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Written by: Rob Eavis

Published: 12 April 2013

Hits: 3579

Report by Jules Barrett
Cavers: Jules Barrett (EPC), Ann Soulsby (TSG)

Derbyshire was awash with the Peak Cavern Entrance flooded and all of the active swallet caves giving it both barrels. We arrived at the TSG in the morning and since I'd not done the South Gully route in Eldon Hole before we thought that we'd have an afternoon in there. We changed at the TSG hut and drove to the parking for Eldon Hole. On the way we met a group in wetsuits on their way to P8 which would have been particularly wet today. We walked up to Eldon Hole in light rain and rigged the first Y-hang. A rebelay just over the edge and deviation leads to another couple of single-bolt rebelays and then a deviation on the opposite wall leads to the bottom. At the bottom we didn't go through to the main chamber but came back up the ropes and Ann de-rigged.

An excellent SRT route down Eldon Hole!

Details

Written by: Rob Eavis

Published: 12 April 2013

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Report by Jules Barrett
Cavers: Jules Barrett (EPC), Dave Gledhill (EPC), Bob Toogood (EPC), Toni Murphy, Jim Alder

The Nenthead mines are a very extensive set of abandoned mines in Cumbria which Dave Gledhill knows well (this is fortunate as they are incredibly complicated). Dave, Bob and I had recently enjoyed the Croesor-Rhosydd through trip and Dave's description of the Nenthead mines lured us up north a couple of weeks later when the forecast for Derbyshire and the Dales was terrible. Toni and Jim joined us with limited information but a positive outlook! According to Dave the classic sporting trip in Nenthead is the through trip from Caplecleugh to Rampgill via Smallcleugh and Proud's Sump. Now if that sounds complicated, wait until you're trying to remember the way 'cos that's much, much harder. To summarise: enter Caplecleugh on one side of the car park, wade along a level in deep water, climb a long way up old calcited ladder, pull-through abseil of two pitches down a shaft (Proud's Sump), and exit Rampgill on the other side of the car park. There are kilometres of passages to traverse between the two mine entrances and we were very fortunate that Dave knows Nenthead well. We met up on the Friday night and Saturday morning saw us changing into wetsuits in a cold visitors centre car park. Dave ran off to leave a rope and rigging gear at an entrance close to Proud's Sump where we would do two pull-through abseils. When Dave returned we walked twenty metres from the car park and headed underground into Caplecleugh Main Horse Level. This level was used by horses to remove ore from the mine and starts off as a spacious passage with water in the bottom and an impressive stone-arched roof. After a short time we came to Hopper Number 9 where a set of old ladders led up into the workings above. We made our way up the ladders and had a good look round in the workings where there are ore trucks, old man's tools and some worrying false floors. We came back down the ladders and continued along the Main Horse Level. We made progress along through a number of collapses and the water started to get deeper. At times the water was neck deep but the going was easy enough along here. Reaching the branch with Caplecleugh North Vein we detoured down here to arrive at the bottom of another set of ladders with a load of water coming down them. It reminded me of The Bung in Speedwell but with substantially more ladders. We climbed up and into the workings at the top which were very extensive with some very impressive ginging. Back down the ladders and wade to the Main Horse Level where more deep water led to the calcite-covered ladders that lead up into Smallcleugh. These ladders aren't in the best condition and need to be treated with care. We all arrived at the top and made our way along dry passages to a place where we could rest for a bite to eat. Continuing on into Smallcleugh the route gets very complicated and it's pointless me trying to describe it because I don't really remember it. However, we arrived after a while at The Ballroom. This is a large area that had been left by the miners for corporate entertainment! From here some dry crawling and walking led to the top of Proud's Sump. A 'sump' in Cumbrian mining vernacular is a shaft that has been driven downwards. Proud's Sump is descended in two nice dry pull-through pitches. We rigged the first (bigger) pitch and all abseiled down. A short connecting passage leads to the top of the second pitch where we all abseiled again down into Proud's Workings. Here we went to explore the workings and Dave pointed out a hopper that was blocked by smallish loose rock above our heads. Apparently the prod-and-run technique is de riguer when digging this particular blockage so Bob and I picked up a piece of old rail and prodded. Initially we didn't get much response but a few seconds later a hasty retreat was made as good-sized boulders were released from the bottom of the hopper and came towards us at some speed! From Proud's Workings a wobbly aluminium ladder leads down into the Rampgill Main Level and we headed downstream towards the exit. On the way out we passed Whisky Bottle Junction and a window into the impressive Brewery Shaft. We reached the Rampgill gate to surface after around seven hours underground.

