Chrome Hill from Earl Sterndale

Leaving the car parked by the church in Earl Sterndale, Karen and I crossed the road to start following the public footpath starting at the Quiet Woman, the village pub.
After crossing several fields with either cows quietly chewing grass or sheep trying to find a shady spot with the warm sun making an appearance, even though it wasn't too hot at around 20 degress.
We eventually reached the road from Glutton Bridge and followed it as far as the farm of Glutton Grange where we left the road to follow another public footpath across fields to meet a farm track. After following the track for a short distance, it was back into fields with spectacular view of the limestone reef knolls of Parkhouse Hill and the even larger Chrome Hill.
This took us to the minor road leading up Dowal Dale pass Owl Hole en route. We left the road to follow a tarmaced track and the the stony drive of Stoop Farm followed by another left turn onto a Permissive Path leading across towards Chrome Hill and then steeply down hill in the field to reach a stile over the fence around the hill.
Soon we were making our way up the short steep section to reach the start of the huge limestone fin forming Chrome Hill. Karen was feeling a bit under the weather with hay fever and chose to follow the lower route along the side of Chrome Hill while I kept to the crest of the hill enjoying the short sections of easy scrambling.
Soon I was on the very windy and surprisingly empty summit, but as Karen was below somewhere I continued on and started the steep descent of the far side of the hill.
I reached the lovely sycamore with the memorial plaques dedicated to local farmer Bill Etches and waited for Karen to arrive, which she did not long after.
We continued on dropping down the last little section pausing for a short sit-down and drink in the sun until the wind persuaded us to be on our way.
Skirting around Parkhouse Hill (again a nice route but very steep on this side and very hard on the knees when dropping down the other side), we passed many ewes and their lambs until wee were back at the Glutton Bridge road at the same point as earlier.
We crossed the road and then followed the same route back to our starting point.

After changing out of our walking boots, we had a cold drink and pork pie in the pub.

Eglwys Faen

Karen drove the two of us to Whitewalls Cottage in Llangattock, belonging to the Chelsea Speleological Society. We arrived at around 22:00 and found Phil Wall and Jason Smith who had arrived earlier and were waiting outside as the hut was locked up and empty and I had brought the key.
We were up at 08:00 in the morning to cook breakfast and waited until Keith and Alice Anderson arrived.
The plan was for a leisurely trip into Agen Allwedd: we had the required permit and key. One advantage of going caving here was that we could change indoors in the hut and walk to the cave and that is what we did.
We arrived at the the small entrance to Agen Allwedd at the foot of a small limestone cliff and I got the key out and found it didn't fit the damn lock! It was a completely different sort of key to the type that fitted the lock and I couldn't understand what had gone wrong.
Rapidly we had to change to “Plan B”. We had passed another cave on the way, Eglwys Faen, but it is a relatively small cave, much, much smaller than Agen Allwedd – but there is no locked gate. At least we could go caving!
So, off we trooped back along the old tramway, back the way we had walked earlier and then walked up a short path to the large main entrance to Eglwys Faen and into the large main chamber.
From there we followed a flat-out crawl with a good draught until we met a squeeze which the others soon popped through. I found it a bit tighter and with a pulled muscle in my lower back, a memory of last week's trip underground, I didn't want to aggravate the injury so I left the others to it and went exploring another passage which involved a thorough soaking as I crawled through a pool of water with a low airspace.
I eventually popped out through a smaller alternative entrance and waited for a while to see if the others would arrive soon. As there had been since the earlier hours of the morning, yet another shower swept through blown by the strong wind and I stood in the shelter of a section of crag near the entrance.
As I waited, a group of kids dressed in caving gear came past with some adult cavers heading for Eglwys Faen, which is very popular with beginners.
I decided to head back to Whitewalls and get changed and wait there for the others. It was very windy with very string gusts but at least the showers held off until I was back indoors.
After I was changed out of caving gear I went to see what was going on with the permits and keys and why the key didn't fit the padlock earlier.
As well as a jiffy envelope containing paperwork about the hut, including the key which was taped to one of the pieces of paper. We also had an envelope with the permits for Agen Allwedd and also Ogof Draenen and when I opened it earlie, a key fell out. “Aha!”, I thought, “the key for Aggie.”

Unfortunately, this was actually the key for Ogof Draenan... the key for Aggie was again taped to a second piece of paper besides the permit which was folded in half and half again – and it also had the key taped to it! D'oh!

Inside Whitewalls

Walking along the old tramway

Dropping in to the main chamber

Graffitti in Eglwys Faen

Playing a strange game...

One of the locals

Calf Holes / Browgill Cave

Another enjoyable trip in this nice cave including a through trip to a second cave as a bonus.
I rigged the drop into the water below the entrance to Calf Holes and waited in the daylit section below for the others to arrive.
We stripped off SRT kit and set off through the cave. It was very similar to the Fisher Street end of Doolin River Cave with wide passage and flowing water with the roof low enough to require a crouched position.
Soon we were at the low crawl leading to The Contortion which is the link with Browgill Cave. After passing this easily as you just slip down legs first and then follow through a very short low section, we were back in easy passage until arriving near the top of the waterfall, where we followed a flat-out crawl and short hands-and-knees crawl leading past the waterfall to the short easy clamber down to the stream beyond.
All that was left was a short walk back to daylight at the large entrance to Browgill Cave. Here, Karen elected to follow the short walk back along the surface to Calf Holes, while we three decided to retrace our steps back along the underground route which was fun the first time and would be more fun the second time!
Getting back up through The Contortion was a bit of a pain as those with long legs (such as me!) cannot get their knee underneath in order to push up through the restriction to return to Calf Holes. It just means a little bit if a struggle as there isn't enough room to move your arms and shoulders around where you would want to.
I was soon through and waited for the others as Boyd was also finding his legs a bit too long as well, and his light went out to add to the fun! A quick tap on the side and he soon got it on again.

