Leaving Karen to catch up on various meeting minutes and other
paperwork, I drove to Hartington and parked in the village centre
then after getting a snack and bottle of drink in the village shop, I
followed the road out of the village passing the impressive
Hartington Hall youth hostel ten left the road through a farm gate.
After crossing part of a field and passing a squeeze stile to
enter a second field I followed a route by a drystone-wall as far as
a second stile leading onto a track known as Highfield Lane.
The lane led to a minor road and after a few metres, a gate
entering the top of Biggin Dale. The lane had been pleasantly dry
with a stony surface, but here the ground was muddy grass until
arriving at a wall with a gate by a smaller dale joining Biggin Dale,
there was the start of a surface stream resulting from all the recent
rainfall.
The stream flowed down the remainder of Biggin Dale covering
sections where the usual path is so I had to walk on one side of the
dale or the other in order to avoid the water. I have never seen so
much water in this dale before!
At one point near an old adit, there is a section of drystone-wall
which has been repaired with a further section which has been
dismantled in preparation. Recent stormy winds had knocked a large
tree down and even though it was next to the section awaiting repair,
it actually fell across the newly-repaired part!
Biggin Dale joins Wolfescote Dale and I turned right to follow the
path leading alongside the River Dove. Except for the odd muddy
section, the path wasn't too wet and the river was around normal
winter level.
There is a large grassy section of meadow at the end of Wolfescote
Dale which joins Beresford Dale which had large areas of very wet
ground and standing water, but this is normal for wet weather.
Continuing along Beresford Dale and some sections of grassy fields
brought me back to the starting point at Hartington village.
Sunday, 23 February 2014
Saturday, 22 February 2014
Three Shires Head from Wildboarclough
We parked by the bridge in Wildboarclough and followed a route we
had walked several time s before. Spring was in the air with displays
of snowdrops, quite a lot of sun, but a very cold wind.
After walking along the quiet minor road northwards below Shutingsloe hill for a kilometre or so we crossed the stream also flowing by the road on a wooden footbridge to enter a field next to the farmhouse of Clough House. The ground was soaking as are most places after the recent wet weather.
After going through a field gate into the farmyard, we followed the route of the public footpath through the farmyard and then across a road and onto the rough track which passed below a small cottage marked Cumberland Cottage on the map.
After passing through a gate with a view of a small waterfall, the track continued around to the right but we followed a narrow path along a small valley and stopped at the old ruin where we had stopped on previous walks to shelter from the cold wind and have a quick hot drink.
The valley continued for a short distance and we climbed a steep section to reach a grassy slope leading upwards to join a track which leads from the Cat and Fiddle pub towards the A54 road. We stopped for a moment while I put on a light fleece jacket before replacing my Montane Sabretooth jacket as the wind was much stronger now and very cold.
We followed the track towards the old quarry at Dane Bower and after crossing the road, made our way along an old vehicle track towards the quarry and a selection of ruined quarry buildings made of drystone-wall. We found a spot in the shelter of a large heather-covered mound which was well-sheltered from the wind but still in the sun during the minute or two it made an appearance after the cloud had built up as we walked.
We sat here and ate lunch then carried on through the remainder of the quarry and along a muddy track through a metal gate which had a small section which opened to allow you to step over the bottom of the main part of the gate and pass the gate while the main section remained closed.
After a few hundred metres, we arrived at another similar gate in the drystone-wall the track was following and we passed through this gate onto the boggy field it contained.
There was a vague path through the field leading down the slope of the field to soon arrive at a rocky track leading from a minor road to the picturesque spot of Panniers Pool at Three Shires Head.
We paused for a minute or two to let a group of five trail bike riders pass down the track and then turn off onto another track leading to Knotbury and then walked down to the old pack-horse bridge at Panniers Pool where we sat for a while finishing off our hot drinks.
As we were sitting there, the trail bikes reappeared following another track from the south also leading to Panniers Pool. The riders parked their motorbikes on the narrow bridge and had a wander around as we continued on our way after crossing the bridge and followed the track skirting around Cut-thorn Hill until it ended at another minor road.
