled shell back to the chamber, where the relief of standing up gave way to something akin to vertigo after an hour lying on my side with my head below my feet. Once I didn’t feel about to fall over down the pitch, I headed down, letting the unwieldy bag try to knock me off balance instead.
An easy dash out and we found ourselves back on a balmy surface at 2330 and had a lovely hour of beers and chat.
Work continues…
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- Written by: Jon Pemberton
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Joe, Sam and I this evening once again and we had agreed after the previous trip that the bitter end of Bagshawe was to be our destination. With the ease of access now that Madame Guillotine no longer required dragging SRT kits we were up for an easy trip – right?
We met and 6pm and was skipping down Bagshawe steps just before 6:30pm. We weren’t tonking it but we weren’t hanging about. Ticked off the usual waypoints; Snake Pyjama’s gate, Full Moon, French Connection, MG… To this point it was very easy due to the lack of dragging any bags. Different from what we’ve been accustomed to over the past few weeks (months) which has been walking and an 80m pitch. Now one can be up the pitch within a minute and gear off at the top and ready to progress to the end. It was Sam’s first time and he didn’t seem too convinced. (FYI Joe still couldn’t find his cows tails which he’d lost from when we bolted it!) Onwards to glory we set off on the crawlathon passing Dylan’s limit from the other week. We reached the end dig in exactly 1 hour.
I took the first stint at digging. The previous party had left it a bit cramped so I had to re-excavate the floor so I could get the kibble alongside me (still awkward). From here digging is the easiest part by far but it’s faffy dragging the kibble, turning it around and filling it up. (We need a couple of lengths of rope for next time). Also I think digging could me made easier by just using a headtorch and not having your helmet on! I did 10 kibbles before Joe took over to fill another 10. When it was Sam’s turn he declined and Joe carried on for a further few before we called it a day after 1 hour 45 mins at the end, now for the slog back out.
It felt slow progress coming back out and I had a stonking headache from all the crawling. MG was easy on the down climb and we were glad to finally get back to beyond the gate. We made surface at 10:30pm with the return trip taking 1 hour 15 mins. Sam produced a cheap belvita bar as a snack which went down a treat! Note to self; bring tangfastics next time!
Big Enuf? - Soulful Joe and his spanner (JRP)
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- Written by: Ben Shannon
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Ben Shannon, Jon Pemberton and Chris Hibberts
"Rubber Dinghy Rapids Bro!"
I never used to entertain the idea of Bagshawe Cavern. It was always one of my uni clubs fresher trips. A small old show cave sounded like a place for punters. one evening before a cussey dig, Rob mentioned about new developments beyond the gates. the more he spoke the more intrigued i got.
Fast forward to tonight, im pulling on my furry outside the coe for my second trip here. the goal was to get to madame guillotine for some pictures and then head to the dig to put a shift in.
Its quite strange to head into a building, open a small cupboard and see a staircase descend into the blackness. we make speedy progress to the gate where Jon marvels at the size of chris' nuts as i extract the very manly derbyshire key (not to be confused with the smaller toy derbyshire keys) and pass it over. the crawl is arduous as I help free up jons tackle sack whilst trying to free up my own or wait for chris to free me. By the time i got into the main chamber i had a proper sweat on but we pushed on down to the french connection.
"ohhhh, its Rubber Dinghy Rapids Bro" came a dejected Jon as he lay at the waters edge. the duck was almost a sump. "come and see what you think" Jon turned around in the tight tube and made his way up, i pressed myself into the wall as we intimately squeezed past each other like tourists on a cornish country road.
last time i came here i got through the duck with half my face underwater, now i was looking at 2 inches of air space. i could just about see the air bell. jon explained the two options "fully submerge and free dive, or hug the left wall sucking the ceiling as best you can". i was weighing it up as Jon sudden realised "coming back is going to be an issue because you will drag water down from the second duck and fill up this one making it a sump"
I really wanted to see the rest of the cave and get digging so I decided i would push through to the air bell and have a look at the second duck. i slid forwards and put my right arm into to the water up to me shoulder.
