New Goyden Pot

This was the best of the three caves we visited this weekend and it was a lovely sunny morning, too. We parked on the same road as yesterday a bit nearer to the camp-site and further from the dam and changed into caving gear. We needed SRT kit today as there were two pitches to descend but Pete thought because there was a crawl from the entrance to the first one, it might be easier not to wear the SRT kit.
We again reached the downstream and dry section of the river Nidd and walked down the boulder-strewn and rocky river Nidd watching wagtails flying around and a baby rabbit darting past us heading for its burrow.
We soon found the entrance to New Goyden Pot which was in the small stone cliff in the right-hand riverbank.
The entrance was small and roughly rectangular with a short drop of under a metre to a wide but flat-roofed and flat-floored chamber which was easy hands-and-knees crawling for only around 6 or 7 metres to what was obviously the pitch.
Above the drop was an area of scaffolding with all the gaps filled in with sheets of various material obviously to prevent small pieces of rock and other material falling down to block the top og the pitch which opened through some boulders and was a little constricted at the top.
While I was waiting for the other two I spotted a “P” bolt a short way back from the pitch head in the ceiling and then a pair “P” bolts also in the roof nearer to the drop, There was a thin cord with a tied loop attached to one of the scaffold piles at the top of the pitch and further short piece of rope attached to a rusty old “Ring Hanger” of the sort which we used to use in the days of Spit anchors.
There were the deviations we were expecting. Pete tied in the rope to the back-up anchor in the ceiling and I attached “Y hang” to the other two anchors. Pete handed me his collection of karabiners and assorted slings which I clipped onto the top of the tackle bag and attached my descender to the rope and started to drop through the top of the pitch only to have one of the slings catch on a piece of rock behind me and get stuck!
I was able to get my weight off the rope a nit and Pete flipped the end of the rope off of the projection to release me. I moved the collection of karabiners and slings from the top of the tackle bag containing the rope to my belt and set off down a bit to attach the second deviation karabiner.
I then had a look around and saw a lovely fluted shaft which was much better than it looked from above which was covered with a jumble of boulders.
I dropped down to the foot of the 18 metre or so pitch and removed the rope from my descender and had a look around the chamber I had reached. There was a bit of flowstone on the walls and a large rift-shaped opening nearby with the sound of a streamway rising upwards from it.
When Karen arrived with the second rope and tackle bag I attached the rope to another “P” bolt again in the ceiling about 2 metres from the drop and then to the two “P” bolts in the ceiling either side of the rift and then dropped down the pitch in the large rift to break through into a large tunnel carrying a lovely streamway!
I was soon in the ankle-deep water and detaching my descender and shouting “rope free”.
I was thinking of the first cavers to have entered the passageway from the river bed only to find that first shaft and this pitch immediately after it straight into such a large and lovely stream passage. That must have been some experience!
Once joined by the other two and having stripped off the ow superfluous SRT kit, we set off downstream again looking out for any side passages. Pete particularly wanted to have a look at a chamber called The Planetarium.
We reached the large downstream sump which was deep with a sharply-dropping floor and then turned around to go back upstream and enter a large and obvious side passage.
After a bit of walking, a little crawling and some clambering up, over and through gaps in boulders we arrived in a large chamber with circular depressions in the ceiling which we took to be The Planetarium.
We clambered up some boulders and blocks in one corner and followed a sandy-floored passage very like the upstream sump passages in P8 when water levels are very low.
This brought us to a short clamber down followed by a second climb-down which was a little awkward and to avoid aggravating my leg injury I decided to wait a bit while Karen and Pete went to investigate where this led to.
After a few minutes I heard voices coming from behind me in the direction of The Planetarium and I returned there to see a caving light shining up through a large hole in the other corner of the chamber.
A minute or two later Pete popped through the hole followed by Karen. After a quick look at a short climb up in the far side of the chamber, we returned to the main passage and streamway.
We returned back upstream and passed the rope dangling down the pitch and followed the river upstream. There was a small side passage with a slope of clean-washed rocks and I followed this through a narrowing to hear a small waterfall.
I clambered up the side of the waterfall to a second higher waterfall. From here there was a short climb with no low foot-holds but it did have a knotted handline with a sling attached to allow you to gain a metre or metre and a half in order to reach the foot-holds.
I gave Pete a helpful shove and he clambered up to have a look. He returned a few minutes later to say he had popped out at the surface through another entrance with a wooden lid a short way along the river bed from the main entrance.
We returned to the main streamway again and soon found the end of the easy upstream section very close by where the ceiling nearly met the water with a small amount of airspace which appeared to continue a fair distance.
As the airspace was very small and we were only wearing furry suits, we elected to nit continue any further.