We crossed the minor road and went through a small wooden gate by a farmhouse and then followed a route across a large field of scrubland with short raised wooden platforms at particularly boggy sections until we arrived again at the A54.
Crossing the road, we continued again on the other side of the road and the public right of way passed by an old stone-built barn which was in excellent condition and divided into two sections. Out of curiosity we had a quick look to see if there were any birds nests in the roofspace and indeed we spotted a few swallows' nests. The smaller section had traces of old plaster on on wall with graffiti including the date “1924”.
The path continued onwards towards Shuttingsloe in the distance and dropped downslope passing more wet ground to reach an old wooden gate through which was a very short rocky and wet section of track leading to the small road leading from the A54 back to our starting point in a quarter of a mile.
After walking along the quiet minor road northwards below Shutingsloe hill for a kilometre or so we crossed the stream also flowing by the road on a wooden footbridge to enter a field next to the farmhouse of Clough House. The ground was soaking as are most places after the recent wet weather.
After going through a field gate into the farmyard, we followed the route of the public footpath through the farmyard and then across a road and onto the rough track which passed below a small cottage marked Cumberland Cottage on the map.
After passing through a gate with a view of a small waterfall, the track continued around to the right but we followed a narrow path along a small valley and stopped at the old ruin where we had stopped on previous walks to shelter from the cold wind and have a quick hot drink.
The valley continued for a short distance and we climbed a steep section to reach a grassy slope leading upwards to join a track which leads from the Cat and Fiddle pub towards the A54 road. We stopped for a moment while I put on a light fleece jacket before replacing my Montane Sabretooth jacket as the wind was much stronger now and very cold.
We followed the track towards the old quarry at Dane Bower and after crossing the road, made our way along an old vehicle track towards the quarry and a selection of ruined quarry buildings made of drystone-wall. We found a spot in the shelter of a large heather-covered mound which was well-sheltered from the wind but still in the sun during the minute or two it made an appearance after the cloud had built up as we walked.
We sat here and ate lunch then carried on through the remainder of the quarry and along a muddy track through a metal gate which had a small section which opened to allow you to step over the bottom of the main part of the gate and pass the gate while the main section remained closed.
After a few hundred metres, we arrived at another similar gate in the drystone-wall the track was following and we passed through this gate onto the boggy field it contained.
There was a vague path through the field leading down the slope of the field to soon arrive at a rocky track leading from a minor road to the picturesque spot of Panniers Pool at Three Shires Head.
We paused for a minute or two to let a group of five trail bike riders pass down the track and then turn off onto another track leading to Knotbury and then walked down to the old pack-horse bridge at Panniers Pool where we sat for a while finishing off our hot drinks.
As we were sitting there, the trail bikes reappeared following another track from the south also leading to Panniers Pool. The riders parked their motorbikes on the narrow bridge and had a wander around as we continued on our way after crossing the bridge and followed the track skirting around Cut-thorn Hill until it ended at another minor road.
We crossed the minor road and went through a small wooden gate by a farmhouse and then followed a route across a large field of scrubland with short raised wooden platforms at particularly boggy sections until we arrived again at the A54.
Crossing the road, we continued again on the other side of the road and the public right of way passed by an old stone-built barn which was in excellent condition and divided into two sections. Out of curiosity we had a quick look to see if there were any birds nests in the roofspace and indeed we spotted a few swallows' nests. The smaller section had traces of old plaster on on wall with graffiti including the date “1924”.
The path continued onwards towards Shuttingsloe in the distance and dropped downslope passing more wet ground to reach an old wooden gate through which was a very short rocky and wet section of track leading to the small road leading from the A54 back to our starting point in a quarter of a mile.
Sunday, 16 February 2014
The Great Ridge, Mam Tor to Lose Hill and back
Leaving the car parked in the layby near Windy Knoll, I got
changed into walking boots sheltering from the strong and cold wind
at the rear of the car.
