Hon. Sec: A.R. Thomas,
Westhaven
School, Uphill, Weston s Mare,

Somerset.
Hon Treas: – R.J. Bagshaw,

699
Wells Road, Knowle,

Bristol 4.
EDITOR:  D.J. Irwin.

23 Camden Road,
Bristol
3.

THE EDITORIAL STAFF
WISH ALL READERS A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR

…and for your Christmas reading we offer the largest Belfry
bulletin ever published – some 40 pages containing material from all quarters.

Accounts of this years visits to foreign parts including
Austria,
Ireland
and

France.  ‘Alfie’ concludes his series on the Route
Severity Diagram and adds his usual Christmas contribution which is in
competition with ‘Jok’ Orr’s piece of fiction ‘A Season of Goodwill’.  Jok tells me in passing that he had to do
‘one ‘ell of a lot of swotting for this piece of work – the auld cool!’  And for Mendip readers an account of the
discoveries of Cuthbert’s 2 fills the exploration and new work – also an
article by ‘Prew’ on the exploration of Shatter Hole – the latest of the big
finds in Fairy Cave Quarry.

Editorial

Ethics

A letter from John Riley (page 183) raises an important
point for discussion.  If a group of
cavers are working a site of caving interest and are rewarded with a discovery
small or large, do they have sole right of exploration?  This problem has not been with the Mendip
community since the discovery of Nine Barrow Swallet.  In that particular instance cavers other than
the digging teams explored the cave before the others had a chance to get to
the cave.  Arguments put forward by some
of the ‘trespassing’ explorers were ‘Well, I dug here in 1962’ (six years
previously) and ‘Oh, well no-one seemed interested in pushing the place’.  Now with the discovery of St. Cuthbert’s 2
all and sundry are prepared to invade the place and push like ‘hell’ under the
guise of ‘just having a look round at what you have found’.

Ever since I have been caving on Mendip, the B.E.C. above
all has always attempted to keep to a high standard set of caving rules
including the one that goes like this, ‘If you have found a new cave or
extension then it’s your good luck – let me know when I can go and have a
look’.  Unfortunately, even members of
the B.E.C. are appearing to be above the law and pushing passages in the new
section of St. Cuthbert’s 2.  I can only
add – give the team a chance to ensure that the passing of the sump (Sump 1) is
safe for tourist parties and push their discovery to its limit.  This will take most of the winter but please
be patient; and above all it is hoped that the rest of the Cuthbert’s leaders
will show the high standard of caving ethics that is expected of them.

It’s on the way up!

November 12th 1969 proved to be another landmark on the
History of the B.E.C. for on that day the much talked about, much planned and
much sweated for NEW BELFRY foundation trenches were dug. Members will no doubt
be regularly visiting Mendip to inspect the building during its various stages
of erection and to see just what they are getting for their money.  By close inspection of the plans and seeing
the size of the ground plan it appears that we shall have nothing less than a
very fine club ‘hut’.  A ‘hut’, although
costing over £3,200, that will be both comfortable and functional. A ‘hut’
where there will be plenty of room for everyone to carry out his own personal
requirements without falling over everyone’s feet.  As with all improvements they cost more to
keep up.  The running costs of the new
Belfry is likely to double those of the wooden building and so it is essential
that the fullest possible use is made of the place in the future.  All one can add to this is ‘As a member of
the B.E.C., why not spend an occasional weekend at the Belfry and meet the
current crowd on Mendip – it hasn’t changed much and is just as friendly!  (For further details see ‘Just-a-Sec below.)

Finally Christmas is near and members will be whooping it up
but the B.B. doesn’t close shop for any holiday but this is where I pack up and
Mike Luckwill takes over – the best of luck Mike – and a Merry Christmas and a
Happy New Year to all readers.

 ‘Wig’

 

Just – a – Sec.

With Alan Thomas.

At last we have the news we have been waiting for.  The erection of the new Belfry has
begun.  The builder was given the go
ahead on Tuesday 11th November and work begun on the 12th.  The reason for the delay was because we could
not go ahead until we had a definite answer from the Pearl Insurance regarding
the claim on the old Belfry.

The fact that work has begun does not mean that we have
raised all the money needed but the difference has been guaranteed in the form
of loans from certain members.  If we
need to take up these loans they will have to be repaid and this could keep the
Club short of money for a few years.  I
expect most of the promises made at the dinner have now been paid but if there
are any outstanding Bob will be pleased to receive them.

Pete Franklin is in charge of fund raising.  One of his schemes is a ‘Stop the clock’
competition which will require all of us to sell tickets to our friends.  We must all have a go ourselves – we might
win a wrist watch – if we don’t we’ll get a new Belfry.  Anyone else with money making schemes should
contact Pete.

– – – – –

Despite one or two shortcomings this year it has been
decided to book next year’s Dinner at the Wookey Hole Caves Restaurant and try
to iron out problems with the management. If you have any complaints about this year’s Dinner let’s hear them.

– – – – –

We now have copies in the Library of the Cambrian Caving
Council Handbook.  Members who may wish
to purchase their own copy may do so from N.S.J. Christopher, Crial Lodge,

Gentle Street,
Frome,

Somerset
at 2/6.

– – – – –

Similarly the Southern Council’s Handbook is available from
Dr. O.C. Lloyd, Withey House, Withy Close West, Wetbury-on-Trym,

Bristol at 2/6.

– – – – –

The B.E.C. has recently been elected as a Club
representative on the Committee of the Cave Research Group.

– – – – –

When the erection of the New Belfry commences there will be
weekly committee meetings at 8.00pm on Thursday evenings at Wig’s flat.

– – – – –

Bob Bagshaw has a number of Club ties for sale at 17/6
ea.  And at £1 if you wish to donate a
further 2/6 to the Hut Fund.  Unlike the
other Club’s ties that lose their emblems after washing the B.E.C. ‘Bertie’ is
guaranteed to stick like other good commodities.

– – – – –

The next part of the report on St. Cuthbert’s Swallet – the
complex Rabbit Warren will be published during December 1969.

 

November Committee Meeting

Somewhat naturally, the business of replacing the Belfry
continued to dominate the business of the Committee.  Unfortunately, no reply in writing has yet
been received, and thus the building was not able to start on the 20th October,
as originally hoped.  However, a modest
start has been made in having the cattle grid installed and the remains of the
Belfry demolished.

In spite of continually rising costs, the Committee have
still authorised the start of building during the month if the insurance offer
comes through.  If there is no reply
before the next meting, then the position will have to be reviewed.

The Hut fund continues to rise, although rather slowly.  The Committee are considering every possible
way of making money, and ALL SUGGESTIONS FROM MEMBERS WIIL BE GRATEFULLY
RECEIVED.  One scheme will be announced
shortly.  On the brighter side, it
appears that the Committee will be about able to fit out the new building at
considerably less cost than it had been feared.

It has been agreed that, while the actual building is going
on, the Committee will meet EVERY WEEK so that decisions can be rapidly taken
as required.

Alan Tringham, Geoffrey Moore and Martin Bishop were elected
to membership of the Club.

S.J. Collins,
Minutes Secretary.

Address Changes and Additions

Alan Bonner,

14 Monkseaton Drive,

Whitley
Bay,
Northumberland.
718       A. Tringham,
North
Longwood,

Beggar Bush
Lane, Failand, Nr. Bristol.
719       M. Hauan,

24 Elberton Road, Sea Mills,

Bristol,
BS9
2QA.

Reminder

Sorry to have to remind you all but your subscriptions will
be due on the 31st January 1970.  Please
make a determined effort to get them sent in on time – every penny counts.  Please enclose your membership card with your
subscription and preferably an S.A.E. so that Bob has no excuse for a quick
reply!  Subscription 15/- still one of
the cheapest on Mendip when one considers that 12/6 is the actual sub and the
other 12/6 is for the building fund; a levy that will be removed sometime in the
next few years. Come pay and look cheerful!

 

Odds and end…

Cuthbert’s leaders meeting: Flood drainage to be improved at the entrance.  Maypole Series to remain closed for ‘bug’
collecting – helpers required.

 

Spelaeodes

Its out at last!!!

THE LONG AWAITED Part 1 of ‘Alfies’ S)P)E)L)A)E)O)D)E)S)
with cartoons by ‘Jok’ Orr.

4/-  + 9d.  p &  p.

includes the tales of: –

Freddy Fry who attempts to dry out

Stoke Lane

Kenneth Lyle and his Caving Machine

Sammy Smayle and his cider drinking exploits.