The thing that surprised me most about the mines at Nenthead is the scale. There is substantially more passage than I ever imagined and we only really saw a very small part of the total. The Caplecleugh to Rampgill through-trip is a superb trip which feels like a big day out with loads of variety. I would suggest visiting the Nenthead Mines with someone who knows them well. To try to find your way using a description or survey would be extremely difficult and time-consuming.

Click [here] for Dave Gledhill's photos from the trip.

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Written by: Rob Eavis

Published: 12 April 2013

Hits: 4312

Report by Jules Barrett
Cavers: Jules Barrett (EPC), Sam Townsend (EPC)

Full Moon Chamber and the Full Moon Series was discovered in 1999 by Tony Revell, John Taylor, Dave Nixon and Dave Whiteley from the end of the Great Aven in Bagshawe's New Series. However, the route through from the end of the Great Aven via the Cosmic Juice Extractor II was very delicate and in 2002 the Eldon Pothole Club sought an alternative way to reach the well decorated Full Moon Series. This led to the Snakes Pyjamas project which involved digging through the end of the Snakes Pyjamas passage and into a known passage leading off Full Moon Chamber known as Taylor's Way. This in turn provided a route into Full Moon Chamber and the rest of the passages beyond the Aven Series.

Sam and I arrived at Bagshawe at around 7:45 p.m. and made our way down the steps in the entrance stope. On the way down we discussed the work that needs to be done to make the roof in the stope safer before heading down to The Dungeon. The Dungeon was flooded today with a pool of deep water where there's normally a pitch. Given the large amount of rain that had fallen over the last couple of days we weren't surprised - 7mm in the previous 24hrs, 31mm in the 24hrs prior to that (rainfall data from the Peak District Caving website). However, we expected the water to be on the way down and since the water was clear rather than full of sediment it looked as though this was the case. We could see that the water had been substantially higher in the last couple of days when it would have been impossible to get up the main stream passage to the Hippodrome. We stopped at the New Series Gate to run an errand before heading on through the Cave of Worms to the Snakes Pyjamas Gate. After opening the gate we started the hands and knees crawl up the Snakes Pyjamas. After a short while the going becomes more awkward as the roof lowers to only allow flat out crawling. The route through the Snakes Pyjamas and Taylor's Way is marked with conservation tape and it's important that the correct route is followed. There are nice stalactites and cave pearls in this passage and it would be a shame for them to be damaged. Eventually a short section of particularly shattered rock leads into Full Moon Chamber. This is a large chamber with some excellent straws, stalagmites and flowstone. After a nose round in there we set off along the passage known as Moose's Revenge. Moose's Revenge descends slowly past nice gours, cave pearls and a couple of pots in the floor to end abruptly at a mud blockage. It was interesting to note that the bottom of the pots at the end of Moose's Revenge contained a substantial amount of water today.

After a good look around we headed back out along Moose's Revenge, Taylor's Way and the Snake's Pyjamas before exiting the cave. An excellent trip to a lovely, quiet and dry bit of cave. This section of the cave is gated to protect the formations in the Full Moon Series and a leader system is in operation. Experienced and careful cavers should contact The Custodian to arrange a trip with a leader.