QUODCUMQUE FACIENDUM : NIMIS FACIEMUS
The views expressed by contributors to the Belfry Bulletin,
including those of club officers, are not necessarily the views of the
committee of the Bristol Exploration Club or the Editor, unless so stated. The Editor cannot guarantee that the accuracy
of information contained in the contributed matter, as it cannot normally be checked
in the time at his disposal.
Editor: D.J. Irwin,
Townsend Cottage, Priddy, Nr. Wells,
Contents
Dates For Your Diary
|
July 7th |
|
|
July 21st |
North Hill Friday niters trip. |
|
August 4th |
Stoke Lane Slocker Friday niters trip. |
|
September 9/10th |
BCRA National Caving Conference, |
A letter from David Metcalfe states that he would be pleased
to see ant BEC members at the following meets arranged for the Northern Dales
Speleological Group.
|
August 6th |
Giants Hole, Derbyshire. |
|
August 26th |
C.P.C. Winch Meet Gaping Gill. |
|
September 23rd |
Marble Steps Pot. |
|
October 1st |
Gingling Hole, Fountains Fell. |
|
October 29th |
Notts Pot. |
|
November 18th |
Top Sink. |
|
December 16th |
Swinsto/Simpsons Exchange. |
Late News And Notes
As we go to press news has been coming over the radio and
making headlines in the daily press of a rescue taking place in
anyway, it was made all the more juicy in that it involved our own
‘”Wigmore man – Tony Jarrett (Jayrat). On a surveying trip lights failed and apparently there was a small
boulder fall in the area. Goon and
helpers were flown, half way to the cave at least, by helicopter from
rules and I can’t help feeling that there’s going to be some heavy p … taking
when he appears back at the Belfry in the next couple of weeks
. if he has the
nerve to come back
ST. CUTHBERTS
Work has commenced again after a lapse of 8
years in sump 1 area. Wig, Dave Turner,
Brian Workman et al are digging under the roof (theres no walls or floor!) on
the left, upstream of the sump. A nylon,
8 dia tube now carries the water through the sump and empties it into the ‘2’
streamway about 200ft further on. Please
take care not stand on the pipe or cut it. The eventual move is to dig out the sump and investigate the bedding
plane on the right of the crawl into the sump itself.
Lifeline
by Tim Large
New members:
Sue Yea,
Clive Parkin, c/o P.O’s Mess, H.M.S. Daedalus, Lee-on-Solent
CONSTITUTION SUB-COMMITTEE has now met and much fine work
carried out by Martin Cavender has resulted in the sub-committee sorting out a
revised constitution based on the existing one, but being much more readable
and less ambiguous. It will be for the
A.G.M. to decide if it is to be accepted. (Copies will be circulated with the August B.B. as a BB Supplement, as
was the A.G.M. Minutes. Ed.)
BELFRY more work has been done around the hut, including
an inspection pit to investigate the septic tank (no’, it’s not a cave
dig!). During the working weekend the
showers required repairs as the hot water pipes sprung a leak.
MIDSUMMER BUFFET – This event was well attended and a good
time had by all! It was good to see many
of the old faces including Mike Baker,’ Kangy,” Maurice Iles among many
others. It just might be a regular
mid-year event in the future. About 100
members were milling about the room; almost as good as the dinner!
A few weeks earlier, at the same venue Jane Kirby and Sue
Yea held a joint birthday party. Ross
White had to be rescued from the bog by Roger Dors and Jane as he fell asleep –
or was it into a drunken stupor?
BELFRY continued – The modifications to the Old Stone Belfry
have nearly been completed. The MRO have
been allocated a little more room and the age old problem of the guttering on
the roof cured once and for all.
We are now the proud possessors of a battery charger which
will probably be housed in the remaining part of the Stone Belfry when it is
fitted out as a workshop cum storeroom.
B.E.C. SWEATSHIRTS – If there is sufficient demand for these
the Club will buy a quantity suitably inscribed with the Club emblem. Any ideas on a design would be
appreciated. Let me know if you are
interest to give me some idea of numbers to order.
A CAVING NOTE – Recently Northern Cave Club dug into a new
system at the bottom of the 500ft long and 160ft deep King Pot
(Yorkshire). Now they have uncovered a
master cave system about 1 mile long and 450ft deep which includes 15 pitches
and makes it a classic
lucky enough to be invited to take a look and were most impressed and shattered
by the time we got, out. At present
survey, photographic and diving work is in progress. Access is limited to N.G.C. members only at
present.
Camera Raffle – The camera was won by Bob White the draw for
which took place at the Midsummer Buffet. The winning ticket was drawn by Jackie Dors. As far as can be gathered about 30 pounds has
been raised for club funds.
Pope has written to say that he is leaving his current
address and will let us know his new one in the near future.
