Oxlow Cavern

Again, the Orpheus Caving Club Christmas Dinner weekend rolls around. Last year we had a pre-dinner trip down Oxlow Cavern so this year we did the same!
As we were changing into our caving gear in the shelter of the barn at Oxlow Farm, another group of cavers stopped by to get permission and pay the courtesy fee of £2 each and one of them told us they were de-rigging Maskhill Mine and Oxlow Cavern after they had been left rigged for the Council of Higher Education Caving Clubs event a fortnight ago in the Peak District. They kindly offered us to use the ropes in Oxlow Cavern, and as we were planning on a relatively short trip to the East Chamber we only had to take a single rope for the drop down from the col between West Swirl Passage and the East Chamber, which wouldn't have been rigged.
We passed the rest of the group, including the caving instructor Simon Mee, getting into their caving gear at the roadside by the style used to access the caves and made our way to the shaft entrance.
It was of course a rapid trip to the East Chamber following mostly the ropes already rigged and as we were having a look around the chamber and the dig in the floor, we could see and hear some of the others as they dropped down to the col above and disappeared down West Swirl Passage.
We had a Mars bar or Snickers bar and then I set off back to the surface followed by Karen and Keith.
I arrived back at the surface after an hour and a half underground soon followed by the others.
After changing out of caving gear and a trip to Hitch 'n' Hike so that Keith could buy a tackle bag, we stopped at Outside in Hathersage for a small meal for lunch.

Later in the evening Karen drove us to Biggin where we attended the club Christmas Dinner in the Waterloo Inn.