Limited edition so order as soon as possible and make sure
of your copy.

PART TWO expected early 1970 and includes tales of Walter
Wade; Gilbert Grough; Gordon Gripe and Jimmy Truckles. Place your order now.
More details on the January issue of the B.B

Caving Reports

No.13. Part A.  St.
Cuthbert’s Swallet (a B.E.C. best seller).

“Discovery Exploration”  photographs and 38 pages of text.  Price 6/-. (only a few left – and that’s a fact!).

No.13. Part F.  St.
Cuthbert’s Swallet – Gour Hall area.

Complete description and survey.  Photos and survey notes.  PRICE 3/-.

No.13. Part E.  St.
Cuthbert’s Swallet – Rabbit Warren.

Complete description and
survey.  Photos and survey notes.  PRICE 5/-. (Published mid-January 1970).

Further details of new Caving Reports in next issue of B.B.

Caving Reports and Belfry Bulletins available from Bryan
Ellis, Knockauns, Combwich, Bridgwater, Somerset OR Dave Irwin,

23 Camden Road,
Bristol
3.

Cavers Bookshelf

by ‘Kangy’

“From Sea to Ocean”,
by J.M. Scott published by Bles at 30/-.

I bought this book, just after publication this year, before
my holidays.  It describes walking along
the
Pyrenees and that was were I went.

I fact it wasn’t much use as a guide and I don’t recommend
anyone buying it for that purpose.  It
was however of great use as a piece of inspiration and have read and reread it
before and after visiting some of the places the author describes.  It is not a profound book, the author’s
mountaineering limitations prevent this, but a humorous and sympathetic
book.  A book which makes it easy to go
and see and appreciate.

“
Palaeolithic
Cave
Art” by Peter J. Ucks and Andrew Rosenfeld (of
University
College
London
and the

British
Museum). Published by World University Library in paperback for 14/-

My immediate impression, substantiated in practice was a
fatiguing layout.  The figures and
illustrations are all over the place giving the book an attractive appearance
and inviting browsing.  In fact browsing
is hindered and understanding limited because the figures are neither in one
place for ease of reference nor next to the relevant text.  This is serious because frequent reference is
made to the figures.  In addition the
book is difficult to use because of the method of binding.  It will not stay open. 

Reading
is a fight.  The index does not
help.  A larger format would help to
display the many beautiful illustrations to better effect.  Better binding and a larger format would make
a book costing many times more but it would be well worth while for, in spite
of my strictures, the book is remarkable value for money.

Previous books I have read on the subject have been full of
naïve wonder and far fetched speculation. Ucks and Rosenfeld have read all these and more and after clear analysis
makes common sense of the whole thing, presenting what seems to be all the
available evidence and pointing to a conclusion in a very reasonable way.

They are constructive in their criticism and indicate many
possible lines of research.  For example,
they draw attention to the need for exploration of known important sites.  Scarcely any accurate surveys exist!  The necessity for surveys is made obvious in
the text.

They are rightly cautious on the use of ethnographic
parallels.  After reading “The Naked Ape”
I’m influenced enough to be even more cautious about drawing conclusions from
‘primitive’ peoples but their conclusions are fair.

Perseverance with this book is easy in spite of the
obstacles caused by the production of this book.  The contents are excellent.

 

Ahnenschacht 1969

By Alan Thomas

We realised that there was little the advance party,
consisting of Colin Priddle (Pope), Ian Daniels and myself, could do as we
would have no gear.  In the event,
however, the advance party was found to be useful as well as enjoyable.

To begin with we found that our friends, the Koglers, were
no longer in charge of the Höchkogelhütte – though we managed to spend an
enjoyable evening with them at their flat in Ebensee later.  It was then necessary to make friends with
the new management as it seemed in doubt at first whether we would even be
allowed to cook.  We soon found however
that our new host, Gridi Hörhager was prepared to dispense with hospitality in
the manner in which we were accustomed.

On Wednesday (30th July) the weather had changed for the
worse and after a morning spent at the Hut we set out to investigate a hole on
the path some distance below which I had noticed last year and which might be a
lower entrance to the Ahnenschacht.  We
soon found that though there were several holes from which powerful cold draughts
emerged most of them were too small to get in. It was not long before Pope found a much more promising group of holes a
little further down.  We pushed into
several of these but were not able to do much at the time through lack of gear.

A large number of holes in the area have been noticed by the
Landesverein für Hohlenkunde and their national catalogue number painted by the
entrance.  Not all of these numbered
caves have been explored and some of them are very small indeed.  It was rather surprising, therefore, that
there were no numbers painted on the holes that Pope found as they were very
close to the path.  Two possible
explanations occur: first that they are not easily seen form the path and that
secondly that people coming up the path are on their way to the hut and not
really casting about looking for holes.

On Saturday 2nd August, Pope and I walked to the top of
Grunberg and in the wood immediately opposite the Hut and before reaching the
slope of Grunberg we found another group of holes from which a cold draught
could be felt.  Further investigations of
these holes on subsequent occasions led to nothing.  We no longer have a great faith in a lower
entrance but I think it is more likely that one of these holes would repay a
Mendip-type pushing.

On Sunday, when we were walking to Hangercherkogel, we were
met by Helmuth Planer and Walter from

Linz.  Back at the Hut were Helena, Helmuth’s wife
and Judi, his four year old daughter, they will be spending the week with us.

On Monday morning we were joined by the others from

England who has
some trouble with the ford transit.  Six
journeys brought all our gear to the top and the tent which Robin had donated
to the club was erected as a store house.

On Tuesday everybody carried gear up to the Ahnenschacht.  A party comprising Helmuth, Robin, Dick,
Brain, Dave Yeandle, Colin Dooley and myself spent four hours laddering the
Sinterterasse and taking some other gear down in preparation for the next day’s
party.  Robin put in 5/16” red heads on
the awkward entrance pitch to break it into two and on the pitch below where
the belay was unsatisfactory.

Mike calibrated the compass and the rest looked further into
the possibilities of a lower entrance but without success so far.

On Wednesday, whilst Derek and I accompanied by Gidi and his
two children, went to Grunden with the transit to have it repaired, a party
went down the Ahneenschacht with the intention of laddering all the way to
Schachtgabel.  The party consisted of Pope,
Ian, Martin, Brian and Bob Criag.

They had a seven hour trip but did not quite succeed in
their intention.  They managed to get the
ladder as far as half-way down the 250ft. pitch from Shuppenstuffe.

On Thursday, a party consisting of Dave Yeandle, Derek
Harding. Martin, Dick, Colin and myself went down to complete the
laddering.  We put in a ¾” red head in on
the ledge of the awkward 170ft. pitch thereby making it into two pitches but
both life-lined from Sinterterrasse. Martin wet to the bottom of the pitch to make sure it was free all the
way down.  A five hour trip.

We were now ready for the first big push.  A party of twelve (including Helmuth and
Walter; excluding myself and Derek who went to fetch the Transit back) left the
Hut at 7.30am.  The large party took some
time descending the pitches.  Mike was
first to reach Schachtgabel and Martin soon joined him.  By now it was mid-day and as Bob Craig was at
the bottom, Mike and Martin went into the horizontal to ladder the first new
pitch, when they came back, Dave Yeandle had arrived and by 2.30pm the ‘deep’
party was completed by the arrival of Brian. Marin and Bob had already left to descend the ladder, which had been
placed in the small tube descending beside the big pitch and entered a
horizontal passage.  The rest soon caught
up with them in a large muddy chamber about 20ft in diameter.  This was explored, surveyed and an extension
followed until it met another pitch.  On
returning to the main passage an 8m climb down a mud fill allowed Martin to
discover another 80m of descending passage which ended in a shaft and then the
party made its way to the Waterfall and taking the right hand fork the Main
Shaft was soon in sight.  This shaft is
an awesome sight; perhaps 120m deep and 35m in diameter; it is formed in white
limestone and surrounded at the top by steep and treacherous mud slopes.  Threading its way through a chaos of collapse
chambers to the right of the shaft the descending rift was reached; this is
very heavily decorated and contains some excellent cave flowers, following this
to the bottom of the large chamber in the mud series was again reached, thus
completing the first round circle of the cave. Two thirds of the way down the passage parallel passage was entered
which swung round to the left and entered a long rift some 20m deep.

