Water Icicle Close Cavern

I joined Keith and Pete Collins, who had driven up to the Peak District yesterday evening and stayed overnight with us a s usual, to shift the scaffolding we had moved a fortnight ago as far as the gate, to Three-way Aven.
We met in Monyash café for breakfast as Karen wisely stayed at home in bed as it was already raining.
Leaving the café, I followed after Pete and Keith in Pete's car and at Derby Lane I saw a “convoy” of three cars just turning off the road onto the lane with 5 or six more waiting to follow them!
The car in the lead stopped at a large pool of water just past the tarmaced section by the farm and the others were waiting. I saw the driver get out and I did the same. He explained he was concerned about the pool but when I explained that it wasn't very deep, he was happy to continue.
The “convoy” parked on the grassy section next to the stony section of the track not far from where the soft grassy and muddy section starts with Pete's car just a short distance further along.
I got changed into caving gear and after a quick chat with some of the other cavers, it turned out that they were from the Combined Services Caving Club, staying at the Orpheus cottage for the weekend and, as I guessed, having a trip in Water Icicle.
I mentioned I was with two others already heading for the cave on a digging session and wished the a good trip and set of in the strong wind and heavy rain along the muddy track towards the field containing the entrance shaft.
I though if I brought my SRT kit in its tackle bag rather than put it on at the car I might catch the other two up, but they were already gone having dropped down the shaft. So I walked to the nearby corner of the field to get a bit of shelter from the cold wind and rain as I got my SRT kit on and then walked to the shaft top, clipped on a cowstail, got my descender onto the rope and clambered into the top of the shaft.
What a difference! It was noticeably warmer and completely out of the wind.
I abseiled down to the bottom and set off for the end of North-west Passage where I could here Pete at the the gate above rattling scaffold tubes as he moved them.
I climbed up the bolted-on builders ladder and as Pete went further down the scaffolded route through the boulder choke, I started handing down the scaffold tubes to him and he dropped them further down into the small chamber beneath so that Keith could then move them onwards.
Once all the scaffold tubes were shifted, I started moving the 60 plus scaffold clips onwards as well in three stages.
The three of us then shifted the clips to join the tubes in Three-way aven.
Once this was done we had a look at the top of The Elevator pitch where there had been a minor fall of some of the loose material while a group had been on a recent trip into the gated extensions.
Once this was done Keith and Pete went for a look at the end of the Cherty-two extension while I mad my way back towards the entrance shaft, where I found some of the Combined Services Club on their way out.
I noticed third rope in the shaft and they said some more cavers had come in earlier which turned out to be Pete Wagstaff and other Orpheus members on a digging trip in the newer extensions.
In the meantime Pete and Keith arrived and eventually we were all back on the surface with the wind as strong as ever and light rain.

After the rather unpleasant action of getting changed back at the car with wet and muddy gear, it was back to the café to warm up and aplenty of tea!