Sell Gill Holes

We were staying at the Yorkshire Ramblers' Lowstern Cottage and had arrived last night very tired after yesterday evening's activities and headed for bed early leaving Boyd and Jenny Potts, Mick Hogg, Pete Wagstaff, Simon Wynne, newcomer Jason and Australian-based caver Geoff O'Donnel downstairs. Geoff had been on trips with the Orpheus before and was on another visit to the UK.
In the morning we had breakfast, sorted out the collection of ropes and then drove to Horton in Ribblesdale to meet Keith, who was due to arrive this morning. We all met at the Pen-y-Ghent Cafe. Pete, Keith and Simon were planning on a trip into Penyghent Pot so it made sense to meet there instead of the usual meeting point of Bernies in Ingleton. As we didn't feel up to the arduous trip to the bottom of Penyghent Pot, and more importantly, out again, Karen and I decided on a short trip to Sell Gill Holes would make sense as that cave was approached from Horton in Ribblesdale as well. Mick Hogg also decided to join us.
Boyd was heading for Selside for a trip down Alum Pot with Geoff and Jason.
After the brew and snack in the café, we left for our respective underground locations. Karen, Mick and I drove from the village of Horton in Ribblesdale to park in a layby just beyond the hamlet of New Houses and started changing into our caving gear. While we were doing this, another car arrived and the occupants, a man and woman, asked where we were going and were pleased to find out we were planning on the Fossil Route in Sell Gill Holes as they were set on a trip in the wet Goblin Route in the same cave which is an alternative entrance.
Once changed the three of us set off along the public right of way from New Houses across some fields to join the rough track from Horton in Ribblesdale which leads past the cave.
I started rigging the short entrance pitch before realising I had grabbed the wrong tackle sack and was using the 35m rope intended for the second pitch to rig the entrance pitch which required a 15m rope according to the rigging guide.
So I swapped tackle bags with Mick and started again to rig the entrance pitch with the correct rope this time! I found a resin anchor placed on the left-hand wall of the small gully at the top of the entrance pitch which wasn't on the rigging guide and tied the rope to a karabiner attached to it.
Next I attached the rope in a “Y-hang” to the two resin anchors at the top of the pitch and found the knotted and of the rope was just about 35 cm away! Obviously 15m of rope isn't enough!
I undid the karabiner and rope from the extra resin anchor (it was already belayed to a pair of resin anchors at the approach to the top of the pitch) and then tied the rope to a karabiner attached to just one of the pair of resin anchors and then the rope was just long enough to allow the knotted end to reach the foot of the pitch!
Oh well, either the rigging guide is wrong or our rope was marked a 15m and was actually shorter.
I abseiled down and was eventually joined by Mick and soon afterwards, Karen.
I started rigging the traverse to the pitch-head of the next pitch and dropped down into the chamber below where I waited for Karen with the tackle bag containing the rope for the final pitch nearby.
Karen arrived and told me that Mick had decided to wait above.
I rigged the last pitch and we were both soon down that as well. Around the corner was the waterfall arriving from the Wet Route (also known as the Goblin Route) and we could see the light above belong to one of the other pair of cavers.
Karen decided to not go much further than the start of the large chamber below this section of cave, so she waited for a few minutes while I made may way to the section where the chamber closed down to a short wet crawl through the next section of cave. I had a quick look and could see that the water level was very low.
I turned around and followed Karen back up the lower two pitches and met Mick awaiting our return.

Soon we were all back on the surface and we walked back to Horton in Ribblesdale.