Officers reports will be presented to the August C0mmittee
Meeting and they will appear (hopefully) in the September BB.
Charterhouse Committee have passed a resolution stating that
permits will be valid for one year. BEC,
WCC, SMCC and others have objected. Meeting asked to be called soon. More details later.
Sunto Instrument Bracket And Maintenance
By Chris Batstone
Many Suunto users will be aware of the few minor faults with
these superb instruments for cave survey use. The major disadvantage being the fact that both instruments are
separates and the surveyor has to waste valuable time sorting out which
instrument to use, particularly when they are hanging from the neck on their
carrying cords. To overcome this problem
the two instruments may be combined together with the aid of a simple ‘L’
shaped bracket, using the screw holes for the 1anyard attachments.
Thus the surveyor has both instruments to hand at every
which effectively speeds up the survey work.
Construction of the bracket is quite simple provided one has
as drill and files and a suitable vice for holding the work. Anyone with a little skill in metal working
can make the bracket quite quickly.
The bracket must be made from a non-ferrous metal or alloy
such as brass or aluminium to ensure that the compass is not influenced by
magnetic effects. The shape of the
bracket should first be marked out on a piece of 1″ thick sheet (see fig.1
for dimensions). Two holes are drilled
for the screws that attach the instruments. The bracket can then be cut from the plate and filed up to remove any
sharp edges. The bracket is then bent
slightly, as shown, in fig. 2 to align the instruments.
FIGURE 1. Suunto
Instrument Bracket.
Scale – Twice full size. Dimensions in
inches.
Note: Soft aluminium will bend easily with the
bracket assembled the instruments thus making the alignment easier.
Brass and hard alloys. These may have to be annealed before bending in a vice. The bends should be made carefully, in
stages, testing the bracket up against the instruments for fit. (The best bend radii for this type of
material should be in the order of 3t Ed)
Once the bracket has been bent to a suitable shape it can be
attached, to the instruments using either the old lanyard screws or compatible
round or cheese headed screws of the same thread (these are probably No.8 UNC –
Ed.) The instrument was first used with
great success on the Tyning’s Barrows Swallet survey – see April, 1978 BB – and
has proved its worth on other trips, Wigmore and Rocket Drop.
Figure 2 Bracket assembled
Sealing the Instruments.
Although the Suunto instruments appear to be proof against
all things, including nuclear attack, they are prone to leak when expose to
wet, muddy cave conditions. If allowed
to continue for any length of time, the optics will soon become obscured by a
thin film of mud. Prevention is better
than cure, so owners of Suunto equipment would be well advised to seal their
instruments before taking them underground.
METHOD OF SEALING
The grub screw hole may be sealed with paraffin wax or
plasticene this will only be necessary if the original sealant has been removed.
Dismantling And Cleaning
If the instrument develops a leak and the optics become
dirty internally, it will become necessary to dismantle it. The construction of both the compass and
clinometer is identical (with the exception that the compass unit is liquid
filled). The body is an accurately
machined alum alloy block housing, the compass or clino cards sealed in a
Perspex unit and the lens for reading the graduations on the instrument. The sealed unit is held in place by a press
fit alum alloy back plate and a grub screw to prevent the unit from moving in
the body when assembled (see Fig. 4)
Figure 4 – showing
method of construction. (lateral cross section)
|
1 lens 1a Perspex 2 plastic 3 compass |
4 grub 5 back 6 – aperture |
Dismantling is a fairly simple job:
A 3/32″ or ⅛” diameter hole should be drilled in
the edge of the back plate, no more than ⅛” deep to avoid damaging the
sealed unit. A small watchmakers
screwdriver is inserted into the hole and the back plate prised off. With the screwdriver, the grub screw is
removed and the sealed perspex unit can be taken out. The lens assembly has no obvious means of
removal and should be left in situ. To
attempt to remove the lens could ca»se irreparable damage; it can be cleaned
without removal.
Cleaning
Dirt can be removed from the inside of the lens with a fine
sabre artists brush of good quality. If
the dirt is ‘stubborn’, a few drop of distilled water may be sufficient to
loosen the dirt which can be cleaned off with the brush. The unit should then be rinsed with distilled
water and left to dry in a warm atmosphere. The perspex unit may be wiped clean using a lens cloth but take care not
to scratch the perspex lens on the outer rim.
Re-assembly
Once all parts are clean and thoroughly dry, re-assembly may
commence. This procedure is a straight
reversal of the dismantling procedure. Ensure that the re-assembly of the unit is carried out in a warm and
relatively low humidity room to avoid subsequent condensation on the optics.
The small hole drilled in the back plate may be sealed with
epoxy resin. The sealing operation,
previously described should then be carried out.
NB: IT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA TO SEAL THE MATING SURFACES OF THE
BACK- PLATE AS IT MAY PROVE IMPOSSIBLE TO BREAK THE SEAL FOR FURTHER CLEANING
OPERATIONS IF IT IS NECESSARY.