With little time to spare the party then went to the end of
the Wind Tunnel.  The 20m pitch into the
rift chamber was not descended and the descending passage in the other
direction soon became impassable without a hand-line.  On return to Schachtgabel soup was prepared
and at about 8.00pm the party ascended and all were out of the cave by 1.00am
and soon returned to the Hut for soup and sleep.

A party consisting of Derek, Dave, Martin, Bob and I went
into the cave at 10.30am on Sunday.  We
went as quickly as possible taking food, photographic gear and extra tackle
into the horizontals.  First we followed
the Wind tunnel to its conclusion.  A
small hole gave access to a large rift chamber via a 3½m ladder.  At the end of the climb was a meandering rift
passage whose walls were covered in carbon coated bot. stal.  This was followed for 33m but became
impassable.  Derek looked at a side
passage just before the chamber.

Returning to the junction we followed the Descending
Passage.  At the end of this Martin and I
went down a ledge to the bottom of a chamber. The ledge seemed unstable so we suggested the others came on the
rope.  Derek did this O.K. but as Bob
came down the place where the rope was began to collapse.  Dave stayed above.  The whole of this chamber is very unstable
and in places a large pot cane be seen underneath.  Further progress in the direction of the
passage was prevented by a pot of some 100ft. A rift on the right hand side of the chamber could be descended for a
short distance but it came out into the side of the pot a drop of 80ft. would
still have to be negotiated.

After we had been to the end of the Descending Passage we
returned to a small sand floored chamber near the entrance of the horizontals
where we tried to sleep for two hours with little success as we were extremely
cold.  We were, in fact, glad to get up
for a rest.  (At about this stage I
succeeded in cutting my head open when I banged it on the roof.  I keep telling people to jeep their helmets
on – that must be why).  After the
abortive attempt at sleeping we explored a small labyrinth on the right hand
side, just below our sleeping chamber, which led to the mud series.

Martin took 30 pictures of different parts of the cave.  We felt that we had adequately explored the
lateral system but of course we did not give it the full Cuthbert’s treatment
(what’s that? – Ed.).

We had been long aware that Ahnenschacht (meaning Ancestors
Shaft) was no longer descriptive of the cave as a whole.  Derek came up with the idea that what we had
been referring to as the ‘horizontals’ should be named ‘Cave of the
Ancestors’.  As well as matching the name
Ahnenschacht it is descriptive of the dead world of decaying stal. and churt
covered rock to which it leads.  About
this time, too, we decided, by mutual agreement, that the ‘Boy’ should
hereafter be known as Dave Yeandle.  As
you know he was the recipient under the terms of the Ian Dear Bequest and I
feel sure that Ian would have considered it money very well spent.

We now began the long journey to the surface.  We had been unable to examine my head
properly (?  Ed) and so it was decided
that I should go out as soon as possible with the view of going to the doctor.  I set off up the 250ft. pitch gladly thinking
of a rest on the ledge half-way up whilst I hauled up the bags of tackle.  Unfortunately I was denied this as my light
went out and I was unable to find the ledge and was forced to keep going until
I reached the top.  I was very grateful
to Pete and Brain, who were life-lining there, for the pull they gave me.

I then went half-way up the 170ft. pitch where I had to wait
to clear the life-line for the next person. The others soon climbed the 250ft. pitch and worked like Trojans to get
the tackle up.  It was over an hour
before Derek joined me on my ledge. Unfortunately I had dozed off not long after getting there and never
nearly got warm again.  I went on up the
Sinterterasse at the top of the 170ft. pitch where Dick, Colin and Robin had
hot soup prepared.

As soon as Derek and Martin were up we proceeded to the
surface which we reached late on Monday afternoon very pleased to see daylight
after over thirty hours underground.  The
support party did more than support – they got all the tackle up as far as
Sinterterase.

The next day everyone rested; some went to Offensee swimming
and I went to the doctor (he somewhat surprisingly told me not to take my
helmet off underground).

On Wednesday, a party went down and finished de-tackling and
we carried everything back to the Hut.

A couple of days previously the Seilbahn had broken down,
the hauling cable having snapped immediately enmeshing my car and the Transit
in cable, but no damage was done.  Faced
with the alternative of carrying all our gear down to Mitteroher where the
vehicles were, we were rather pleased that it was repaired by Thursday and we
were able to bring our expedition to a successful conclusion.

We think we have explored the Cave of the Ancestors part of
the system pretty thoroughly and know where all the main passages go.  The shafts remain of course, and they will
have to be descended. Time is a great healer and already I am thinking about
those shafts.

Bob, Dave and myself remained for another week.  The weather was terrible and we were forced
to drink beer instead of going out but this did allow Dave to discover and
explore his cave.

*****************************************

A SPECIAL THANKS TO
ALL THE CLUBS THAT OFFERED ACCOMMODATION TO B.E.C. MEMBERS AT THEIR
NORMAL CHARGES AFTER THE BURNING OF THE BELFRY

————————————————-MANY
THANKS—————————————————-

 

Pursuit of the Dining Room Stream

By John Riley

As mentioned in previous B.B.’s, Cerberus Rift has been a
site of interest for several months and after Dave Irwin, Mike Luckwill, John
Riley and Dave Turner had dug out the gravel choke from which the Dinning Room
Stream ran, a small chamber was discovered, back in June. The gravel choke has
since showed itself to be one of the most ‘orrible’ places in the cave, being slightly
reminiscent of the Mud Sump in Swildons! Perhaps it is fortunate that the dig did not go anywhere very much
otherwise it may have been necessary to visit it more often!!

In the ‘chamber’ most of the Dining Room Stream enters
through gravels by the left hand wall, although some flows down over a stal.
flow to the right of this.  The flow was
ascended using a maypole and a knobbly dog and was found to lead to a ‘T’
junction.  The left hand passage is
blocked while the right hand passage leads over stal. to a very tight squeeze.
It was found impossible to penetrate this and since at times a strong draught
was emitted it seemed worthwhile ‘pushing’ it. Roy Bennett appeared on the scene complete with bang box but failed to
open the squeeze sufficiently to get through.

A second go with bang on 5th December by Dave Serle open a
hole sufficiently for John Riley to get through on the 6th only to find after
turning left, following the passage for 12ft. over a small pool and a 6”
fractured stalagmite, the passage was again blocked with stal.

Further pushing doesn’t really seem worthwhile as the second
blockage will require a great deal of effort to remove.

 

Extensions above Cerberus Rift.

 

A Spherolithic Saga

Once again it is Christmas time.  (Actually, it is a stinking hot day in the
middle of summer, but articles have to be written in advance).

Imagine, if you dare, a meeting of the Belfry Bulletin
Literary, Historical and Scientific Research Committee trying to decide what
cultural pearl to cast before readers of the Belfry Bulletin 1n 1969.  In years past and at great expense, they have
unearthed hitherto missing portions of the Rubaiyat of Omar Obbs; Chaucer’s
Canterbury Tales and Beowulf.  They have
made collections of valuable scientific laws; they have revealed most of the
history of the B.E.C.  What else can
there be possibly left to do.

 

Consider these erudite gentlemen sitting quietly frustrated
and surrounded by an aura of learning, old cigar smoke and beer fumes.  At last one old fellow emits a cackle and
shakes in nervous excitement and the D.T.’s. “What we want”, he chortles, “Is a ball.”  There is a collective sigh.  “I mean,” he explains, “A crystal ball – for
looking into the future” he concludes somewhat unnecessarily.

At once, life comes back to the old gents.  At dead of night, a slow precession creaks
its way into Cuthbert’s.  Old wooden
ladder is carefully unreeled.  Candles
are lit and, deep in the secret recesses of the cave (not shown in B.E.C.
Caving Report 13) a giant Sphereolite is carefully crystallised.

The results of this work have been so astonishing that we
hesitate to make them generally known. Indeed, like our History of Mendip Caving, it may not be believed at
all.  All the same, we feel that this
report should be presented to the public at large (whatever that may mean)……

The 1970’s were a frustrating period for Mendip Caving.  The number of cavers continued to rise while
the number of caves stubbornly refused to increase.  North Hill Swallet was, of course, continued
and even caves like Alfie’s Hole were opened in sheer desperation.  23 new caves, it is true discovered in Fairy
Cave Quarry during the 1970’s, but over the same period, 24 were quarried away
– a net increase of minus one.  The
B.E.C.  Long Term Planning Committee were
still confident of obtaining a grant for the New Belfry.  Meanwhile, permission was obtained to erect
two temporary huts on the site.  By 1976,
there were over 300 caving clubs on Mendip and clubs visiting the area that
year were estimated to be over 600.  By
1977 the situation had got so bad – with clubs as far a field as the JOCC’s
(John O’Groats Caving Club) visiting every weekend, that the M.R.O. was forced
to introduce traffic regulation into all Mendip caves and to organise the C.T.P
– or Cave Traffic Police – to enforce them. Very few cavers in those dark days escaped without at least one
endorsement on their caving licenses.