So, it was back to the pitch to don SRT kits and return up the ropes and back to the surface after an excellent and enjoyable trip.

Manchester Hole and Goyden Pot

It was a first trip to this area of Yorkshire, Nidderdale, for both myself and Karen and we camped at How Stean Gorge campsite which is 7 miles north-west of Pateley Bridge near Lofhouse. We drove up last night and as we passed through Pateley Bridge and beyond we began to see strings of miniature jerseys coloured green, yellow or white with read spots. There were also many bicycles hanging from houses and shops and other buildings al painted yellow, including seats and tyres. We couldn't work out what this was about until we then saw the AA signs warning the the roads would be closed next week-end for the Tour de France! Of course, the Tour was starting in Leeds next week-end and travelling around parts of Yorkshire and onwards.
Once we had pitched the Force Ten MkV, we spotted Pete Wagstaff's car in another part of the field and presumably his tent. He had gone for a walk and also stopped in the pub and he dropped by on his way back to say “hello”. There were only the three of us on this trip.
We were up at 08:30 and even though the camp-site has a café, it didn't start serving food until 10:00 so Karen and I cooked breakfast in the tent as it was a damp, still morning with a little light rain and when that had stopped, there were midges about.
Luckily it brightened up as we set off from the camp-site just after 10:00 to drive a few miles to park near Scar House Reservoir near the river Nidd.
We walked up to the reservoir to see what water levels were like as Manchester Hole and the other caves are very prone to flooding and even though the forecast was for possible light rain showers, if water levels are high and there is enough wind in the right (or wrong in this case!) direction, water can overflow the dam and flood the cave systems.
The water level was quite low and there was very little wind so we would have no problems. The dam was impressive being made of stone blocks and built in the late 1920s and early 1930s. It was very ornate with lots of castellations and ornate decorations.
After walking back to the cars, we relocated a short way back to a layby next to a tunnel closed with stone blocks which Pete said was built during the construction of the dam and parked there and then got changed into caving gear.
We followed a nearby Public Footpath which dropped down to a fence stile and then across a field to second stile and the dry river bed. The cave entrance was on the opposite side on the other side of another fence and stile.
We set off into the small rectangular entrance which immediately opened into larger passage and a streamway. The roof and walls were covered in sediment and there were lots of evidence of past flooding with sediment and tree branches left in various places. We first went downstream and had a look at various side passages and at one point reached a chamber with a mud back and slope with a handline from above where there was a group being led on a caving trip.
We had a short chat and they went on their way. Karen and Pete had a look at what was at the top og the shirt climb with the knotted handline while I waited and I had a slight groin injury from last week's sojourn on Kinder Scout. Pete had reached the surface at a lidded pot in a field (Back Pot).
Passing the muddy bit we followed lower passage through some pools in the stream until we reached a low section which we found to become toot tight. Karen had noticed another route on the right which was flat-out and although the floor was smooth and worn, the section beyond a squeeze looked like loose flood debris and appeared nit to be well-travelled. So I let Pete have a look! He disappeared and returned after a few minutes to report he had found an entrance in a field called Bax Pot.
We returned past the entrance and went upstream but this soon closed down in a boulder choke.
After returning to the surface, we had a quick look at where the river Nidd was sinking which was a very short distance upstream. The river was simply disappearing into the jumble of small boulders and stoned in the river bed.
We then walked further downstream on the dry riverbed and I found another cave entrance on the left-hand bank by a patch of loose soil at the foot of a small cliff. It was covered by a large circular galvanised steel lid which had a small circular door in it as well, but I simply lifted the whole lid off.
Inside was a circular section of galvanised metal and a short drop to a small ledge and then another short drop to a rocky shelf next to a narrowish rift.
I had a quick look at this and then set off to find the other two.
A little bit further downstream was another larger cave entrance which I took to be Goyden Pot. There was plenty of flood debris just as with Manchester Hole, but here were large tree branches and even tree trunks!
I wandered in the large passage inside the entrance and followed a side route for a short way which passed a large window to a drop to much larger passage below and was blocked with a large tree trunk which I had to swing my legs over. There were three drive-through bolts in place presumably to allow for abseiling into the passage below.
I returned to the main passage way and hear the other two and soon saw their lights further down the Main Chamber at a level below where I was due to large steps in the floor and large fallen blocks and boulders.
I clambered down to join them and we set off along the nice and large streamway.
We eventually followed a hands-and-knees crawl ad reached a five-way junction. I started up another hands-and-knees crawl following the same small stream we had already followed but the water soon disappeared and soon arrived at a small chamber with passages going off and a short climb over flowstone to a higher passage about 2.5 metres higher with a short section of aluminium builder's ladder propped in place!
I climbed up the ladder and was followed by the other two and we soon reached a chamber with a low rock-strewn passage going off to the left and a higher passage on the right which would require a climb up to get to.
We had a look at Pete's photocopied survey which was now damp and suffering from having gone through chest-deep water earlier on as we went thorough a lowish but wet section. We couldn't really make head or tail of where we were for definite other than seeing Five-way Junction and possibly the Ten Foot climb where the ladder was.
We decided we had seen enough for now and headed back to the surface and agreed another trip would be a good idea to see more of this lovely cave.
We got changed out of caving gear and as it was around 14:30 drove back to the camp site and were delighted to find out that the café served chip butties!