All of the operations described in this article have been
carried out by the author and found to be satisfactory. Readers are warned that these recommendations
are not those of the manufacturers and may therefore invalidate any warranty or
guarantee agreement. Further the author
accepts no liability for inaccurate information. At the time of publishing (June 1978) the
information was correct for Suunto KB14 and PM5 clinometer. Further information on renovation and repair
of Suunto equipment may be found in BCRA Bulletins.
References:
BCRA Bulletin No.3. Feb. 1974. G. Stevens
Grampian S.Gp. Bulletin No.2
Series 2. J. Batstone.
*****************************************
Next month in the B.B. – an up-to-date account of the recent
pushes in Wookey Hole by Chris Batstone, a club trip into
the latest findings by the Committee and the Sub-Committee on changes to the
Club Constitution and The Unknown Streamway by Wig. Also will be a report on the Peak Cavern trip
organised by Martin Grass.
The Austrian trip is on with about a dozen or so BEC and
Grampian members seeking out deep caves in the Dachstein area. It is hoped to be able to publish their work
as soon as it is received from them by post from
than that!
Why Ski in the
Pyrenees ?
Kangy
One of the advantages of the
as a skiing area is that if a base is chosen out of the mountains then you’re
not stuck to one station, there is a choice.
The
and there is, on the French side, a good road running parallel with them and
about 1 hour from whatever station is chosen.
It is particularly important not to be committed to one
station because in general they are small and at a lower altitude than the
Alps, and if from far off
you book Guzet Neige for instance you could be caught with poor snow or bad
weather. There are stations which are
fairly reliable Salardu in
for example or Pas de la Case in
excellent skiing both on and off the piste. The advantage of the
warmth of the sun. Watch out for
sunburn.
Lucheon would be a reasonable place to stay it’s not too
dear en pension and it is possible to visit a number of interesting ski
stations easily from there. Superbagneres was one of the earliest stations to be established and is
the nearest to Luchon. It has the
advantage that the road goes to the highest point, so that the beginners
slopes always have the best of the snow. The biggest French station from here is Les Auges/Peyresourds, two
stations linked by high level routes. There is a superb descent at Peyresourds – if only the dreaded T8
teleski doesn’t break down! It drops
directly from the highest point and curves leftwards following a valley out
into the sticks away from the station. Once out of the valley the route winds back to the station and the
infamous T8! The T8 is symptomatic of
French Pyrenean skiing. It’s not very
well maintained. The ski tours are rough
and bumpy under ski because they don’t bother to flatten them and the pistes
are as nature intended. I rather like
it! Luchon also gives access to the Val
d’Aran and the most important Spanish station, Solardu. The Spaniards make an effort and it is almost
up to Alpine standards. Certainly the
Val D’Aran, the upper valley of the
where it emerges after sinking in the Trou de Toro, is well worth a visit on
its own a account. While considerable
development is being undertaken in the name of tourism, most of it is in good
taste and worth seeing. Salardu is, high
and has many good runs, away from the popular slopes. It’s worth struggling to get away from the
clank of the tours into the quiet of winter mountains.
Up and down the chain of the
are many small but interesting stations. Font Romeau is elderly but well equipped and sunny. It isn’t very steep but it’s beautiful. Guzet Neige, one of the nearest to
too reliable for snow in a poor season. It is set in trees and there are a number of good runs. Towards the Atlantic is La Mongie, good but a
long way from
though this could be combined with a visit to Cauteret and the adjoining
stations.
If you do decide to ski in the Pyrenees then call into
F.F.S. card which gives you insurance and the right to reductions on the ski
tickets (forfaits) of the order of 25%. You could park your car in the car park underneath Place Capitol and
collect card and forfaits from the very friendly Club Escargarol which is
situated underneath the arches at the side of the square. They also hire out skies and boots at very
reasonable rates and arrange trips.
Snakes Of
Italy
Translated from the Italian with
added information and advice for walkers climbers and campers by Stan Gee
Due to certain changes in environment in. the mountain areas
of
the snakes of these areas are increasing in numbers and are now presenting
something of a hazard to mountaineers and walkers. So much so that the Club Alpino Italiano are
now involved and a National Campaign for information on poisonous snakes has
been launched.
The following is a translation of the booklet “Vipere
Italiane” published by the Instituto Sicroterapico Vaccinogeno Toscano and
is meant to publicise their snake bite vaccine “Sclavo” but at the
same time it provides a useful guide to the snakes and their habits,
identification, safety first and simple first aid. However, before considering the aspects of
the various types of European snakes it should be understood that all the
poisonous snakes of
family sub divided into 4 main groups which are themselves sub divided into
many localised groups. These localised
groups have adapted to their local environment by way of colour change etc.,
and thus descriptions given here may differ widely from the same species found
in other parts of
found in 4 main colours and several other lesser colour differences depending
on the area of habitation. Furthermore
although the common adder is of the same main species as the Italian ”Marrasso
Palustre” (Viper Berus) or Marsh Viper, it is quite different in colour
size and ferocity.
