Details

Written by: Rob Eavis

Published: 12 April 2013

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

Titan was still rigged from the previous day and needed de-rigging so Richard and I thought we'd go from the Peak Cavern Entrance through to Titan. Neither of us had done this trip before so were both really looking forward to it. The weather was definitely marginal with an already high stream swelled with overnight rain. We thought that we would be able to get through but any more water would make life difficult. Meanwhile Ann fancied a walk up to Titan and an abseil down to the Event Horizon. Richard and I set off into Peak and before long were making our way along The Trenches and Colostomy Crawl. Eventually went down the ladders into the Speedwell Streamway and upstream past Block Hall to the bottom of the Bung. Standing looking at it from the bottom we weren't sure whether we were going to be able to get up but had a go and arrived at the top after a good drenching. Made our way up to the bottom of Leviathan and then into Stemple Highway and the Far Sump Extension. Eventually arrived at the bottom of Titan. Richard went up the ropes first and I followed de-rigging the lower part and sorting the rope ready for the big haul to the top of the pitch. Eventually got all the rope to the top and arrived at the bottom of the entrance shaft to find the Titan diggers hard at work. They kindly gave us a lift out on the winch with the bags and we made our way down Cave Dale to the TSG hut.

Would definitely recommend the through trip and it's best done this way in my opinion. You see so much more of Titan prussiking up compared with abseiling down!

Details

Written by: Rob Eavis

Published: 12 April 2013

Hits: 3688

Report by Jules Barrett
Cavers: Jules Barrett (EPC), Richard Tooley (TSG), Ann Soulsby (TSG), Clive Westlake

Titan had been rigged earlier in the day by the TSG so we enjoyed a straightforward and speedy descent to the bottom. Once at the bottom RT found that he was unable to undo his central maillon so didn't go any futher. AS was keen to scoot back up the rope so did that. JB dropped down into AE passage in search of Clive Westlake, finding CDW propping up the wall waiting for someone to turn up. Clive was actually expecting us to turn up from Peak Cavern so was understandably surprised when I fell out of the bottom of the Titan choke and into AE passage. An efficient exit was followed by a pleasant walk down Cave Dale to the TSG hut. We didn't de-rig Titan as there was the possibility that the TSG lot may need to exit back this way if the Speedwell Streamway was giving it both barrels. In the end they didn't so we had to return the following day for the ropes.

Details

Written by: Rob Eavis

Published: 12 April 2013

Hits: 4329

Report by Jules Barrett
Cavers: Jules Barrett (EPC), Bob Toogood (EPC), Dave Gledhill (EPC)

I'd heard about the work that the Friends of Cwmorthin had been doing in Cwmorthin Mine and fancied having a look for myself. Since we were in the area having done the Croesor-Rhosydd Through Trip a visit to Cwmorthin Mine was the obvious choice for a Sunday trip. Darkplaces and Miles from 'Friends of Cwmorthin' had kindly supplied me with the code for the gate so we could get in. In the '60s the Eldon Pothole Club used to have a club hut on the shore of Llyn Cwmorthin so would be interesting to see that too. Bob Toogood used to visit the hut to climb and explore the mines so was nice to visit the place with him. After the customary breakfast at Jenny's in Porthmadog we drove to Blaenau Ffestiniog and then onto the car park above the village of Tanygrisiau. We got changed into dry caving kit here and walked up the track which leads to Llyn Cwmorthin. Soon, the old club hut came into view. It appears to be abandoned these days with windows boarded up and no sign of life. The Lake Level Adit entrance to Cwmorthin was easy to find in a significant cutting quite close to the buildings. Near the entrance a large, rusty steel cable lies snapped on the ground. Apparently in the '60s one end of this cable was anchored well above the adit entrance and fast descents hanging on to a U-bolt with sparks flying were common. Two blokes at the bottom stopped you with a dynamic belay before you hit the ground! We opened the substantial gate and walked along the adit into the mine. First of all we headed down an incline ('Back Vein North Sink Incline') to where a couple of trucks have crashed. From here we explored down the incline a little way, then came back and had a look at the large chambers near to the entrance. Cwmorthin is a great mine with loads to see and these first chambers have an impressive staircase made of stone and timber which the miners used to access the workings. After a good look around here we headed back to the Lake Level Adit and continued further into the mine. There is a little round trip that you can do and we thought we'd try to find our way around that. Route-finding was easy enough with the help of a description that we found on mine-explorer.co.uk and the first place we visited was the area around the 'Old Vein South Sink'. Here some substantial timbers are wedged across the passage and between the floor and the roof and the area has a slightly loose feel to it. Continued on through a short crawl and past largish chambers to descend some nice stone stairs and then past an old dam. Before long we were climbing down an aluminium ladder and on down to the site of 'Compressor 1935'. From here we made our way to 'Lefel Ffrench' and into a level containing knee deep water. Splashed along this a little way to reach the bottom of the 'Back Vein North Sink Incline'. On the way out we took a detour to cross a well-preserved bridge and exited as the miners would have exited up the old stairs to the Lake Level Adit. We had an excellent trip but there is obviously a lot more to see in Cwmorthin Mine. Cwmorthin connects with Oakley Mine and I've heard rumours of a through trip which would be nice to do.

Cwmorthin is a lovely place with superb scenery both above and below ground. The Friends of Cwmorthin have done excellent work keeping the entrance open and deserve the thanks and support of everyone interested in underground exploration. More information available from: http://www.cwmorthin.co.uk/

The route that we followed is available on the internet at: http://www.mine-explorer.co.uk/mines/Cwmorthin_226/Cwmorthin_1633.pdf