Later Pete went for another walk locally while we hung around the tent or later, sat in the car reading.

Kinder Scout

Karen was on another trip to the health spa at Alton Towers with some work mates while I set off for another return to Kinder Scout.
It was another fine sunny day without much wind. The air was fairly cool but the sun was hot as I parked in one of the few remaining spaces in Upper Booth car park. People used to park by the roadside when the layby was full but there are now signs prohibiting this “to allow access for Emergency Vehicles”.
I walked up via Crowden Clough, scrambled up the nice scrambly bit at the top and then followed the original Pennine Way route across to Kinder Downfall (more Kinder Dribble today as there wasn't much water flowing!). The ground wasn't too boggy and I only had to cross one deep grough and crossed two very short sections which were boggy enough to cause my boots to sink up to the ankles. This wasn't a problem as I was wearing gaiters as usual.
I had been followed by a man, a young girl and their dog (off the lead as usual despite the signs pointing out dogs should be kept on a lead during the bird nesting season from March until the end of July, They had taken a slightly different route and I heard a loud shout as he went into the bog up to his knee and seemed to be fishing around for lost footwear!
Continuing to follow a generally north-west direction, I soon saw the obvious pair of rocky buttresses called Kinder Gates in the distance. This is a good landmark (in clear weather of course!) as they mark the course of the Kinder river as it makes its way across the plateau towards Kinder Downfall.
When I reached the river, I followed the wide sandy and pebbly river bed with very shallow water until I reached the Downfall. There I met fellow DCRO member Chris Haywood who is also a Kinder Mountain Rescue Team member. He was with a small group of fellow Kinder MR members who were assisting with a fell race which was running along the northern edges of Kinder. He told me there were 135 runners and they had to make sure they were all accounted for as they passed.
After a short break near the Downfall to eat a flapjack, I continued onwards to pass Red Brook and the trig point at Kinder Low, stepping out of the way every now and then as a group of fell runners came up behind.

I dropped down the path below Edale Rocks then made my way down the Jacobs Ladder path to return to the start at Upper Booth car park.

