Maskhill Mine

After meeting up at the Old Smithy café at Monyash, Karen, Keith and myself drove to the Orpheus CC cottage to meet up with Phil Wall who was coming with us on a trip in Maskhill Mine.

We got the ropes sorted and packed into four tackle bags we headed for Oxlow Farm to sort out permission for the trip and get changed into caving gear.

Unfortunately, the corrugated iron roof of the barn had been blown off in a storm so we weren't able to make use of its shelter. Luckily it was during a dry period during the showers which were happening frequently but it was still windy.

While we were still changing some others in a car stopped to ask if this was Oxlow Farm and we told them it was. Luckily they were planning on a trip in Nettle Pot rather than Maskhill Mine.

We finished getting our caving gear on and walked down the road to the layby and style on the route to the caves and started making our way up the steep slope to the lidded shaft of the entrance to Maskhill Mine.

Keith was on rigging duty and attached the rope to the bar belay and backup anchor and abseiled down the shaft. He was followed by Phil and then Karen with me bringing up the rear, as I had the job of closing the heavy metal plate lid after us.

I abseiled each pitch from rebelay to rebelay following Karen's shouts of rope free and we all met up at the top of the Murmuring Churn pitch with Keith just completing rigging the “Y-hang” at the top with Karen and Phil waiting just above him on the slope leading to the head of the pitch, while I dangled at he top of the short pitch above.

Soon we were all down the next pitches and met up again at the top of the final pitch down into Oxlow Cavern's West Chamber.

We sat and had Mars bars or other snacks while Phil had a wander around the chamber.

Soon Phil returned. The strange thing is that there three cavers! Apparently another pair of cavers had arrived on a trip down Oxlow Cavern.

We started on our way back to the surface and below Murmuring Churn I took the tack;e bag which Karen had been carrying and overtook her so that I could ascend the entrance shaft and get the lid open again.

Of course it was raining as I surfaced at 15:30 (we had started down the mine just around Noon) and I sat in the lee of a small rocky outcrop waiting for the others.

Soon the shower was over and Phil Popped out of the entrance followed a little later by Keith. Keith had given Karen the option of taking the heavy tackle bag she was carrying if she de-rigged the last couple of pitches.

Soon Karen was also back on the surface and we walked back to the farm to get changed.

After a trip to Hitch'n'Hike to buy myself a spare strap for my Petzl foot jammer. we dropped the ropes and tackle bags at the Orpheus cottage and headed back home.

The annual Orpheus barbecue was happening this evening but given the weather, we decided to cook and eat the food we had bought for the barbecue at home. Karen then drove Keith and me back to the Orpheus cottage to attend the barbecue and have some of the Marstons Pedigree from the barrel in the changing room.