However, from the point of view of the mountaineer or walker
etc., the normal grass snake and the rarer smooth snake are both very easy to
identity and all others may be considered to be dangerous, to some degree.
The following is a direct translation from the booklet
“Vipere Italiane” but only insomuch as the information relates to
mountaineering and outdoor life:-
The Vipers in
All of the poisonous snakes in Italy fall into the viper
family and are found in all parts of the country with the only exception of
Sardinia (the book does not state what snakes, if any, are to be found in
Sardinia) and form 4 main groups.
|
Vipera Aspis Vipera Berus Vipera Vipera |
or or or or |
Common Viper Marsh Viper Horned Viper Bear Viper |
The second of these species is found in almost any
situation, plains, Hills, mountains, woods, stones in areas that are damp,
humid or marshy and in the walls that line country roads. Due to this facility to live anywhere they
are the most prolific of the snakes and are easily found and are thus the most
dangerous to open air people.
Common Viper
Is found all over the country in areas of scarce vegetation
and stones where they love to lie in the sun. The male is about 65-75 cm long and the female 75-85 cm long. The body colour is very variable ashy grey,
grey-yellow, dark brown or rose coloured. The back has a zig-zag mark that can
be continuous or interrupted sometimes standing out vividly sometimes less
vividly from the colour of the body. The
end of the tail is generally yellow-orange.
The Marsh Viper
Is a snake of extreme irritability i.e. is always ready for
aggression. It is found all over
but particularly in Alpine districts where they have been found at altitudes in
excess of 3000 meters in damp flat areas, banks of rivers and streams etc.
The extremity of the head, seen in profile appears round and
on the top of the head are some shield like marks usually 3 and of different
shapes, instead of the fragmented scales as on the asp. The size of the adult marsh viper is generally
longer than the Asp and its length is between 60 & 80cm long.
The body and scales are grey, brown yellow or rose coloured
and the dorsal has a symmetrical design consisting of brown spots along the
length and alternate vertical zig zag marks. Generally these marks are darker than those of the Asp and in the
mountains snakes are sometimes found that are almost completely black.
Horned Viper
This is considered to be the most dangerous of European
snakes, due to the quantity of Venom it injects and the speed of action of this
venom (about 15 mins). It prefers to
live in rocks and sunny arid areas and it can be found also in woods that are
not dense or on the edges of forest glades. It is present in the pre alp (
and up to altitudes of 1600 meters and is often active at night.*
It is the easiest to recognise of all the other species of
viper due to the presence of a small horn at the front of the head. This horn is about 5mm high and renders this
snake recognisable at first glance. Other recognisable features are its size, in
which it is larger in diameter than the other snakes and longer, 90-100cm. Apart from this it has the general
characteristics of the Asp but the colours of the dorsal marks are much darker
in contrast to the rest of the body.
Vipera Ursini
Is found generally only in the central Italian mountains,
Sibillini and Gran Sasso areas. In
general appearance it differs little from that of the Marsh Viper but is much,
smaller, about 50cm at most. It is
considered by some to be a sub species of the Marsh Viper and is recognisable
from the Marsh Viper by its smaller head and by the presence of a dark spot on
the neck.
General Identifications
Apart from the colouring which can sometimes be confusing
there are several other points that will enable the reader to differentiate
between a dangerous and a non dangerous snake.
The Eyes
A grass-snake has perfectly round eyes and pupils whilst all
of the viper family have vertical slit pupils.
The Head
The grass-snake has a long tapered head covered with large
scales, the viper is more triangular and snub nosed and has smaller scales.
The Body
A grass snakes body tapers gracefully to the tail, the
viper thins down abruptly thus giving the impression of a fat body and a short
thin tail.
Movement
When disturbed the grass-snake moves away with a great
flurry of movement and sometimes threshing movements. The viper glides away usually with the head
some 3 inches above the ground.
Simple Safety First observations particularly for campers,
walkers, climbers and cavers:-
1) Always wear boots and heavy woollen socks.
2) When walking announce your approach by using a
stick to occasionally tap the ground.
3) Before sitting down on grass or stones, use a
stick to strike the ground and surrounding grass.
4) Do not lean against tree trunks that are covered
with foliage or piles of logs.
5) After resting, thoroughly shake out discarded
clothing before putting on, watch particularly insides of rucksacks.
6) Do not leave car doors open if you are leaving
the car for any reason.
7) Pay particular attention if entering abandoned
cottages or climbing stone walls.