Even worse were the queues. On popular weekends, the queues for Swildons and Eastwater would overlap
somewhere near Priddy Stores and the suffering of cavers waiting on bitter
winter days to go underground were indescribable.  Many cases of exposure and exhaustion were
treated every weekend on this most gruelling part of any caving trip.  Cuthbert’s was not much better off.  The introduction of clearways – like the one
from the entrance down to Mud Hall – helped a little, but a worn out caver
entering Mud Hall on his way out knew that he must go on or face the chance of
an endorsement or even have a suspension of his license.  In vain, some pleaded that they were engaged
on important work in the cave.  This cut
no ice with the dreaded C.T.P. and thus further exploration was discouraged.

All the clubs tried to find ways out of this dilemma, which
was threatening to put a stop to caving entirely.  In some caves, even breathing became
difficult owing to the vast numbers of cavers in the cave.  Some clubs invested in breathing equipment.  Others installed ventilation in their
caves.  Over 500 diggers were recruited
to dig North Hill Swallet, and 3 to enlarge Alfie’s Hole.

In 1978, the B.E.C. Committee decided to lend the entire Hut
Fund (which had been growing at compound interest) to finance the production of
a cave locator designed by Setterington, Prewer and Price.  In return, the club held all patents.  At the 1979 A.G.M., many irate speakers
questioned this action by the Committee as being unconstitutional.  In reply, the treasurer blandly pointed out
that the 1968 A.G.M. had given him powers to invest the money’ as he thought
fit’.

By 1981, this locator had passed its preliminary tests
(locating the Belfry sceptic tank) and had found three new caves.  The Committee, being urged by the Bennetts to
recover the money spent on it, began to prowl round Mendip with the device,
quickly buying or leasing known cave bearing land.  In 1983, a B.E.C. company called Rentacave
was floated, and became an immediate success. In 1985, the club began to drive bargains with clubs in other caving
areas, taking them over in return for discovering new caves in their
areas.  Thus, by 1988, club membership
stood at 13,200 and the profits from Rentacave not only paid back all the money
to the Hut Fund, but enabled the club to buy more cave bearing land and to put
up a further 5 temporary huts on the new expanded Belfry site.  The place for the New Belfry was, of course,
left empty as the Long Term Planning Committee now had every confidence that
the Government loan would soon be forthcoming.

In 1989, it was proposed at the A.G.M. that the title of
Tackle Master be abolished and that Norman Petty should be known as Tackle
Lord.

The continued profits from Rentacave, plus the membership
fees from its 21,730 members in all parts of the country were wisely invested
until the B.E.C. Portfolio became a legend in the City of

London. It is an open secret that the knighthood of Sir Robert Bagshaw in 1992
was a consequence of his helping the Government of that time out of a nasty
financial hole.

In 1993, the Long Term Planning Committee announced that the
chances of obtaining the grant were now greatly increased, particularly as two
club members were now standing for Parliament. The Committee approved the erection of 11 more temporary buildings in
the meantime.

The passing of the Limitation of Drunken Travelling Act in 1994
made it an offence to consume alcohol at a distance greater than 1 mile form
ones residence.   This led to a wholesale
closing of pubs – the Hunters being one of those affected.  Brewery shares tottered.  At a general meeting of the Southern Council
of Caving Clubs, the Wessex Cave Club agreed to convert the Upper Pitts into a
pub in return for free facilities for all

Wessex members at the Belfry site –
so that they could sleep within one mile of Upper Pitts.  In addition all B.E.C. members were to join
the

Wessex
so that they could drink st Upper Pitts. By 1996, all other Mendip clubs (with the exception of the Shepton) had
joined the B.E.C./Wessex.  Membership
figures in 1996 were: – B.E.C. 25,292,

Wessex 21,187, Shepton 19.

In 1998 Parliament passed the first Hoverway Acxt and
(largely through the efforts of the five B.E.C./Wessex members) the chosen
route for this 300mph hoverway was South Devon – Mendip – South Wales –
Derbyshire – Yorkshire, thus making it easier for all club members to visit their
favourite caves.

In the year 2000 the Wessex Catering Club (as it was then
known) laid on a Millennium barbeque on the 100 acre field.  This was attended by over 30,000 Cavers.  In preparation for this event, the B.E.C.
erected 27 new temporary huts on the Belfry site.   The Long Term Planning Committee assured the
club that the grant would soon arrive. Many old club members were present on Mendip now again for this event.  Alfie and Sett, for example arrived from
their respective retirement villas in

Spain.  The climax of the evening came when a
resolution was passed to abolish the title of Tackle Lord and to crown Norma
Petty Tackle King.

By 2007, in spite of efforts to repeal the Limitation of
Drunken Travelling Act – breweries continued to fail and a series of
amalgamations took place.  This only left
two combines – Courage and

Worthington.  In reply to a question raised in the House,
the Home Secretary said that both of these concerns had been bought up by the

Wessex, who had
changed their name to the Worthington Courage Caterers.

At the A.G.M. of 2009, it was agreed to change the name of
the B.E.C. to the British Exploration Club, since it was now the only caving
club in the country (with the exception of the Shepton, of course).  At the next year’s A.G.M. the two surviving
members of the Long Term Planning Committee said that since the club’s name had
been changed, it would have to re-apply for the grant.  This was agreed and the Committee authorised
to erect a further 39 temporary buildings.

In January 2011, the last member of the Long Term Planning
Committee died.  Two days later, the long
awaited Government grant arrived.  This
sum, due to inflation, now represented 1% of the sum required for one temporary
hut (of which the club now had 137) and by unanimous vote of the Committee, it
was agreed that the site for the New Belfry should never be built on and that
the grant should be used to erect a single plaque on this ground to mark the
work done by the Long Term Planning Committee. A decision to erect a further 130 temporary huts to mark the occasion
was carried amid cheers.

In 2014, a question was asked in the House by the member for
Shepton Mallet (

ind)
on the subject of the one mile residential limit.  He pointed out that the temporary huts at the
Belfry site now stretched past the Shepton Hut on all sides and that many were
more than a mile from Upper Pitts.  The
Home Secretary replied that, although both these sites now occupied several
square miles each, they were still listed as one residence each, and their
centres were less than one mile apart. The member for Shepton said that it appeared the Government was being
run by the caving lobby. 

This produced a spirited reply from the opposition
benches.  Clive Price pointed out that
the so-called Government had by no means a monopoly of B.E.C./Wessex
membership.  He was himself a member and
his father had been one of the inventors of the Cave Locator.  As Shadow Foreign secretary he could assure
the House that policy in all matters would continue to be in line with that of
the B.E.C./W.C.C. Committee whichever Government was in power.  He sat down amid loud cheers from both sides
of the House.

In 2016, the

U.S.
and Russian caving expeditions to the moon set off.  In reply to a written question as to why the
British Government had made no move to send a task force, the Minister of
Technology, the Rt. Hon. Julian Setterington, said that it have never been the
British way to spend vast sums of taxpayers money on what could be accomplished
more cheaply by a little careful thought and planning.  He announced to a hushed House that two years
previously, his department had sent an instrumental satellite to the moon
containing the

B.E.C.
Cave Locator.  He was now able to state that there were no
caves on the moon.  Moreover, during the
last five years, when every American and Russian caver had been occupied in
preparing for this unnecessary expedition, it was pleased to announce that the
B.E.C. has been active in these two countries discovering new caves and forcing
amalgamations of local caving clubs. Already, it was rumoured that the entire N.N.S.S. had joined the B.E.C.
and that the W.C.C. had taken over Hilton Hotels throughout the world.  He said that it was no secret that both the

U.S. and
Russian economies had been strained to the limit by the expense of the moon
expeditions and by the money poured out of both counties to the B.E.C. and
W.C.C.

In 2019, the Congress of the
U.S.A.
tabled the Declaration of Dependence being “A humble petition to be re-admitted
to the United Kingdom of Great Britain,

Northern Ireland and Shepton
Mallet.

