Hagg Gill Pot

Some other Orpheus Caving Club members were also in the Dales this weekend in the Langstroth Dale area planning a trip to Langstroth Pot. We decided to also visit the same are and have a look in Hagg Gill Pot.
So we mad the relatively long drive past Ribble Head then to Hawes and finally along a narrow road passing through amazing scenery to arrive in Langstroth Dale and park at the bridge by Yockenthwaite where Karen and I had walked past when we walked the Dales Way a few years ago.
From here there was short walk back up the road towards the farm at Raisgill where we had stopped first to ask permission but the farmhouse appeared to be empty. By a small stream which flowed down from the hill by the road and then passed underneath to join River Wharfe on the other side, we started walking up the steep grassy slope and after following a bracken covered dry valley, we arrived at the entrance to the cave. The entrance is a short scaffolded shaft covered with a metal plate which is anchored in one corner and can be swung out of the way.
The last time I had been here with Karen and Waggy a few years ago, I had been suffering with a lengthy shoulder injury and I had not been able to pass a short constriction on the abseil down.
Now my shoulder was better, but I struggled to get through the short constriction with all my SRT gear, etc. on and I soon reconciled myself to have to wait for the other two. This was annoying as apparently the cave is quite well decorated.
Anyway, I had a few more tries at getting past the constriction, which would have been no problem if I hadn't been wearing my SRT gear and the rope wasn't there, but of course that wasn't going to happen! So, I had a rest in the cool entrance shaft as it was quite a warm day.

I heard the other two returning and waited by the shaft entrance until they arrived.