It was a nice day in some respects: sunny and dry, but with a very cold and strong westerly wind as I started making my way up to Mam Nick and then following the stone steps to the top of Mam Tor. I was wearing a Paramo Summit Hoodie and over that, a Paramo Fuera Ascent windproof jacket. But it was so cold to start with, I also put on my Paramo Vista jacket which I had brought in case of heavy rain showers.
It was very windy walking up the steps on the side of Mam Tor, luckily from directly behind me, and even windier on the summit. It was windy enough to make it difficult to stand still but luckily there was more shelter as I dropped down the far side of Mam Tor and far less windy.
The ridge was very busy today with lots of walkers and some mountain bikers (the path along a lot of the route is actually a bridleway).
I stopped for a moment near Hollins Cross where the path crosses from the Hope Valley in Castleton to Grindsbrook Booth in Edale to take off the Vista jacket and put it in my rucksack as I was more than warm enough now without it and then continued along the ridge to soon arrive at the short climb to Back Tor. Again this part of the ridge was exposed to the strong wind and it meant being careful placing feet on the rough stone steps on the way up.
Soon I reach the top of Lose Hill at the far end of the ridge and I dropped down to the northern side at the top to try and find a relatively-sheltered spot to sit and have a piece of flapjack and a coffee.
After this short break, I made my way back along the ridge retracing my previous route in reverse. Luckily the wind seemed to had moderated a bit.
It was a nice day in some respects: sunny and dry, but with a very cold and strong westerly wind as I started making my way up to Mam Nick and then following the stone steps to the top of Mam Tor. I was wearing a Paramo Summit Hoodie and over that, a Paramo Fuera Ascent windproof jacket. But it was so cold to start with, I also put on my Paramo Vista jacket which I had brought in case of heavy rain showers.
It was very windy walking up the steps on the side of Mam Tor, luckily from directly behind me, and even windier on the summit. It was windy enough to make it difficult to stand still but luckily there was more shelter as I dropped down the far side of Mam Tor and far less windy.
The ridge was very busy today with lots of walkers and some mountain bikers (the path along a lot of the route is actually a bridleway).
I stopped for a moment near Hollins Cross where the path crosses from the Hope Valley in Castleton to Grindsbrook Booth in Edale to take off the Vista jacket and put it in my rucksack as I was more than warm enough now without it and then continued along the ridge to soon arrive at the short climb to Back Tor. Again this part of the ridge was exposed to the strong wind and it meant being careful placing feet on the rough stone steps on the way up.
Soon I reach the top of Lose Hill at the far end of the ridge and I dropped down to the northern side at the top to try and find a relatively-sheltered spot to sit and have a piece of flapjack and a coffee.
After this short break, I made my way back along the ridge retracing my previous route in reverse. Luckily the wind seemed to had moderated a bit.
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| Looking along the Ridge towards Lose Hill from Mam Tor |
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| Looking back towards Mam Tor from near the top of Back Tor |
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| Summit of Lose Hill with Win Hill in the distance |
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| Back Tor and Mam Tor from Lose Hill |
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| Memorial plaque near summit of Lose Hill |
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| Look across to Grindslow Knoll and Kinder Scout across Edale valley |
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| Kinder Scout form near top of Back Tor |
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| The ridge between Back Tor and Mam Tor |
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| Rushup Edge from Mam Tor |
Saturday, 15 February 2014
Kinder Scout
I was supposed to be going to North Wales last night for the
annual Orpheus Caving Club weekend at the Oread Mountaineering Club's
hut in Rhyd Ddu near Beddgelert but the weather forecast was
atrocious so I stayed at home instead.
The forecast for the Peak District was not a lot different. According to the Mountain Weather Information website “Frequent to near constant precipitation throughout the day. Snow above about 600m. Rain lower slopes.” and “Walking difficult on higher areas, with considerable buffeting. Severe wind chill. Sunshine unlikely. Visibility appalling or near zero in cloud and snow.” . At least I could go walking here in similar weather without a long drive to begin with!
So, it was another return to Kinder Scout, Karen electing to remain warm and dry indoors.