"Fuuuuuuuuuu, thats cold" wow, this pool was incredibly cold, and after being spoiled by my wetsuit in cussey i decided that it wasnt to be tonight. i span around and laughed at the sight of jon trying to crawl over the top of Chris. i made my way up the tube and had to grab on to Chris' leg to give me leverage to get by. He made his way to the pool to check it out. There was alot of nothern ranting and he too decided it was not going tonight. "Joe can tie himself some new cowstails because Im not going through that"
We were all disappointed but Jon had a plan and got into tour guide mode. we headed back to the gate. crawling down hill is much easier for obvious reasons and so in no time we were screwing up Chris' massive nut and heading to the other gate. some crawling, balancing on a wooden plank and more crawling took us to a pool. it was beautifully crystal clear. "thats the way on" but all i could see was water and 1 inch of black. "that tiny tiny gap?" i asked a little shocked. stumped by a Sump again.
"I know this really cool Miners Rift with clay pipes"
We mooched down the main passage playing guess the entrance to agony crawl. Eventually Jon stopped and pointed out a small hold at floor level then slid into it, Chris followed and then I joined. At the constriction Chris was lying there contemplating his life choices before making his way through. Agony crawl isnt tight tight, but it does have some rocky lumps that stab you in the gentleman sausage. this lead to a vertical squeeze which dropped us into a pool of water. we followed this for a while until a chamber lead to a free climb to the next level.
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- Written by: Jim Thompson
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https://ukcaving.com/board/index.php?threads/bagshawe-gates-now-secured-by-derbyshire-key.30983/
Team: Bog, Chris, Jim
For some time the Eldon have been tasked with holding the code for access to the two gates controlling access to the New Series and Snake’s Pyjamas gates inside Bagshawe, and for some time have felt that the relatively low number of requests were perhaps due to difficulty in understanding the process. Following consultation with the custodian, and recent loss of keys etc., access beyond the gates is now secured by the not-too-restrictive Derbyshire Key.
Chris had done a superb job of designing and fabricating some plate/chain arrangements and whilst the rest of TA were busy pushing in Projekt V http://www.eldonpotholeclub.org.uk/homepage/current-uk-projects/project-v/609-new-dig-on-the-block
the three of us headed in to open the padlocks for the final time. Armed with a drill, impact driver, and big spanner - thankfully all carried by Bog and Chris as I was somewhat musculoskeletally challenged following one of those totally innocuous incidents involving an easy lift followed by searing pain in the lower lumbar region, the fit was straightforward, requiring 4 holes per gate and a bit of spannering.
We were out of the cave by 2000, and following an amusing time observing a Peak District sasquatch, headed to the Anchor for pints, a pile of snacks and an Eldon meet to discuss the forthcoming, new and improved, Derbyshire Explorers Forum, rising phoenix like from the ashes of a disappointing cancellation.
https://ukcaving.com/board/index.php?threads/derbyshire-explorers-forum-2023.30997/
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- Written by: Jon Pemberton
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Stapled to the top - 20/07/2023
Chris, Joe & JRP
Armed with a drill, camera and 3x SRT kits, pre beers were quickly supped over some onion rings before gaining access to Bagshawe which proved difficult. The long drag (literally) with a bag each felt a slog having not been down these parts for a while, I was grateful for my miners knee pads. The duck in the French Connection wasn't too bad, still being able to keep your face above the water but the passage looks larger than it is thus saturating your complete torso in passing, making any idle work/time bone chilling! We passed bags through the choke, once stood at the bottom of Madame Guillotine we kitted Joe up who'd never been to these parts (at all) to rig our abseil rope so we could safely/easily staple the far side of Madame Guillotine.
Chris and Jim had made an Awesome start a couple of months prior using the existing, rigged rope which proved difficult. Once Joe had rigged a fresh, Chris headed up to the ledge which marked our starting point for tonight. I managed to persuade Chris to head up a gully to the right rather than straight up, although the rock potentially looked better, the line I persuaded him on carried loads more natural holds which'd make for less staples and less holes to be drilled! He started on his way whilst I watched his process. Basically... Drill two "big one" holes at roughly the approximate angle of the staple then, bash the staple in to place. Although technically there was more to it than that, which I soon found out. Chris pushed on to a height of 4 metres above the ledge then offered for me to have a "bash".