At this point, one member of the B.B. Literacy, Historical
and Scientific research Committee became so excited that he spilt best part of
a pint of rough cider over the Sphereolite. As the acid ate into the surface of the crystal, the pictures from the
future faded out – as the author of this nonsense has every intention of doing
so at this stage.

 

Found

A copy of B.E.C. Caving Report No.4 – The Shoring of Swallet
Cave Entrances was found at the Downs end of Parry’s Lane in

Bristol. The copy was returned to Bryan Ellis via his old address at
North Petherton and on to Combwich.  No name was given of the sender with the note
inside – who ever it may be I offer on behalf of the owner my sincere
thanks.  It would appear that relations
between caver and general public are not as bad as many would make out.

Should any reader think that this may be his copy of the
Caving Report contact Dave Irwin.

Thinking of Christmas Presents?

When you are working out how much you are going to spend on
Christmas presents this year why not included on your list a Christmas present
for the New Belfry Fund?  Remember the
appeal that went out in early October for £700 – well we still need about £400
– £500.  Come on give a few more
shillings – they all count towards the final sum.

Remember, when the plan was first passed by the 1967 A.G.M.
the idea of a new Belfry was £3,000 away – and never likely to materialise –
NOW IT’S ONLY £400 – £500 away – £2 per member instead of about £15 per
member.  If you can’t afford money why
not contribute something to help furnish the building: – chairs, wardrobes,
knives and forks, cup, plates, etc., etc.

‘Tratty and the Twenties’

The U.B.S.S. Presidential address was address of fascination
and amazement to many who were present; carrying of half-plate camera, tripods,
flashpowder guns, 40ft. ladders weighing 56lb., well dressed in as much woollen
clothing as possible, cloth caps and carrying a candle with the free hand!

Professor Tratman gave a superb picture of caving in the
‘20’s’ and accompanied his lecture with slides showing not only rare
photographs of Swildon’s Hole but many illustrating the work carried out by the
Society at the time; digging at Tynnings Swallet; the first party emerging from
Read’s Grotto; archaeological work in Read’s Cavern among others.  Pity Peter Johnson missed these!

At the time of the formation of the U.B.S.S., there were
only two other caving organisatrions in the whole of the West of England; The
M.N.R.C. and Sidcot School where most of their caving was carried out in the
Burrington Coombe area – Goatchurch in particular.  One of the problems at the time was public
attitude to cavers – at best they were never considered one of the community –
particularly when they were seen dressed in muddy clothing on a Sunday
morning.  Transport was another problem;
push bikes and train service to Banwell. It appears they cycled to Mendip laden with their gear; and when
Swildon’s was open for a trip ladders had to be carried out as well!  The ladders were rope and wooden rungs, the
rungs being lashed to the rope sides of the ladder.  Lifelines were always used and the smallest
size rope available to them was 1½” hemp (sisal and manila not being available
at the time).

Early work carried out by the Society was inevitably based
at the nearest point to

Bristol,
particularly when one was cycling carrying all the gear including digging
implements and Tratty described his adventures in the first descent of Read’s
Cavern and the difficulties of the tight rifts found in Tynning’s Farm Swallet
which he explored with ‘Bertie’ Crook.

The attitude of cavers in those far off days were a
revelation.  It was a regular thing to
attempt to get out of the cave without a light; with candles as the only form
of illuminant they had the annoying tendency to go out fairly often –
particularly when climbing the 40’.  As
one caved under these conditions so various schemes were put into operation to
overcome these problems that might befall you. Candles, for example, were left burning at strategic points in the
system.  Listening to Dr. Tratman one
would think that caving standards are lower now than they were in those far off
days – and I think he’s probably right considering the number of people that
need pulling out of the Mendip caves because they feel cold!  What if there were no M.R.O.?

D.J.I.

“Who seeks adventure
finds blows”  –  Herbert.

 

Ireland 12^th – 19^th July 1969

By Roy Bennett

The party consisted of Steve Tuck, Dave Irwin and Roy
Bennett, and the main intention was to more thoroughly examine the Fergus River
Sink and the surrounding area.

The Saturday was spent in travelling from the ferry to

County
Clare
with various diversions.  To begin with a
sink shown near Kilkenny on the ¼in Bartholomew map was visited.  This is west of the town about a mile S.W. of
Castle Blunden.  The shale limestone
boundary in this area is obscured by drift and most of the drainage stays on
the surface.  There was a sink roughly at
the point indicated however, but the water disappeared into holes in the gravel
and earth, with no solid rock exposed and no possibility of entry.

Feeling like visiting a real cave, the party descended

Dunmore
Cave which is large and impressive, with
formations.  It is arranged in a
semi-show cave with concrete steps down the entrance, but no guides or
lights.  Some caving clothes are
preferable if the inner recesses are to be penetrated.  The general area is one of potential caving
interest as it has extensive shale limestone boundaries, but these are so
thickly covered in drift that very few sinks occur (Coleman). 

Dunmore
Cave appears to be
something of a freak, and bears little relation to present topography which
shows little sign of cave development.

On reaching

County
Clare the party were
again persuaded to investigate things speleological, in this case the hydrology
of the Quin area.  This is mentioned by
Coleman, where it appears from the map to be a possible subterranean cut-off of
the

Rine
River. None of the sinks and risings mapped appeared to pass much water (? Ed)
and this could all be local percolation. The relief is rather low, but there could well be some small caves in
the area.

Sunday saw the team established in the

Fergus
River
area.  A repeat inspection of the sink
was made and it was concluded that no site looked as promising as the rift
which was dug abortively the previous year (B.B. 1968, Vol. 22 No.2, page
96).  The shale limestone boundary to the
north produced only small seepages until

Lemech
Castle
is reached.  Here there is a small sink,
where cattle are watered, with some holes just to the west of it (6” map ref.
Clare sheet 16 N2.8 E8.8 O.D. 180ft.). The site could repay a little digging, but any cave is likely to be low
and rather organic.  The water presumably
resurges into the

Fergus
River about 40 – 50ft.
lower.

Monday saw the team struggling over the High Burren in
(almost) sub-tropical heat.  The interest
lay in the area south of the Carran Polje. This closed depression, several miles across is perhaps the most
spectacular feature of the bare limestone uplands of the Burren.  It is drained by the
Castletown
River which sinks at one end, the
water having been traced to

Ballycasheen
Cave resurgence four
miles to the south (Caves of Clare p.218). Tratman has pointed out that there is a syncline running from the polje
in the right direction to guide the water. The dry valley which follows this was looked at, but yielded only a
small cave some 40ft. long near a small spring. (6” ref. Clare 10  S10.3, W10.4).

The Castletown sinks itself was most remarkable with the
river meandering across the marshy bottom of the polje to disappear into an
‘island’ of boulders surrounded by low lying ground.  There were thin calcareous deposits to be
seen on the rocks and vegetation and little solution of the boulders appeared
to be taking place.  This indicated a low
capacity to dissolve limestone and form a new cave, so that most of the cave
between sink and rising is most likely to be impassable.  It clearly cannot be entered from the sink
end.

After this a visit was paid to the Gort area where the vast
sinks and risings to the south of the town were looked at.  The limestone here is rather low lying but
could be of interest to divers.  It is
well worth a visit to look at the supra-terranean speleological scenery,
however.

Tuesday was a fateful day on which our leader became ill,
recovering only fully by the end of the week (lies! –Ed).

Wednesday saw the depleted party photographing in
Pollnagollum and finding that 20ft, of tackle is required to get from Branch
Passage Gallery to Branch Passage.  This
is not clearly stated in either Caves of Ireland, or Caves of N.W. Clare.  Our leader redeemed himself by his fishing!

Thursday saw the whole party subverted to this sport but
this was followed up by a look around the area to the south of the Fergus River
Sink.  The area to the S.E. if the sink
is low lying and floods when the river is very high.  There is a permanent sink at the lowest point
called Poulnargralle (6” map ref. Clare 16 N9.9, E7.4).  Just to the E. of
the active sink a small hole walled up with stones gave access to a rift some
20ft. long with at least 6ft. of water and eels at the bottom.  Both ends of the rift were solid and the
whole is rather similar to the passages at the rising, Pollaboe, which also
does not go (B.B. 1967 Vo. 21 No. 7). The land surface between the main (Fergus River) sink and the rising is
low and is likely that all cave development consists of small, mainly flooded,
rifts such as theses.  This could quite
well be the case if the flow is very near the surface, where there would be a
multiplicity of open joints, and no gradient to direct the water into a few
favoured channels.  Thus conditions are
not the same as those in well drained limestone of the main caving area with
cave systems often running close to the present shale limestone boundary where
joint opening would be more recent. It was concluded therefore, that chances of
finding open cave were not good.  To
round off the immediate area two further sinks to the south were looked
at.  One by a former Constabulary hut (6”
map ref, Clare 16 N11.9, E7.1) yielded nothing, while the other, a vertical
sided depression in shale called Poulnaloon (6” map ref. Clare 16  N11.6, E7.5) had a small hole at the
bottom.  A little digging in evil
smelling mud soon proved that this did not go.