8) Especially cavers should beware of horizontal
passages or holes with little depth which may be the home of hibernating
vipers.
9) Pay particular attention during the summer
months and early autumn when the females like to hang in trees or bushes 4 or 5
ft above ground level, as a bite in the head or neck is nearly always fatal.
10) If you should have need to kill a viper for any
reason, use a stone or a stick and stay at a safe minimum distance of 1 metre,
This then is the essence of the booklet “Vipera
Italiane” which goes into mulch more detail; most of which is not of
interest to the mountaineer.
The details and advice given above can be applied to all of
the mountain areas of Europe and to much of
as well, where, although there is greater diffusion of types of snake most of
the dangerous ones fall into the viper category.
The first aid information was dealt with in the April 1976
edition of “Climber & Rambler”.
First Aid
Should you or a friend be unfortunate enough to be bitten
the following advice, taken from an article by W.J. Wright in January edition
of the
Most people, when bitten, think they are going to die and as
a result develop shock – cold clammy skin, feeble pulse, rapid shallow
breathing and perhaps semi-consciousness. A person bitten by a viper may have blood-stained saliva followed later
by non-clotting of the blood and perhaps blood coughed up. A striking snake does not always inject venom
but if swelling above the knee or elbow occurs within two or three hours then
venom has been injected and it is a severe case. Local swelling in the area of the bite will
occur within a few minutes if venom has been injected. In this case the area round the bite should
be cleaned, preferably with soapy water, and a dry dressing applied. Do not use a tourniquet but a firm but not
tight ligature above the bite helps to compress the tissues and delay
absorption into the system.
The St. John First Aid Manual continues, support and
immobilise the limb concerned, and should breathing fail, commence artificial
respiration. In all cases seek medical
aid. The manual also states that many
people die from fright, after being bitten.
The dangers of snakebite are recognised by the Club Alpino
Italiano and most of their larger Rifugi hold stocks of serum and many of the
larger villages as well.
* Translators note (from previous page)
Snakes of the viper family can, to some extent, control the
amount of venom that they inject, depending upon the size of the victim. The Horned viper usually injects all at one
go.
Into The Devil’s Arse
or A trip into Peak Cavern
An account of a club
trip by Martin Grass
Our first attempt to enter Peak Cavern was in November of
last year but due to flood waters throughout the show cave (necessitating
swimming along normally dry passages) the trip had to be abandoned. In march of this year we were luckier and
were able to walk through the whole show Cave without getting wet. The main attraction of Peak as a show cave is
the large entrance where rope-makers once worked and lived. A short, low passage at the end of the
entrance chamber leads into the Great Cave, another large chamber, with
fascinating, glowing formations which on inspection proved to be ‘cats eyes’
which had been embedded in the rock!
A large dry passage enters Roger Rains House, the third and
last large chamber in the tourist section, with a waterfall entering from high
up on the, right side of the passage. The cave now changes to an almost horizontal stream passage to a ‘T’
junction where the show cave ends. Left
at this junction quickly ends in the Buxton Water Sump which was first
successfully passed by Don Coase back in the early 50s. Right at this junction leads past old mine
workings (lead) at Victoria Aven onto Speedwell Pot which feeds vast quantities
of water from Speedwell Cavern into Peak. It was interesting to learn that this pot was caped a few years ago with
a giant concrete plug, the intention being to extend the tourist season by
keeping some of the flood waters out of the cave. Various muddy climbs over boulders and a
sandy crawl ends at the Muddy Ducks which are nothing more than large
puddles. Once through these the passages
become a larger phreatic tunnel called The Upper Gallery with two side passages
leading off, one to Pickerings Passage and the other to a pot completely filled
with fine sands which greatly impressed Mr. N who had visions of exporting it all to Mendip to make cement and other
such solid materials. Easy going down,
the Upper gallery turns to a short traverse to the Surprise View a 20ft fixed
ladder down into the Main Stream Passage, the famous phreatic passage which is
up to 50 feet high. This magnificent
passage can be followed up stream to the down stream end of Buxton Water Sump
or up stream to Squalls Junction where the main Peak water enters at three
waterfalls. Near the junction we took a
high level muddy crawl to the left which led to Lake Passage and Ink Sump, a
beautifully clear green sump which has not been dived to any conclusion (at
present unfortunately diving has been banned by the owners of Peak).
Back in the main stream the large tunnel continues past some
very high evens to Far Sump which is about; 200 feet long. As diving has been banned BCRA are trying to
construct a large dam and lower the sump by bailing- such is their
determination to extend the system.
After a soggy Mars Bar or two we returned to Squaws Junction
and made our way via some of the muddiest passages I have ever been in, back to
the Surprise View thus completing a very pleasant round trip. A quick wash off in the streamway and we
started to make our way out.
