Just Sam and I this evening and with little hesitation we changed trips from an mud-fest in Cussey to Victory in Cliffstile. I met Sam in Eyam and 6:30pm, we donned wetsuits (skipped pre-beer) and headed over to Cliffstile. I bombed the shaft whilst Sam sat at a re-belay for a few minutes waiting for nothing, eventually he realised we we’re heading to the bottom and not off to one side. I was surprised to find the sough a swollen brown torrent and marked the water level on a standing timber to check later.
We headed a little downstream and hung a right to enter Victory Level. At the moment we’re going off a 1872 plan of the mine and the writing is mostly unreadable. The level starts as a hands and knees crawl through silt which soon leads to a chamber with a stacked wall on the left and another possible lead a little further on. The level stomps away with more potential leads in the roof until you reach a junction. Not your normal junction but a normally flooded level (currently a canal) can be entered which today had approximately 20cm of airspace at it’s lowest, above this is a stooping level heading in the same direction but doesn’t connect (Rob and Luke surveyed this section some years since). We took the canal today as there was a draught heading along even though the water flows towards us here. The canal is mentioned in JSB’s diary from 26th May 1991 for reference as is the pushing of Victory level, John was convinced this was a boat level in the mine, as it’s very wide with occasional wider sections for passing places which makes sense. Just before the end of this canal section a short pipe cavern can be entered on the right but is blind. The level opens up and the floor becomes a thicker sludge which tries to drag you down with every step, continuing forward we eventual met a very low air space duck. Luckily this can be bypassed by a 2m climb on the left via a tight squeeze. Above the squeeze is a climbing shaft roughly 8-10m tall and looks like a good lead and at the base of this shaft buried under spoil is entry to a pipe cavern but required a dig.
We headed on through the squeeze to avoid the duck and the draught heading through was incredible! Dropping down from the squeeze lands you in a larger continuation with some humongous stemples cum sleepers bobbing in the water. Again the floor here was waist deep and the mud beneath was treacherous. Not far ahead we met a chamber and had to cross a large pool to access a boulder slope. To our left was an obvious run-in/filled shaft and tree roots hanging through all over the place, we believe this to be the shaft under the rocks as marked on the 1872 plan which we believe to be in the proximity of Ivy Green Cave in Middleton Dale. We continued on and down a slope we met an alcove on the right which brings you back to the filled shaft whilst left led to a short sideways section to a constriction where the draught was howling through but needed a dig. Straight on ended at another big collapse so we turned around and started to head back.
It was around this time that one of our cap lamps decided enough was enough and went into emergency candle mode. We noticed that when we bottomed the large slope we had released a stream from behind it and was cautious that this could be filling up our canal. We rushed back through the squeeze and I had a look at the climber whilst Sam dug out below to enter the pipe cavern which runs parallel to the main level. I joined Sam who inspected the run-in at the end before climbing to a higher level with various leads. Now feeling rather cautious about the level of the canal we legged it back and luckily the water level had not risen by much. When we eventually reached Moorwood the water was now running clear and from my marker had dropped by an inch. We headed off up Cliffstile at a decent lick and finished with Post beers at the car.