Heavy rain prevented the planned caving trips on the Friday
and Saturday saw the team travelling home, stopping only to visit Michelstown
show cave and to take a brief look at the nearby Tincurry sink.

We did some drinking as well of course.

Bibliography

Coleman J.C.                             The Caves of

Ireland..

Tratman E.K.                             The Caves of
North West

Clare,
Ireland.

 

Letter to the Editor

27 Roman Way,
Paulton,

Bristol,
BS18 5XB

25th Sept. 1969

Dear Dave,

Members may be interested to know that besides the courses
run by the University of Bristol Dept. of Extra Mural Studies, mentioned by
Alan Thomas (October B.B.-Ed) there are one or two others run in conjunction
with the Central Somerset Evening Institutes as follows: –

Lead Mining on Mendip – P.J. Fowler and J.E. Hancock.  (Kings of

Wessex
Secondary School)

Introduction to Archaeology – M.G. Habditch, J.H. Drinkwater
and J.E. Hancock.  (The Museum, Wells)

The courses mentioned are not the only ones available but
are most likely to appeal to members.

I have further details about dates and times and will be
only too glad to supply them to the interested.

                        Yours sincerely,
                                    Michael
A. Palmer.

Since receiving Mike’s letter I have seen the U.B.S.S.
winter evening lecture programme.  These
meetings are open to anyone and so members might like to take advantage of the
following series of lectures: November 3rd – Caving in

Rumania
(Gilmore).  Geomorphology of D.Y.O.
(Coase), Dec 3rd:  Jan 19. Cave Rescue
(Appleing). Held in the Geography Dept. Little Lecture Theatre,

University of
Bristol. 8.

Bryant’s Winter Lectures 1969/1970

Monday 17th November 1969. CHRIS BONNINGTON – ‘The
Blue Nile
Expedition’.

Monday 16th February 1970. JOHN CLEARE – photographic ‘Mountaineering Assignments’

Monday 16th March 1970. JOHN EARL and NED KELLY of the B.E.C. present their outstanding
mountaineering films.

Lectures start at 7.30pm in the Y.M.C.A. Hall,

Trenchard Street,
Bristol.

A few details of St. Cuthbert.

St. Cuthbert, the uncorruptible saint, died in
Lindisfarne in 687 A.D. after an exhausting illness
lasting three weeks.  After his death he
was embalmed and laid in a stone sarcophagus. After 11 years the tomb was re-opened and the body found to be
‘incorrupt’ and was revested.  In 875 the
tomb was opened yet again and the body transported to
Northern
England where it was carried round for all to see.  The embalming was so good that it was still
intact in the 16th century though by 1827 the remains had reduced to a
skeleton.

 

Route Severity Diagrams

by S. Collins

Part 10 cont. from p. 88.

We can traverse along a rift if it is sufficiently narrow,
by striding it, by doing a ‘back and feet’ traverse of it, or if it very
narrow, by crawling along it with our body horizontal.  In all these case, we are not on the floor of
the rift and so exposure signs are in order. However, the normal exposure sign means that you can’t touch the wall
which is dotted, so we denote this form of traverse as under: –

 

Rift traverse above the floor – straddling or ‘back and
feet’

 

Narrow rift traverse. The danger is not from falling but from slipping down and getting stuck.

PART 11.  Streams, pools, waterfalls
and sumps.

By using the ‘black and white’ technique, we can make our
basic sign for water indicate all the things in the title of this part.  The thing to remember here is that the WHITE
constriction sign shows that the passage may be narrow , but is HIGH.  Thus, the WHITE water sign indicates that
water is coming down from a HIGH place on to the caver.

The BLACK constriction sign shows that the passage is CLOSE
TO THE FLOOR and thus the BLACK water sign shows that we are dealing with water
ON THE FLOOR of a passage.

Again, like constriction, water signs come in two sizes and,
again, one is half the passage width (all passages are always shown as being
the same width) while the other is the full passage width it is reasonable to
expect that the deeper signs for water indicate that there is more water about.  With these remarks in mind, the following
should be self-explanatory: –

Heavy drip from above. Enough to endanger carbide lamp or camera.

 
Falling water.

 

Stream.

 

Pool.

Stream too deep to wade through.

 

Pool too deep to wade through.

 

Sump free-divable under normal conditions.

 

Sump.  Non
free-divable.

 

 

PART 12.  Boulders, passage ends and
entrances.

A little more on boulders completes our detail. 

Boulder
strewn floors entailing clambering over the rocks are shown thus: –

 

                                                …..while
unstable boulders on roof or wall are shown hanging in a menacing fashion like
this: –

 

                                    ….and
of course, an unstable boulder ruckle becomes: –

 

It may seem odd to leave entrances until last, but the
subject also covers passage termination in general.  We have: –

Entrance.

 

Pothole open to entrance.

 

Passage ends in solid rock.

 

Passage ends in boulder choke.

Passage ends in impassable rift.

 

Passage ends in impassable rift.

 

Passage ends in impassable sump.

 

Passage ends in unclimbed pitch.

 

Passage ends in unclimbed aven

 

The Grand RSD Competition

Quite fine detail is possible on an R.S.D. by suitable and
intelligent combination of the R.S.D. symbols. In order to popularise this form of describing a cave, the author is
prepared to give a prize on ten bob’s worth of beer to the reader who provided
the best and most complete description of the imaginary cave illustrated by
R.S.D. below.  The 10/- has already been
deposited with Ben, and the arrangement is that the Editor will tell Ben who to
supply with booze when the time comes. Closing date January 31st 1970.

The R.S.D. is on the following page.  Signs used inside pitches denote type of
tackle.  Depths outside.  Some features of the cave may be inferred
from the R.S.D.

 

All entries to be in to the Editor by the end of January
1970.

*****************************************

The new Year issues of the B.B. includes articles of great
interest.  Diving in Little Neath River
Cave and Care and Maintenance of Nife cells.

*****************************************

NOW THAT CHRISTMAS APPROACHES WOT ABOUT A PRESENT FOR THE
BELFRY?  CASH, FURNITURE, EATING IRONS,
CASH, CASH, AND MORE CASH. – SEND IT TO BOB BAGSHAW.

 

Mike Luckwill

Members will be shocked by the tragic loss of Mike Luckwill
who was killed 2am Friday 5th December 1969, on the Snowdon Horseshoe.

His work for the Club and for caving and climbing generally
are well known to readers of the B.B.

Our deepest sympathy to Val and Sally.

A New Cave in

Fairy
Cave Quarry

By P.E. Prewer

With at least 14 caves discovered in the piece of Gruyere
cheese called Fairy Cave Quarry it could not be long before No.15 appeared and
sure enough on April 9th., this year, it was found. 

Shatter
Cave was discovered by
three members of the Cerberus C.C. on the early hours of the morning after 6
hours of digging.  The presence of a cave
was suspected after a strong draught was detected emerging from between
boulders piled at the floor of the quarry face. The digging party started during the evening of April 8th. and consisted
of R. Saxton, P. Conway, K. Crowe and B. Prewer. 

At 9.00 B. Prewer left in disgust with the words, “I don’t
give it much hope but if it does go come and get me out of bed.”  At 1.00am three muddy cavers got B. Prewer
out of bed!  They had found the first
four chambers of

Shatter
Cave.

The first four chambers gave the cave its name for they lie
roughly parallel to the quarry face and extensive damaged has been caused to
the chambers and formations, despite this there are still some very pleasing
formations including a fine pagoda like formation in the second chamber.

On the second trip into the cave the third chamber emitted a
strange colour – it was soon pronounced to be that of diesel fuel.  This was coming from one of the shot holes on
the top of the quarry which must have broken through the roof of the chamber.  Diesel Chamber was thus named.

How the way on was missed on this trip is hard to understand
but it was; it was not discovered until a few days later when Gerry Lewis
noticed it.  The way on, now called
Helictite Passage, led past a cluster of superb helictites on a ledge.  This concluded Stage II of the exploration.