On the return journey some of us visited Pickerings
Passage. This awkward free climb is
similar to Marble Pot in Cuthberts but larger and not so tight. At the end of this passage is Moss Chamber
where the unfortunate Neil Moss is still stuck in a narrow fissure half way up
a steep stal flow. Ironically the only
formations in the whole cave are here.
Throughout the whole of this series and particularly in Moss
Chamber are rusty relics still left from the attempts to rescue Moss from his
fissure. Thermos flasks, food tins and
telephone wires are scattered about giving the place a morbid atmosphere.
We exited after a pleasant 5 hours underground and although
not a hard cave, Peak makes a very satisfying and sporting trip. Our thanks go to Pete Smith from BCRA who led
the trip.
Another trip has been planned for later in the year, any
member interested contact me as numbers are limited. The exact date will be published in the B.B.
as soon as it has been confirmed.
Cadbury Camp Mineshaft
By Tony Jarratt
On the weekend following the Great Snowstorm the Belfry
regulars were contacted by archaeologist and ex-club member, Keith Gardner, who
wanted a mineshaft investigated. The
hole had appeared after the snow, on the wooded fortification of Cadbury Camp
hill fort overlooking Yatton (NGR: ST 439650) immediately above the Country
Club. Bob Cross, John Dukes, Rog Sabid;
and Wig bravely answered the call and John and Rog found the shaft to be
approximately 150 feet deep, 8 – 10 feet in diameter at the top, tapering to
about 5 feet at the bottom.
The first 8 feet or so is stone-lined and the rest is in
solid limestone with a floor of rubble and earth at least 4 feet deep. The shaft was partly covered with old railway
lined and rotten timbers placed there after a previous collapse earlier this
century. No passages lead off the shaft
and there are no signs of haulage marks on the sides or of any other mining
remains in the immediate vicinity. Shot
holes were noticed in the shaft sides.
Various theories as to its use have been put forward, the
most probable being that it is a trial shaft in search of iron ore, which was
mined all along the hills as far as Winford, the nearest group of workings from
Cadbury being in Kings Wood, half a mile away. Here there are many shallow shafts and levels driven insooth limestone
and earth. Suggestions as to its being a
well are made doubtful by the dryness of the shaft, its position of only 50
feet from the steep hill-side and the fact that shaft bottom is about 85 feet
above saturated moor level.
A dig at the bottom would prove interesting but rather
difficult due to lack of dumping space – all spoil having to be hauled to the
surface. A few years ago a similar,
though only 40 foot deep shaft opened up in the grounds of the Country Club and
two others are rumoured to exist further along the ridge towards Claverham,
though have not yet been investigated.
The Cadbury shaft is an excellent SRT practice site and the
local council and commoners association have jointly paid for its capping and
the provision of a manhole for access. A
1 ring spanner and lifting key are required (a set will be kept in the
Belfry). Best access is from the No
Through Road (
just past the Country Club going towards Yatton. A public footpath leads to the foot of the
hill and by climbing up through the woods behind the club the shaft can be
found at the top. Prospective diggers
will need cutting gear to remove the five bar gate thrown down by local
yobs! A further pleasure of the site is
its close proximity to Richards cider farm. Probably the best brew in the locality and £1-00 per gallon.
From the Tacklemaster
Ladders and ropes, too many to enumerate, are missing from
the tackle store, with no indication of the borrowers or whereabouts in the
tackle log. Particularly annoying is the
removal from the library a length of new super-braidline nylon before it had
even been coded. Somebody must know
where it is. Please return any tackle
you have borrowed, whether booked out or not, as soon as possible, for
checking.
REMEMBER the tackle log has six columns:
Name; Tackle
description or number; Cave/area; Date out; Signature; Date
in;
Code numbers are on ladder end rungs, on metal rings on
ropes and on tags on tethers and spreaders.
Jottings
compiled by Nipha
LONGWOOD SWALLET The Bristol Waterworks Company are fitting a new automatic pump into the
pumping station above the entrance to farm. The pump will automatically switch on and off according to the water
level in the reservoir not the local conditions of the stream. Previously it has been manually operated. The B.W.W. is placing a notice inside the cave entrance as shown below:
LONGWOOD
SWALLET, AUGUST, CAVE
WARNING
DANGER
OF’ FLOODING
Under
certain conditions this cave can be flooded without warning if pumps stop at
the nearby pumping station.
Persons
entering the cave do so at their own risk. They must be in possession of a current Charterhouse Caving Committee
permit.
BRISTOL
WATERWORKS COMPANY
This will pose quite a problem for cavers as the stream
under wet conditions will rise suddenly and without warning. Though the blockhouse will divert a lot of
the surface stream down the valley to the blocked Water Chamber entrance, it is
probable that the water will seep through the boulders above the entrance shaft. I am led to believe that a similar pump is to
be installed at the pumping station above Swildon’s entrance. This could cause the M.R.O. to have quite a
headache! One only needs to remember the
days when the pipe was removed from the 40 there was a callout every
Saturday night for at least 6 weeks after at about 10.30pm.