I arrived at the car park in Edale to find only one other car parked there, not surprising considering the weather.
So, after getting my walking boots on, I set off for a circuit of the southern edge of the plateau by walking up Grindslow Knoll and descending below Ringing Roger. As the wind was south-westerly this meant most of the time it was coming from behind me instead of right in the face, but this didn't prevent me passing several groups of walkers walking in the opposite direction. Perhaps they like the wind in their faces, especially when mixed with large rain drops or stinging hailstones?
Anyway, I only stopped once for a quick drink of coffee while standing on the lee side of a large boulder.
There was quite a lot of patches of snow and mostly slush around after recent snow showers and when I got to the place where I usually cross the northern branch of Grinds Brook I found the water levels were too high to cross there so I had to walk a short way upstream to find a narrow enough crossing point.
It was nice to get back to the sheltered village afterwards and to have a snack in the National Trust's “Penny Pot café” near the car park.
The forecast for the Peak District was not a lot different. According to the Mountain Weather Information website “Frequent to near constant precipitation throughout the day. Snow above about 600m. Rain lower slopes.” and “Walking difficult on higher areas, with considerable buffeting. Severe wind chill. Sunshine unlikely. Visibility appalling or near zero in cloud and snow.” . At least I could go walking here in similar weather without a long drive to begin with!
So, it was another return to Kinder Scout, Karen electing to remain warm and dry indoors.
I arrived at the car park in Edale to find only one other car parked there, not surprising considering the weather.
So, after getting my walking boots on, I set off for a circuit of the southern edge of the plateau by walking up Grindslow Knoll and descending below Ringing Roger. As the wind was south-westerly this meant most of the time it was coming from behind me instead of right in the face, but this didn't prevent me passing several groups of walkers walking in the opposite direction. Perhaps they like the wind in their faces, especially when mixed with large rain drops or stinging hailstones?
Anyway, I only stopped once for a quick drink of coffee while standing on the lee side of a large boulder.
There was quite a lot of patches of snow and mostly slush around after recent snow showers and when I got to the place where I usually cross the northern branch of Grinds Brook I found the water levels were too high to cross there so I had to walk a short way upstream to find a narrow enough crossing point.
It was nice to get back to the sheltered village afterwards and to have a snack in the National Trust's “Penny Pot café” near the car park.
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| Everywhere was very wet |
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| The usual Grinds Brook crossing point was very wet! |
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| A small waterfall blowing upwards |
Saturday, 8 February 2014
Shining Tor
Leaving the car at the car park by Erwood Reservoir in the Goyt
Valley just outside Buxton we walked above Shooter's Clough to the
top of Shining Tor. It was a cold day and once on the tops, a very
strong wind was blowing, so we made use of a field wall to sit behind
for a snack and hot drink.
Continuing onwards, we followed the path paved with large slabs of stone, being pushed around by the gale force wind, up and over Cats Tor and down to the minor road at Pym Chair, again sitting behind a wall to shelter from the wind and finish off our flasks of hot drinks.
Then after following the minor road as far as a gate onto a footpath over Foxlow Edge, again being buffeted by the strong wind, we dropped down the path on the far side of Foxlow Edge to gain the welcome shelter offered by the woods near the remains of Erwood Hall.
Soon we were back at the reservoir and the starting point at the car park.
Continuing onwards, we followed the path paved with large slabs of stone, being pushed around by the gale force wind, up and over Cats Tor and down to the minor road at Pym Chair, again sitting behind a wall to shelter from the wind and finish off our flasks of hot drinks.
Then after following the minor road as far as a gate onto a footpath over Foxlow Edge, again being buffeted by the strong wind, we dropped down the path on the far side of Foxlow Edge to gain the welcome shelter offered by the woods near the remains of Erwood Hall.
Soon we were back at the reservoir and the starting point at the car park.
Saturday, 1 February 2014
Maskhill Mine
Today there had been a plan for an Orpheus trip down James Hall
Over Engine Mine (or “JH”) with most participants exiting via
Peak Cavern. Karen and I were planning to return via JH after
visiting some part of the Speedwell Cavern system.
