Oxlow Cavern

Last week, Boyd had told us he was arranging a trip down Oxlow Cavern with Jack who is a new prospective member. We decided to join them as although we had been in Oxlow Cavern last week with Keith (who was staying at home this weekend), a trip in Oxlow Cavern or nearby Maskhill Mine is always enjoyable.

Karen and I had the usual start at the café in Monyash for breakfast and then headed for the Orpheus cottage. Boyd and Jack hadn't yet arrived so we got the appropriate ropes and tackle bags out of the store and packed the ropes in the bags.

Boyd and Jack arrived and we spent a little time setting up Jack's brand new cowstails and footloop/safety link in the comfort of the cottage rather on the side of the hill by the cave entrance.

We drove to Oxlow Farm where I parked off the road in front of the barn while Boyd parked on the verge across the road. We sorted out our courtesy payments to access the cave via private farmland and while Boyd and Jack started getting changed in Boyd's van, Karen and I made use of the barn as usual. It was a welcome shelter while getting changed as there was a strong and cold wind blowing.

As we were getting changed, another car arrived and parked next to mine. Jess and Ann (two other caver we know) got out and joined us in the barn to get their caving gear on. They were planning on a trip down Maskhill Mine to practice SRT rigging.

We were all ready at the same time and as Jess and Ann walked down the road to the stile access point to the caves, we followed behind and parted as they started up the steep slope towards Maskhill while we continued on the lower route to Oxlow.

I took up rigging duty as Keith wasn't around and set off down the entrance shaft first. Jack was coping well with the SRT technical bits (he had some previous practice and shorter trips).

I was rigging the wide “Y hang” at the top if the last pitch to bring us towards the impressive West Chamber and couldn't understand why a thin stream of cold water was running down my left leg and into my welly as I wasn't standing under any water or drips until I realised that water was running down the rope above the pitch and then dropping of my descender and then into the crotch section of my oversuit! As I held onto the rope while clipping in the deviation sling at the top of the pitch, now the water ran down my arm, round my lower back and down my leg, again into my welly!

Soon we were all at the foot of the last pitch (we weren't planning on dropping down the last pitch of Maskhill Mine to the sump where Oxlow Cavern and Maskhill Mine connect.

We had a look at the very wet vertical section above the Maskhill Mine sump from the small tube from Oxlow Cavern and then sat on some boulders in the West Chamber and munched on Mars bars.

We headed back to the surface in the reverse order with my taking up the rear de-rigging the ropes as we went.

Back on the surface it was beginning to get dark as it was nearly four in the afternoon.

After getting changed from caving gear, we returned to the club cottage to wash the ropes and tackle bags and return them to the tackle store.