Now feeling the cold I gladly accepted, laden with gear I made my way up to his end point. My first staple went in like a banana! With reassurance from the ground crew that it sounded "ok" I continued. The second felt like it went in better then it progressively got easier, with almost perfect positioning, whilst others felt like they didn't hit the end of the drill hole. Negotiating the fractured rock, gardening en route, we moved further right towards a gully leading to an aven which Ben Bentham climbed in the mid 90's. It's crazy that since we broke through back in 2010 I'd never properly seen up this aven, it definitely needs another look. At the gully we decided to head straight up rather than to touch the large boulder slope, as anything knocked down would eventually fill up the choke below and our route out. I used the staples as a ladder system for the final few metres as it was void of naturals. After q couple more I was stood at the top of the pitch! - Yay!
I placed one more staple on the way down as one of the moves felt very bold on the descent and it made sense to do this now so we could take most of the gear back out tonight. Back down on the floor I was greeted by a chilled Chris and a freezing Joe. We made a hasty retreat back through the duck, it didn't take long for everyone to warm up. We made surface at 11:45pm having definitely missed the pub so postie's were supped in the car park chased by some onion rings.
The Eavis approves - 26/07/2023
Rob, Joe, JRP
We returned the following week armed with a little drill, some bolts, a camera and cap lamp belt with cows tails. Our mission: place some bolts to fix a traverse line (proper via ferrata style), using our abseil rope from the previous week. All the other locations which we have placed staples we'd never fixed a traverse line as it wasn't warranted, however this is the first project that's deemed worthy of one, being an 18m pitch with a potential fall of 20m! (Even we don't wanna die that bad...)
Quick pre-beers in the car park (in the pissing down rain) followed by a boss straight towards Madame G. It felt much easier this week having not dragged in heaps of kit. Rob climbed up the staples, safely backed up and was up in no time. He switched to descent mode and commenced placing bolts for the safety chord.
During this time I managed to convince Joe on a grovel to the boulder choke at the end of Calais Crawl. I'd previously dug this to a large drippy void after we made the big breakthrough back in 2010 connecting the Full Moon Series to the Hollywood Bowl series thus enabling easier access to this highly prospected area in the Bradwell catchment. To get to the end you have to negotiate two ducks, the second one having little to no activity over the past 7 years required a little dig after sediment had been washed through during high water levels (and it's tight!) Once through both of us climbed up into the void which was pissing down with water, strange as the whole place seemed to be dry this evening. The choke looks super promising but requires scaff as it's looks awful!
We retreated back to the base of Madame Guillotine to find Rob just about finishing up. He placed one more bolt securing a horizontal traverse near the bottom. Joe and I belted up and made our way to the top. The first proper ascent using only a belt was AWESOME! It felt so cool to move so fast up this pitch, whereas before it'd require so much faff, dragging SRT kits and passing down gear to people below. This has been something I'd been dreaming of for 10 years and for it finally to become a reality was Awesome!
Rob followed, shortly after and within minutes we were all at the top - Crazy times! We headed back out elated, not only was it a top achievement for Team Awesome, it made the trip fun! It now opens up some serious prospects in the Hollywood Bowl Series and sporting trips alike. Shortly with the removal of key access to the gated sections of Bagshawe (replaced by a Derbyshire key) hopefully we'll be seeing a lot more activity here.
Some well deserved post beers had in the anchor with copious amounts of snacklets.
Sump luck - 03/08/2023
Joe, Sam & JRP
Ready to snap some "arf" decent photos and with a rare appearance from Sammy Whiskers we met at Baggers for pre-beers and soggy chips. With hindsight and a code, getting Into the Coe was easy and we trudged along to the main drag and Full Moon Series at a reasonable lick, now unladen with bags.
This July has been super wet but we were surprised to see the duck at the lowest point of the French Connection was within centimetres from being sumped! This was worrying as when one crawls through the duck you disperse the water into this lower section meaning we'd definitely be free-diving back out. This could quite easily be done but tonight wasn't the time to experiment. Without the appropriate gear, exiting the sump in reverse would require a struggle up a slippery ramp which is bad enough in the dry. We put a pin in it and hope within a few weeks the sump will drop.
We retreated and headed up through the first gate for a quick look, as Joe had never been. Pool Chamber was up (Obvs) but only just. On our way out we decided to show Joe the newly discovered Mulespinner Series and had a laugh free-climbing down the pitch which was spicy. After the grand tour we raced back up the stairs and supped post beers at the cars. Photos of Madame Guillotine would have to wait for a few more weeks.