During the week I had noticed that the levels of rainfall reported on the www.peakdistrictcaving.info website had been fairly high recently and a photo of Peak Cavern's resurgence on Monday showed the water level issuing from the cave was high.
I email Wayne Sheldon, who knows Peak Cavern very well, for his thoughts and he agreed that the Speedwell System would have high water levels and there was a chance that exiting (or entering) Peak Cavern would be a “no go”.
So after contacting other Orpheus members, a decision was made to switch the plan to do an Oxlow Cavern/Maskhill Mine exchange instead. Some were also planning a trip into and out of Peak Cavern for tomorrow, but whether that would be on or not would have to wait until tomorrow morning to see what water levels were like.
Anyway, Keith was giving a lift to Alice on his way up from Rugby and the four of us met for breakfast as usual in Monyash café and then headed for the Orpheus cottages at 10:00 to meet up with others who were caving today as arranged.
We found Paul Thorne, Pete Wagstaff and Boyd busy packing ropes into tackle bags for the trip. Then after getting a list of who was caving where we realised there would be fourteen of us (including Brian Potts who would wait in the “Oxlow” layby)!
Karen and I wanted to go in and out of Maskhill Mine while Keith and Alice were wanting to drop down Maskhill Mine and exit via Oxlow Caver. As there were so many of us, Pete suggested that we four should head off first to start rigging Maskhill Mine to minimise delays and he, Paul and some others would drop down Oxlow Cavern and the de-rig Maskhill Mine later on. This sounded like an excellent plan so we set off for Oxlow Farm near the top of Winnats Pass passing the wreck of a BMW sports car astride a drystone wall next to the A515 near Parley Hay, which must have crashed last night while the road was icy.
As usual, Karen, Keith and I, joined by Alice, parked at the farm and made use of the barn to change in. We were grateful that the farmer allowed this as there was a very cold, strong wind blowing with temperatures not much above freezing.
As we were changing, Boyd arrived with Jason and Jack and they parked on the grass verge opposite and also got ready for their trip down Oxlow Cavern.
Once changed, we grabbed the tackle bags, five in all, and walked back down the road towards the layby and stile leading to Oxlow Cavern, Nettle Pot and Maskhill Mine, where we met the others parked up and also changing into caving gear.
Karen, Keith Alice and myself were joined by Dave Phillips and Brian Potts as we walked up the steep ground to the shaft entrance to Maskhill Mine.
It was bitterly cold in the wind as Keith started rigging the entrance shaft and I was very glad when he shouted “rope free” and I could get my descender on the rope and into the shaft out of the wind. Not only were you completely out of the wind once in the shaft, but it was much warmer.
With shouts of “rope free” below and above, we all made our way down the various pitches with the odd pause to allow the next tackle bag full of rope to arrive to keep Keith supplied to continue rigging.
At the small section with a traverse around a hole leading up to the small col above the final drop down to the sump, Karen had dropped down the last tackle bag, which she had been carrying and after Dave had picked it up. I let him pass so that he could hand the bag onward to Keith.
I followed the two of them down this short pitch which is rigged with a cord Tyrolean Traverse to allow the rigger to reach a small platform on the opposite side of a large shaft. Normally I just abseil down this short pitch, lock my descender off and pull myself across to the platform using the rest of the rope, but on this occasion the loop of rope wasn't long enough to do this so I had to swap over to prusiking and then re-ascend the short way back to the rebelay above and then again swap over to descender and again abseil but this time with my long cowstail attached to the Tyrolean cord in order to reach the platform.
A short drop led to a wide “Y-Hang” above the impressive Oxlow West Chamber with the lights of various cavers below and I was soon down to join Keith and Dave plus Mat Adlam-Styles, Jack Barratt, PeteWagstaff, Paul Thorne and Phil Wall from the Oxlow party, who had already arrived in the West Chamber. There was a lovely smell of hot food which turned out to be Mat's soup which he had carried in a flask. Karen, Alice and Brian were following down behind me.