The B.W.W. have issued the following warning to clubs:-
DANGER !
SEVERE AND SUDDEN
FLOODING IN THE
has long been known to be dangerous because of the risk ff flooding from a
stream.
That danger is even
greater now because the cave is likely to flood more often.
Pumps that take water
from the springs at Charterhouse will now stop working automatically.
This can cause a
sudden flood wave, making some passages impassable and the exit and entrance
extremely difficult to negotiate.
There are warning
notices stressing this danger at the cave entrance.
Access to the cave is
controlled by the Charterhouse Caving Committee, and only cavers holding a
current permit should enter the cave.
T A K E C A R E !
BRISTOL WATERWORKS COMPANY,
Ten Years Ago ..
A subject, still much talked about on Mendip, is the July
Flood of 1968. Ten years ago when many
of the current bunch of cavers hadn’t even thought of going caving on
Mendip. They certainly cannot remember
the horror on the faces of cavers about at the time when they heard that the
’40’ had gone. Anyone not realising the
extent of the damage in the caves should read the July 1968 BB for a fairly comprehensive
coverage of each affected cave.
1978’ has been donated to the Club Library. It contains several interesting articles including their activities in
Loser Plateau. Also to be found is
details of further work in
LAMB LEER
The C.S.C.C. now control access to the cave through the
S.C.C. under licence from the Somerset County Council. Keys to BEC members can be obtained at the
Belfry (the BEC will shortly be a shareholder in the SC Company. Member clubs of the CSCC will have to pay
£0.50 for access and non-member clubs of CSCC will be required to pay
£2.00. A £5.00 deposit is required from
either type of club, this is, of course a returnable deposit. The BEC and any other club who is a
shareholder in the company will not have to pay the tackle fee.
Clubs wishing to obtain a Key, if not arranged through one
of the shareholder clubs should write to
J. L. Thomas,
Weald, Middx.
A CAVING ORATORIO
One has heard on several occasions stories of caving operas
made up by cavers, now a modern composer Klaus Cornell has written an oratorio
entitled Oratoria Spelaeologica after his visit to the well known Swiss
show-cave Beatus Hohlen. The work is in
5 movements and is a musical impression of the underground scenery and his
personal feelings at the visit. A record
has been issued of this work that apparently has received several concert hall
performances, complete with genuine underground sound effects (hopefully not
those of genuine cavers!) Milch (SMCC)
came across this reference in a Dutch (?) motoring magazine, dated 8-7-76 and
it is also mentioned in the ‘Lquipe Speleo Bruxelles (73) p22 for December
1977. At the moment, Milch, Ray
Mansfield and Wig are desperately trying to find out who has made the recording
and of course get a copy. The owner of
the shop frequented by Wig was last seen scratching his head and burrowing
into his great pile of import listings. It may be that the record has been issued locally in
Claves a Swiss record label.
Mendip Dig – news flashes:
WCC are digging at Limekiln, an old John Cornwell site;
been investigated by
who have found that the water level in the flooded chamber is falling they
are sitting by the water waiting for the chance to dig.
Lionel’s Hole – Andy Sparrow et. a1. are still pushing the
new extension. Pete Moody has dived the
downstream sump for about 15-20ft. The
underwater passage is quite roomy, about 3ft square. The terminal choke is being dug, a fair ol
draught is reported to be whistling from it.
Viaduct Dig is progressing slowly but they are working
towards an active stream passage. A lot
more banging is required before the ‘Thrupe’ diggers can get there. The cave is now about 400ft. long and 90:ft.
deep.
Wigmore Swallet – Tony Jarrett and Stu. Lindsey have been
putting the finishing touches to the Winding Shaft ready for the capping and
gating operation. The BEC Committee have
allocated £50 toward the cost of gating.
Box Mines – Stu Lindsey reports that the Cotham C.G. have
found about 3,000ft of new passage, off the Clift workings.
SELF PORTRAIT
In a letter from Stan Gee is a self portrait Ready for a
mountain walk, here it is: reproduced faithfully by the BB editorial staff:-
AN UNUSUAL CAVE RESCUE
‘Pope’; our Rhodesian correspondent
has sent through a newspaper cutting from the Rhodesia Herald,
headlined
“Valour award for Cave Action”
The following is a shortened version of the account:-
“A 40 minute fire fight inside a cave last September
has earned a temporary lance corporal with the Rhodesian Light Infantry the
Silver Cross Of Rhodesia for displaying, supreme valour in action ….. !