Oxlow Cavern

Unusually for the Orpheus Caving Club barbecue week-end, the weather forecast was good!
We met Keith as usual in the café at Monyash for breakfast, then drove to the Orpheus Club cottage at Parsley Hay.
Keith was joining Pete Wagstaff, Ralph (Bell) Bellamy and Paul Thorne for a trip into the further reaches of Knotlow Cavern while Karen and I had a trip to Oxlow Cavern's East Chamber planned.
So between us the appropriate lengths of rope were sorted and packed into tackle bags and we set off for Oxlow Farm to park the car and get changed into caving gear.
As there were only the two of us, we had settled on a trip to East Chamber as this meant we could get all the ropes necessary into three tackle bags which was reasonably manageable between the two of us.
It was almost exactly noon as I finished attaching the rope to the anchors at the top of the entrance shaft and started to abseil down into the old mine.
We were both having a poke around East Chamber a little over an hour later and after a short “mars bar” break, we began the return journey to the surface again.
It was around 14:30 once we were both back on the surface and the ropes packed away.
Another visit to the café was called for and we sat outside in the fine weather as we ate and watched various motorbikes and some vintage cars come and go and pass by.

We had originally planned on returning later to the club cottage for the barbecue once we had sorted and packed away the ropes, but somehow, it just never happened. We had decided to just eat at home anyway, maybe lethargy had set in!

Ashford-in-the-Water to Monsal Head

We started the day by parking in Bakewell to have a quick visit to Cotswold Outdoors to pick up an Osprey Kestrel 38 rucksack I had ordered to replace my previous one which was now beginning to show its age after several years of regular use.
Next we drove to the village of Ashford-in-the-Water and parked near the church. Luckily it wasn't too warm but cloudy and dry as we set off on our walk towards Monsal Head. We had a quick look at two Well Dressing displays and then followed several roads in the village and then made our way along a narrow path leading up between shrubbery and fencing, pausing a few times to let groups of Duke of Edinburgh kids or other walkers to pass.
After mostly following paths either between field boundaries or along the edges of fields, Karen and I popped out onto the tarmac at Monsal Head.
The first thing we did was to get a couple of ice creams form the Fredericks ice cream van parked there. We were spoilt for choice as there was a second ice cream van parked by the teas rooms nearby.
We sat on one of the wooden benches in front of the tea rooms and pub eating the ice cream ad looking and the view down the Monsal valley far below including the old railway viaduct which is now part of a cycle route and bridleway.
After our short break we left the tarmaced area and rejoined the footpath which dropped gradually down through woods to eventually pop out by a large weir in the river Wye.
We had a closer look at the weir after crossing a footbridge and walking down to the river's edge and then continued on the riverside path with several walkers approaching from the opposite direction and passing us in what appeared to be some sort of event as they all appeared to be rushing!
Eventually we arrived at the busy Bakewell to Buxton A6 and after crossing to the opposite side we entered White Lodge car park.
We sat on a wooden bench for a snack break and then continued on the ascending path which followed a route through Great Shacklow Wood. This led to a minor road back near Ashford-in-the-Water an soon onto the A6.

We walked along the road-side footpath a few hundred metres to then cross the A6 and the Sheepwash Bridge back into the village. It was a little busier now as a wedding in the church had just finished and the bride and groom and wedding guests were milling about outside.

Emergency Services Open Day, Buxton

For many years DCRO have had a presence at the annual Emergency Services Open Day held at Pavilion Gardens in Buxton.
I arrived on a lovely sunny morning at 09:30 to help set things up and spent most of the day with some other Team Members “manning” the DCRO pitch.
As on previous years, the BCA's artificial cave proved very popular with young children as they queued up for a turn, often for several turns to go through the fibreglass mock-up of a small, twisty cave passage.

We were in a good position to see several demonstrations by other organisations such as Buxton Mountains Rescue, the Search and Rescue Dog Association and of course the Fire and Rescue Service.

Kinder Scout via Grindsbrook Knoll and Ringing Roger

Karen was again having a day at home and I again walked on Kinder's southern edges. Again I walked up via Grindsbrook Knoll, along the southern edge path and then down via Ringing Roger.
The weather forecast was for a wet day with heavy showers and possible thunder. Just before I left home there was a heavy downpour and some lightning but it didn't last very long.
I had an early start and was able to park in Grindsbrook Booth just outside the school which save me the usual £5 parking cost in the large public car park.

Luckily although it was very misty once on the plateau there were only the odd drop of rain as I walked along. I stopped on the crest of Ringing Roger to eat my lunch just at the lower limit of the cloud.

Kinder Scout via Grindsbrook Knoll and Ringing Roger

It was quite warm today with quite a bit of sun as I walked the usual route along the southern edge of Kinder Scout.