There was no sign of Boyd, Chris Jackson and Jason, the remainder of the Oxlow party, yet so I started walking towards the end of the West Chamber to see of there was any sign of them and I soon saw their three caving lights approaching. They had also dropped down East Chamber for a look around.
I turned back to the others waiting below the last Maskhill Mine pitch where some were having a look at the drop down to the very wet sump at the far side of a short tubular passage and soon Karen, Alice and Brian had joined us. It was quite a group with the fourteen of us re-united in the West Chamber – and no one had brought a camera to record the event!
Soon Karen got back on the rope and started prusiking back up on the long climb back to the surface followed by myself as arranged with the others, with Phil following. Pete was already at the top of this pitch as he had prusiked up in case Brian need a help at the Tyrolean.
It was very pleasant making our way up the various pitches, especially without having to carry any tackle bags!
At first I could hear Phil's shouted replies with each shout of “rope free” I gave but soon it went quiet as he waited for Pete and Paul to arrive so that he could grab the first tackle bag and continue upwards.
Soon we were making our way up the scruffy and dirty section of the mine near the entrance shaft and back on the surface. There was still a very cold and strong wind blowing and we didn't hang around and made our way downhill and back to the road and the farm to get changed.
As we were walking back towards the farm along the road, we saw a pair of cavers walking towards the stile next to the gate across a field and we presumed these must be a pair who had exited via Oxlow so we shouted and waved and they waved back. We could work out who they were, but we found out later that they were a pair of cavers nothing to do with Orpheus who'd had a trip down Oxlow Cavern.
Anyway, once back at the barn and after saying “hello” to the farmer who was busy collecting stuff from the barn, and getting changed, we headed off back to Monyash to get warmed up at the café. We must have made good time coming out of Maskhill Mine because there was no sign of anyone else from our group, including those who were coming out of Oxlow (including Keith and Alice).
We were back at the café in time for a hot snack and a mug of tea and a little while later we were joined by Boyd, Jack and Jason with no sign of the others yet.
Anyway, we headed for home.
During the week I had noticed that the levels of rainfall reported on the www.peakdistrictcaving.info website had been fairly high recently and a photo of Peak Cavern's resurgence on Monday showed the water level issuing from the cave was high.
I email Wayne Sheldon, who knows Peak Cavern very well, for his thoughts and he agreed that the Speedwell System would have high water levels and there was a chance that exiting (or entering) Peak Cavern would be a “no go”.
So after contacting other Orpheus members, a decision was made to switch the plan to do an Oxlow Cavern/Maskhill Mine exchange instead. Some were also planning a trip into and out of Peak Cavern for tomorrow, but whether that would be on or not would have to wait until tomorrow morning to see what water levels were like.
Anyway, Keith was giving a lift to Alice on his way up from Rugby and the four of us met for breakfast as usual in Monyash café and then headed for the Orpheus cottages at 10:00 to meet up with others who were caving today as arranged.
We found Paul Thorne, Pete Wagstaff and Boyd busy packing ropes into tackle bags for the trip. Then after getting a list of who was caving where we realised there would be fourteen of us (including Brian Potts who would wait in the “Oxlow” layby)!
Karen and I wanted to go in and out of Maskhill Mine while Keith and Alice were wanting to drop down Maskhill Mine and exit via Oxlow Caver. As there were so many of us, Pete suggested that we four should head off first to start rigging Maskhill Mine to minimise delays and he, Paul and some others would drop down Oxlow Cavern and the de-rig Maskhill Mine later on. This sounded like an excellent plan so we set off for Oxlow Farm near the top of Winnats Pass passing the wreck of a BMW sports car astride a drystone wall next to the A515 near Parley Hay, which must have crashed last night while the road was icy.
As usual, Karen, Keith and I, joined by Alice, parked at the farm and made use of the barn to change in. We were grateful that the farmer allowed this as there was a very cold, strong wind blowing with temperatures not much above freezing.
As we were changing, Boyd arrived with Jason and Jack and they parked on the grass verge opposite and also got ready for their trip down Oxlow Cavern.