We made our way back through Calf Holes and then joined Karen, who was waiting by the entrance.We got our SRT kit back on and prusiked back to the surface to join her.

Hunt Pot

It was a cool day, which was good for the relatively long walk up the Pennine Way track towards Penyghent. We veered off the path as we approached Hunt Pot and were soon ready to follow Keith after he set off to rig the rope on the wall of the large open slit in the limestone.After he had shouted the usual “rope free”, Karen followed down the impressive pothole.
Pete Wagstaff and I were sitting in the shelter of a small overhanging section of limestone as it was a bit drizzly and after I saw Karen disappear over the edge I walked over so that I could hear her shout “rope free” meaning I could then take my turn.
Soon, I heard Karen's shout and after saying “see you later” to Pete, who was still sitting in his sheltered spot, I dropped down the rope for a few metres to where there was a “Y hang”. I clipped in my cowstails and waited until Karen had cleared the next section of rope.
I watched as Karen got off the rope on a wet ledge where Keith was also waiting. They shouted up to wait a bit as Keith was having to rearrange the rope.
He prusiked back up a short way and rigged a belay under a ledge above the wet one where Karen was still waiting. I was watching this going on below through my legs and then spotted some movement a little lower and to one side near the waterfall pouring down the open shaft at one end. It was a dipper! It had flown from somewhere below and landed on another small ledge on the opposite wall of the shaft.
Eventually Keith had abseiled back down again and shouted up “rope free” so I continued down the rope and passed a deviation. As I was nearing the ledge where the other two were still waiting, I heard them saying they were not going any lower!
So, I stopped a short distance above them and they explained that Keith was having trouble reaching the bolts, which were on the wall opposite the ledge. I changed over and prusiked back up to the surface.
As I was getting back out of the shaft I could hear Pete chanting something which I couldn't quite hear due to the noise of the waterfall.
As I walked towards him, still sitting in the same spot as before, I could hear him chanting “chip butty, chip butty, chip butty...”! He was getting chilled and was ready for a trip to Bernies!

Soon the others were back and we set off to get those chip butties!

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.

DCRO Call-out to Devonshire Cavern

Today was Keith Joules's funeral after sadly collapsing and dying on 20^th April en route for a caving trip in Top Sink, Easgill. This was very well attended and was held at Chesterfield Crematorium. He was brought to the funeral in the DCRO van driven by Bill Whitehouse accompanied by Janet Miller.
Afterwards there was a wake at The George in Castleton. Karen and I were just leaving at around 19;00 and it transpired that there was a call-out! Apparently a girl had fallen 7 metres in Devonshire Cavern and had a lower leg injury.
We set off for Matlock Bath via home in Winster, collecting our caving gear en route and met in the small private road adjacent to the old New Bath Hotel.
Once changed into caving gear and after receiving additional information via the police, we had a lift in Mick Earle's hired mini-bus. It was a struggle making our way up the narrow road leading up towards Devonshire Cavern with a couple of narrow switch-backs. He had to admit defeat when he couldn't fit the van between the two walls of houses bordering the lane, so we left the van in a small nearby car park and walked the remaining short distance.
There was a fancy-looking off-road ambulance called a Polaris parked by the track leading to the mine which belonged to a group of HART paramedics and a small group of paramedics and a police officer at the mine entrance.
A caver appeared at the mine entrance who was with the injured girl and he apparently was running back and forth between the further section of the mine and the entrance as other DCRO team members had been arriving.
Anyway, we started bringing gear in with Mick Earle acting as Controller by the entrance and Lee Langdon as underground Controller. It was decided that I would look after the section of mine from the entrance to the chamber with old steps near the blocked entrance and shaft and Dave Harley would look after the section from there to where the casualty had fallen, a little further in the mine.
After dropping the first bit of kit at the chamber, I continued onwards and met the casualty and an EMAS paramedic. It was decide that only her ankle was injured despite the fall, as she had fallen in a rift which slowed her down a bit.
Lee had a list of gear to ask for and I returned to the surface to request the additional gear including 2 Heyphones at my suggestion.
These soon arrived and we set one up at the entrance and I took the other in to set it up by the blocked-up entrance.
Soon the others were helping the casualty make her way by shuffling on her behind with assistance as she was wearing a full-body harness. I laid out the long Slix stretcher on a convenient flat spot by the old steps on the steep slope of the floor. The casualty was happier to continue as she was rather than get in a stretcher.
We packed up the stretcher and not too long afterwards all had made their way past the Heyphone point so I packed this up as well after informing Alan Brentnall on the other set.
While following the others and carrying gear, Lee suggested we head for the entrance which was not far away and get ready to assist there.
Fairly quickly the casualty was at the entrance and she was assisted out and handed over to the waiting paramedics. Soon she was packaged in their stretcher and we followed them down the track to the waiting off-road ambulance.
After making our way back to the RV point, we got changed out of caving gear and Karen, who had been at the vehicle helping out, and I drove home, getting to bed at 00:40.

I was up at 06:00 as usual for work.