Stage III began when ‘Willie’

Stanton spotted a small space beneath a pile
of boulders at the end of Helictite Rift. He crawled through and found a large chamber, Tor Chamber.  As the quarry were due to blast the party
could go no further.  The following day a
large party including the North Hill Consortium descended and found the crawl
at the end of Helictite Rift.  The party
pushed on through Tor Chamber and found Pisa Chamber.  The area of the cave was well decorated and
outside the area of blast damage.  The
tail end of the party noticed some small chambers off Tor Chamber.  The front of the exploration party had
arrived at ‘Z’ Squeeze and was soon passed even by a well-built bearded gent!  A small, relatively undecorated chamber named
Piccadilly Chamber was entered.  The
obvious way on was a low arch straight ahead. At this point the floor changed from mud to calcite crystals and for a
short way it became impossible not to tread on them.  At this stage enthusiasm could not be
controlled for up in front could be seen the dim outline of what appeared to be
a huge calcite column.  On entering
Pillar Chamber it became difficult to know where to look first, straight ahead
was a white pillar some 8 – 9 feet in height and whose base was 5ft.
across.  The floor in front of the pillar
was covered in rows of semi-transparent calcite crystal flowers.  This must be the finest chamber found on
Mendip yet.  It was many minutes before
the party decided to move on.  The way
forward was not obvious but soon a strong draught was located coming from a
small heavily calcited hole behind the pillar. Here progress for the day halted – a bit of mechanical persuasion would
be necessary.  On the return journey the
bypass to ‘Z’ Squeeze was found leading off Piccadilly Chamber.  It led, after a 20ft. crawl to a chamber some
20ft. across with fine stalagmite bosses covering the floor – Roundabout
Chamber. The bypass was completed by following a well formed passage some 5ft.
high from Roundabout Chamber and connection, at high level, to the dry stream
passage before ‘Z’ Squeeze.  Several
other side passages were explored by various groups of people.  It was with considerable annoyance that it
was noticed on that first trip, that although nearly everyone kept to one route
around the left hand side of the crystal floor in Pillar Chamber someone had
left behind four muddy footprints in the middle.

A few days later saw a party armed with hammer and chisel
back at the hole in Pillar Chamber.  The
hole was enlarged to allow the first and thinnest member of the party
though.  The hole was further enlarged as
each larger member of the party arrived at the hole to push through.  Beyond a short crawl led to yet another well
decorated chamber – Four Ways Chamber. Two side chambers led nowhere but straight ahead a short sandy passage
and a climb led to a very fine crystal pool. Onwards the way ended in a large chamber with a large suspended boulder
in the roof with a matching one immediately beneath partly filling a large hole
– the Plug Hole.  A short passage was
found leading off the bottom of the Plug Hole which closed down only after
20ft. or so.

 

A week later another party (members of the Dining Room Dig
Team) found a second passage at the bottom of the Plug Hole which yielded a
further 200ft. or so of passage – the first section being very well decorated
with fine pink gours.  At the end of this
passage a strong draught may still be felt at times but so far no way on
through the boulders at the end has yet been found.

The most recent progress in

Shatter
Cave
(August) was the discovery of the notorious streamway.  It has been locate at the end of Helictite
Passage down a rather unpleasant muddy tube. At the moment it can only be heard and a little clearing is needed.  This streamway is thought to be the upstream
part of the old

Balch
Cave streamway.

On October 12th two intrepid explorers decided that Conning
Tower Cave, capped over a year because of dangerous boulders, ought to be
revisited.  They found themselves in the
Balch stream and duly arrived at the duck.

Shatter Hole Survey

The Survey of Shatter Hole has been adapted by Dave Irwin to
suit the B.B. page format and is based on the new survey to C.R.G. Grade 6
currently being produced by C.S.S. & S.M.C.C. and has been published with
kind permission of the C.S.S.

 

Monthly Notes No.30

by ‘Wig’

Herbert Balch Centenary is being celebrated is being
celebrated by the Wxssxx C.C. by publishing and occasional paper on the life
and work of the great man of Mendip.  The
publication is being published sometime during November; originally planned to
be published at their Annual Dinner but postponed due to late delivery from the
printers.  The publication is edited by

Dr. William Stanton and many of the well known caving names
of Mendip have contributed to it.  It
also includes several important photographs previously unpublished together
with a full bibliography of his written works complied by Ray Mansfield.  Price about 10/- & 12/6.  Whilst on the subject of the Balch Centenary
– the B.E.C. contribution is the publishing of John Etough’s book of
photographs of

Balch
Cave in Fairy Cave Quarry
(now largely destroyed).  This
publication is due sometime during mid-1970.

GARGILL POT
(!)  formerly Twin Titty.

As was mentioned in my last set of notes the Thompson
organisation commonly known on Mendip as N.A.A.S. (for the uninitiated – North
Hill Association for Spelaeological Advancement) drove a 25ft. deep shaft near
the site of their original dig during the Autumn Bank Holiday.  Within a few weeks they met as certain amount
of success.  A small hole at the bottom
of the shaft was forced and they entered some 150ft. of sizeable passage.  The game of draught chasing began again but
apparently the choking is substantial and too many points that can be dug.  The site of the dig is particularly
interesting (for the benefit of older members – it is situated very near the
Don Coase dig at Cross Swallet).  The
present trend of the passage is northerly and may well be following the large

Cheddar
River
Valley
towards Cheddar Gorge.  A sketch survey
by A.D.O. is reprinted from Mendip Caver with thanks.

 

CUTHBERT’S TWO
– important notice.

Because of the unsettled state of the first sump we cannot
guarantee any trips into the new series for the immediate future.  The sump soak away is at the moment far from
stable and only after a considerable amount of work will it be safe for tourist
parties.  It would be appreciated if
intending parties would refrain from asking to visit the new area for at least
three months.

At the time of writing the water flowing into the sump has
been piped through and allowed to continue down the Cuthbert’s Two
passage.  Various moves are being made to
clear the constriction in Sump 1.  When
this is complete and the sump is been passed as being safe work will commence
on Sump 2.  In the meanwhile the many
high level passages will be ‘pushed’ and an interesting site, just downstream
from Sump 1 is being dug.

In the case of an emergency, The Gour Rift Dam together with
three other dams (Mineries Pool Outlet on the surface; Traverse Chamber and
Main Stream Dams) can be used to reduce the water level in the sump should the
pipe burst whilst cavers are on the downstream side.  The 1st Sump is far too constricted to allow
free diving.  Even if the sump were to be
cleared deep enough for possible free diving there are two dangers that rear
their heads.  The first is that the
approach to the sump and the floor in the sump is of gravel and choking will
inevitably occur and secondly the dive will involve a fairly sharp bend along
the caver’s path.

The continuation of the new St. Cuthbert’s Survey is being
started almost immediately.  So far, the
surveyed length (from very rough and ready survey carried out on November 1st
with a calibrated compass and tape) is 850ft. along the main passage and
another 100ft. along a steeply ascending rift just inside the first sump.  The depth has been estimated at about 30ft.
but may be considerable more bringing the total depth of St. Cuthbert’s to
about -435ft. from the entrance.

From time to time sketch surveys will appear in the B.B. of
any new finds in the area based on the accurate outline now being produced for
the St. Cuthbert’s report.

Now that Cuthbert’s 2 has been discovered the Index of the
report of St. Cuthbert’s Swallet will be increased and, provisionally, Part P
will include full details of Cuthbert’s 2 and its side passages – if any!  Part ‘O’ will be revised in the very near
future and will include details of the whole cave known at the time of
publication.

For the benefit of St. Cuthbert’s leaders not involved in
the new discovery several tourist trips will be arranged so that they can see
the area for themselves and any snags that may arise and the precautions that
should be taken.

In the event of a party being trapped in ‘2’ an emergency
box including food and first aid equipment is being installed – details later.

 

The Discovery of St. Cuthbert’s 2

Roy Bennett

The passing of the original sump and its conversion into
‘The Duck’ by Don Coase and John Buxton in 1957 lead, not to the large
extension hoped for, but to a much more formidable problem.  This second barrier, soon called just ‘The
Sump’, appeared heavily silted up and no further progress was made until 1963
when Mike Thompson, Steve Wyn-Roberts, Fred Davies and John Attwood, diving and
digging under very difficult conditions penetrated about 14ft. straight in.