The Lance Corporal was in charge of a group of four men
sweeping a hillside feature of reported terrorist presence. The press report continues. During the sweep the officer commanding the
troops followed a terrorist into a cave. Firing followed, and Lance Corpora1 Phillips realised the officer was
lying injured inside the cave. He and
another non-commissioned officer made an attempt to rescue the wounded officer,
but because he was inside the cave lying wedged between rocks, this was not
possible. It was apparent to the Lance
Corporal that there were at least three armed terrorists inside the cave. Because it would have been a hindrance, he
put his rifle to one side, and armed only with a borrowed pistol entered the
cave in another attempt to rescue the officer. Lance Corporal Phillips was subjected to heavy fire from a range of less
than 5m …… When Lance Corporal Phillips ran out of ammunition he withdrew
from the cave to reload. Back in the
cave, he moved further inside, beyond the critically wounded officer, and
provided covering fire against the remaining terrorists so that a medical
orderly could enter the cave and remove the wounded officer. Before this could be done the terrorists
opened fire again and Lance Corporal Phillips moved deeper into the cave,
killing one terrorist and wounding another. When the officer had been removed, Lance Corporal Phillips then used
grenades to dispose of any remaining terrorists. The cave was searched at first light and
three terrorists were found dead. A
wounded terrorist left the cave by another exit during the night.”
Apart from the stabbing incident between two cavers in
for the most unusual cave rescue incident?
New Mendip Surveys:
survey is available through the Mendip Survey Scheme and was also published in
the S.M.C.C. Journal (Autumn 1977).
Wigmore Survey is ready and will be published in the BB as
will Rocket Drop.
Dye Tracing At Wookey Hole
By Dr. W.I. Stanton
This article has been reprinted from the CDG newsletter with
permission of the CDG Secretary
These experiments were devised in response to a suggestion
by Martyn Farr that a repetition of the 1967 Cuthbert’s – Wookey trace, with
added detail, might allow prediction of the nature of the unexplored passages
between the two known systems. It was
hoped in view of the very fast flow through time of eight hours, that the deep
sump beyond Wookey 25 was the last. Vadose passages like those of Cuthbert’s 2 might begin immediately
upstream.
The plan was enthusiastically supported, and there were
volunteers enough for all sampling (at 15 minute intervals) to be done
manually. Samples were run through the
flourometer every two hours. On 27.11.76
150 grams of flourescein were added to the Cuthbert’s stream at the cave
entrance, and the dye was followed underground. Travel time to Sump 1 was about 1.5 hours. Soon after, Martyn Farr poured 40cc. of 20%
Rhodamine WT solution into the Well at Wookey 25. This began to appear at the resurgence 7
hours later. The flourescein however did
not come through, although sampling continued for 80 hours after input. It might have been absorbed en-route by the
peaty water that we had stirred up in the Mineries swamps during the
input. There was considerable
despondency.
One thing was clear; flow-through was very much slower than
in the 1967 test. It was natural to
suppose that this was because the river was at medium stage, whereas in 1967 it
had been in flood. Theoretically if the
volume of ponded water back in the sumps (phreatic storage) is very large, as
is obviously the case at Wookey, the total amount of water in the system
decreases by a rather small percentage, as the flow drops from flood to draught
conditions. In this system when the flow
halves, flow-through time will almost double (twice as slow). In a vadose streamway like Cuthbert’s the
converse applies; the volume of water in the system shrinks very considerably
as the flow falls, so that flow-through time lengthens only slightly.
Bristol Waterworks has a continuous flow measuring station
on the River Axe downstream of the resurgence. Flow during the 1967 test was about 40mgd. (million gallons per day)
whereas in the 1976 test it was (roughly, as the gauge was malfunctioning)
1.5mgd. Another trace was attempted on
4.6.77 using Rhodamine W.T. for both inputs. Dave Morris poured 40cc. of the dye into the Axe at Sting Corner and a
few hours later I added 100cc to the stream at Cuthbert’s entrance. To avoid
more caver frustration a mechanical sampler was used at the resurgence but the
result was operator frustration, as the clockwork timer worked in fits and
starts. Nevertheless enough data were
obtained for conclusions to be drawn.
The Sting Corner dye resurged in about 15 hours and the
Cuthbert’s dye in about 68 hours. Flow
was fairly low at the time: about 5mgd. I concluded from this result that the volume of water in the Cuthberts
Wookey system upstream of Sting Corner was roughly three times the volume
downstream of it. The time differences
between traces, as already mentioned, show that much of this volume is sump.
Probably therefore large deep sumps continue for a long way upstream of Wookey
25.
The theory outlined above does not take into account of
diminishing bore sizes as the channel is followed upstream past, confluences,
such as that of the Swildon’s and Cuthbert’s waters. However it seems not unreasonable to suppose
that the ratio of average phreatic bore size to average flow remains roughly
constant, in which case the argument would still apply.