Once changed, we grabbed the tackle bags, five in all, and walked back down the road towards the layby and stile leading to Oxlow Cavern, Nettle Pot and Maskhill Mine, where we met the others parked up and also changing into caving gear.
Karen, Keith Alice and myself were joined by Dave Phillips and Brian Potts as we walked up the steep ground to the shaft entrance to Maskhill Mine.
It was bitterly cold in the wind as Keith started rigging the entrance shaft and I was very glad when he shouted “rope free” and I could get my descender on the rope and into the shaft out of the wind. Not only were you completely out of the wind once in the shaft, but it was much warmer.
With shouts of “rope free” below and above, we all made our way down the various pitches with the odd pause to allow the next tackle bag full of rope to arrive to keep Keith supplied to continue rigging.
At the small section with a traverse around a hole leading up to the small col above the final drop down to the sump, Karen had dropped down the last tackle bag, which she had been carrying and after Dave had picked it up. I let him pass so that he could hand the bag onward to Keith.
I followed the two of them down this short pitch which is rigged with a cord Tyrolean Traverse to allow the rigger to reach a small platform on the opposite side of a large shaft. Normally I just abseil down this short pitch, lock my descender off and pull myself across to the platform using the rest of the rope, but on this occasion the loop of rope wasn't long enough to do this so I had to swap over to prusiking and then re-ascend the short way back to the rebelay above and then again swap over to descender and again abseil but this time with my long cowstail attached to the Tyrolean cord in order to reach the platform.
A short drop led to a wide “Y-Hang” above the impressive Oxlow West Chamber with the lights of various cavers below and I was soon down to join Keith and Dave plus Mat Adlam-Styles, Jack Barratt, PeteWagstaff, Paul Thorne and Phil Wall from the Oxlow party, who had already arrived in the West Chamber. There was a lovely smell of hot food which turned out to be Mat's soup which he had carried in a flask. Karen, Alice and Brian were following down behind me.
There was no sign of Boyd, Chris Jackson and Jason, the remainder of the Oxlow party, yet so I started walking towards the end of the West Chamber to see of there was any sign of them and I soon saw their three caving lights approaching. They had also dropped down East Chamber for a look around.
I turned back to the others waiting below the last Maskhill Mine pitch where some were having a look at the drop down to the very wet sump at the far side of a short tubular passage and soon Karen, Alice and Brian had joined us. It was quite a group with the fourteen of us re-united in the West Chamber – and no one had brought a camera to record the event!
Soon Karen got back on the rope and started prusiking back up on the long climb back to the surface followed by myself as arranged with the others, with Phil following. Pete was already at the top of this pitch as he had prusiked up in case Brian need a help at the Tyrolean.
It was very pleasant making our way up the various pitches, especially without having to carry any tackle bags!
At first I could hear Phil's shouted replies with each shout of “rope free” I gave but soon it went quiet as he waited for Pete and Paul to arrive so that he could grab the first tackle bag and continue upwards.
Soon we were making our way up the scruffy and dirty section of the mine near the entrance shaft and back on the surface. There was still a very cold and strong wind blowing and we didn't hang around and made our way downhill and back to the road and the farm to get changed.
As we were walking back towards the farm along the road, we saw a pair of cavers walking towards the stile next to the gate across a field and we presumed these must be a pair who had exited via Oxlow so we shouted and waved and they waved back. We could work out who they were, but we found out later that they were a pair of cavers nothing to do with Orpheus who'd had a trip down Oxlow Cavern.
Anyway, once back at the barn and after saying “hello” to the farmer who was busy collecting stuff from the barn, and getting changed, we headed off back to Monyash to get warmed up at the café. We must have made good time coming out of Maskhill Mine because there was no sign of anyone else from our group, including those who were coming out of Oxlow (including Keith and Alice).
We were back at the café in time for a hot snack and a mug of tea and a little while later we were joined by Boyd, Jack and Jason with no sign of the others yet.
Anyway, we headed for home.
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