Lathkill Head Cave Top Entrance, Peak District

After spending the morning at a DCA Meeting in Monyash Village Hall, Karen and I had lunch in Monyash Cafe and waited for Jess E. to arrive as arranged. After she had arrived, we drove the short distance up the road to the lay-by near the end of Lathkill Dale.
After changing into caving gear, we walked along the Dale and for a short distance and then followed a track through fields to the entrance to Lathkill Head Cave 's Top Entrance. We dropped down the entrance pitch and then the next main pitch into The Waiting Room. Once all three of us were down, Karen and Jess clambered down to Lathkiller Hall and had a look at the stream which was high as expected at this time of the the year - in fact you could hear the roar of the water from The Waiting Room above. I didn't bother clambering down to the bottom as I knew we wouldn't be able to get any further due to the high water levels.
Once the other two had returned, Karen prusiked up the rope followed by Jess. When it was my turn, I looked up and could see tat the rope was rubbing at the large hole above despite the deviation. I shouted up to Karen and asked her to drop back down and add an extra karabiner to sort the problem out (it had been fine on the way down but it seemed the angle of the deviation had made it too short and left the rope too close to the lip of the hole. Once Karen had done this I followed up and de0rigged the rope, Karen waited in the small chamber just below the short entrance shaft as I usually find returning through the restricted connection vet awkward unless there is someone beneath to give one of my legs a shove. I stripped off my SRT kit, shoved it through the constriction a,d with a shove on my leg from Karen I was through and soon followed by Karen.
By now it was dark as it was about half past five (we had started at about three in the afternoon. We got everything sorted and and closed the lid then walked back to the car and got changed. Then we returned to the Orpheus CC Cottage for Bonfire Night fireworks, the barrel of Pedigree and jacket potatoes with chilli.