Interest waned after this, and various alternatives were
conjectured and worked on.  Further
inspection of the roof of Gour Hall and Gour Rift revealed no possibilities
except for a small hole which could not be reached.  Digging at the lower end of the Gour Rift
appeared a logical alternative, and much work was done by John Cornwell.  This was finally defeated by water
penetration, leaving as a useful memento a bypass to the Duck.

The challenge of the sump was taken up again in 1967 when
Phil Kingston, Barry Lane ands Colin Priddle penetrated some 12ft. inwards by
some 8ft. to the right.  This started
with the ‘Great Sump Digging Weekend’, which though defeated by flood waters,
was followed by a steady progress.  The
divers had reached a point at which the sump appeared to be opening up, when
possible success was dashed away by the ‘Great Mendip Flood’ in 1968 and the
sump reverted to its primitive choked condition.

Meanwhile, buck up-cave, the Dining Room Dig, started years
previously, was being dug regularly and intensively by a combined B.E.C. and
S.M.C.C. team.  The ultimate objective
was to bypass the Sump and much work was done by Dave Irwin, Bob Craig, Martin
Webster, Brian Woodword, John Riley, Dave Turner, Derek Harding and many others
revealed a completely choked passage along a fault going in the right
direction.  Ultimately work on this
slowed when a distance of some 150ft. had been (mainly) excavated and problems
of spoil disposal were becoming acute. It was time for a reappraisal. Sufficient of the fault had been uncovered to enable an accurate
projection down cave to be made, and this showed that it should intersect the
know Sump passage at a point where a choked side passage pointed in the right
direction.  It was decided therefore to
leave the dig pro-tem and, the now rather depleted team augmented itself and
transferred its attention to the Sump itself.

The plan was to implement a scheme mooted by various people
and pushed by Dave Irwin to dam the stream and pump out and excavate the
Sump.  Dams had already been built at the
Mineries and by Bob Craig, Martin Mills, Alan Butcher, Jok Orr and others, and
in the Main Stream Passage, but the crucial one in Gour rift was only just
above stream level.  Work was started to
make this into a strong, reliable structure as a failure would be very
dangerous to any one working in the sump. The foundations were dug down to the stalagmite gours over the complete
width and thickness and the dam built up using concrete throughout. This was
made up using grave, sand and stones available on site.  Even though the stream levels at the bottom
of the cave was very low, it was thought that the opportunities afforded by the
dry summer had been missed, and the dam system would only be operated the
following year.  This situation was
completely altered when there occurred a stroke of luck of the kind that comes
rarely.  After a dam building session,
two of the team had a look at the sump, and found to their great surprise that
the sump pool had disappeared, leaving the stream to flow down a gravel slope
to vanish where this met the roof.  This
was a most remarkable and sudden change in a sump that previously had been
quite stable, even when the stream had been dammed up completely.

Two great uncertainties accompanied the opportunity.  Firstly the unusually dry weather could not
be expected to continue for long (it was already the 30th of September) and
secondly the change in the sump could not perhaps be permanent.  The first was countered both by continuing
work on Gour Rift dam at the same time as digging the Sump, and increasing the
number of trips.  Nothing could be done
about the second.

The dam finally rose to some 5ft. high, tapering from 5ft.
thick at the base, and to some 2ft. at the top. It was furnished with an 8in. diameter pipe in the base with a removable
plug that could be used as a butterfly valve to let the water out gently.

Initial progress at the Sump dig was very rapid with the
water providing no hindrance.  Late on
stream flow had to be cut off to enable work to continue, firstly using a
temporary dam in the Sump Passage, and later using the concrete dam as
well.  The water level varied
erratically, hampering work at times. The Sump refused to empty on one occasion, causing great despondency,
but the soak-away gradually re-opened over the following week.  The dry weather miraculously held, however,
and the team (Roy Bennett, Bob Craig, Tim Large, John Riley, Martin Mills,
Martin Webster and others) pressed ahead with trips of increasing frequency and
duration.  The roof of the sump sloped
downwards to an arch with a slight rise beyond, and then levelled off with the
stream going to the left.  All traces of
the previous excavations appeared to have vanished in the 1968 Flood and
nowhere was there more than a few inches of space between the gravel and
roof.  The rift encountered by the second
diving team was not found and it appears they went further left again, probably
following the pre-flood stream course.

The diggers eventually reach a point where the roof started
to lower again, and the stream disappeared in a choked-up hole in solid
rock.  At this point a draught could be
felt, and when the stream was cut off the water in this hole disappeared with
sounds of violent bubbling and rushings or air. This was the situation on Friday evening 31st. October, when the dam
building party had gone out, leaving only Martin Mills, Martin Huaun, John
Riley and Roy Bennett at the dig.  To
obtain more working a gravel bank on the right of the dig was cut out back to where
the roof appeared to rise a little.  To
the surprise of the diggers, the roof continued to slope upwards in its
direction and soon Milch could say “I can see 10ft. along a bedding plane,
about 30ft, into a chamber.”  Cuthbert’s
2 was open, and after a quick look at the dams the party set off moving quite
rapidly.

 

The ‘chamber’ turned out to be the beginning of a high rift
passage with a slippery floor obviously occupied by the stream.  Near the Sump the passage was quite wide with
a ‘tide mark’ of red mud about 5ft. high. Everywhere the wall were coated with thick deposits of soft brown mud
which could only have been left by standing water,  The dullness was lighted by various
stalagmite deposits.  A decorated hole in
the roof attracted attention because of the odd watery noises emitted, while
further down the passage a stal. Barrier allowed just enough room to crawl
under.  The rift was narrower further
down, but remained high most of the way. A 10ft. pot was reached and climbed down, and the passage continued
narrower again until a mud coated stalagmite barrier was reached.  The passage clearly continued further, but it
was decided to turn back at this first check to easy progress because of the
lateness of the hour and the risk of being cut off.

A much larger party entered the following day when Bob
Craig, Martin Webster, Martin Mills, Brian Woodward ands others found Sump 2 a
little way beyond the stal. barrier. They were joined by the rest of the Friday
Team, and various things we looked at.  A
very tight rift going back up cave from near Sump 1 was pushed to about 100ft.
by Martin Webster.  A dig was started in
a hole near this point on the left hand side of the main passage.  This was of great interest as it may well
connect with the steam leaving Sump1via the soak away.  A little way downstream from the 10ft. pot, a
climb was made up the right hand (W) wall to a point at which a scoop in the
wall containing mud formations could be overlooked.  Nothing leading off was found, but the climb
could easily be continued with some protection, and there is a good air
circulation at this point.  The second
sump was found to be constricted, but the level could be reduced by a little
bailing.  Dave Irwin and Mike Luckwill
joined the party and did a quick Grade 4 survey, which showed the passage to be
heading south.  This was unexpected and
suggests that the water has now left the Gour Hall fault line and is on its way
to Wookey.

One further exploration trip has been done to date
(15-11-69) when Brian Woodward used diving kit in Sump 2, finding it heavily
mud chocked.  More progress could be made
without kit by digging and bailing and the sump does not appear to be very
deep.

Further exploration work was inhibited by the risk of being
cut off.  Initially it was hoped to clear
the sump out and lower the level sufficiently to make it a free dive, and much
work was done to cut out a trench and remove the bank on the downstream side.

The inevitable end of the dry weather meant less and less
time being available before the dams overflowed.  A rope had been fixed through the sump but it
was still too constricted to be free dived. Trips were done by leaving one person on the near side to release the
dammed water, and seal it off again to let the party out.  This procedure relied entirely on the
continued functioning of the soak away, and there were some alarming underwater
incidents as the stream level kept on rising.

Eventually the sump could not be drained at all and
Cuthbert’s 2 was closed for a time.  This
problem has been temporarily solved by conducting the stream through the sump
in a pipe.  This was made possible by
joining 5ft. sections of 8in. diameter fibre glass pipe with polythene sheet
secured by aluminium strips.  The pipe
was only got into position when the stream levels in the bottom of the cave
were reduced by means of the surface dams at the Mineries Pool.  The increased water flows through the sump
have caused rapid silting, and it appears unlikely that it can be kept open as
a free dive.  Other alternatives are
being worked on and it is hoped it will soon be possible to continue
exploration, free from fear of being cut off.

The chances of further progress are fairly good with more
than 100ft height difference to Wookey Hole.

*****************************************

 

 

‘As Her Majesty is
not doing her Annual Christmas broadcast this year I thought I would wish you a
Merry Christmas and a drunken New Year’

Alan Thomas