The
Exploration Club, The Belfry,
Road
Editor: Dave Turner
My apologies for the delay in this BB – pressure of work and
all that. I am prepared to carry on but
feel the Club would be better served if someone, with more time took over as
editor. I would be only too pleased to
assist them if anyone fancies a turn.
Dave.
Contents
- 1 Notice of Annual General Meeting
- 2 Annual Dinner
- 3 Attendance at Committee Meetings
- 4 Cuthberts Photos
- 5
- 6 Caving News
- 7
- 8 Membership Changes
- 9 The Library
- 10
- 11 Outstanding Belfry Jobs
- 12
- 13 A Brief History Of Goughs Caves, Cheddar
- 14
- 15 France 1983
- 16 Letter via the Editor
- 17
- 18 The Annual Dinner Referendum
- 19
- 20 Mendip Underground
- 21
- 22 A Case For Easier Egress
- 23
- 24 Virgin Gorda Copper Mine British Virgin Island Caribbean
- 25
- 26 Letter via the Editor
- 27
- 28 Scaffolding Bar Pot!
Notice of Annual General Meeting
The AGM of the BEC will be held at the Belfry on Saturday,
3rd October at 10.30am prompt. You are
reminded that nominations for the 1987-8 committee must be submitted in writing
to the Secretary no later than 5th September 1987. All nominations must have a proposer and
seconder. Present members of the
committee are nominated automatically if they wish to stand for re-election.
Note: the posts of Hut Warden, Caving Sec. and Membership
Sec. are up for grabs! Don’t delay in submitting your nomination.
Annual Dinner
The annual dinner will be held at The Caveman Restaurant,
Cheddar on Saturday, 3rd October at 7.30pm for 8.00pm. The cost will be £8 per head, excluding wine
and there will be a charge of about 50p for corkage – bring large bottles!! It is hoped that Sid Perou will talk and
Alfie’s band will provide entertainment. Martin Grass will be MC and anyone wishing to make awards or speak must
contact him before the start of the dinner. Tickets may be obtained from Trebor (Mike McDonald,
716690). (See article on Dinner
Referendum – ed)
Attendance at Committee Meetings
The attendance of committee members during the last
committee year (excl. Sept. & Oct) is as follows:
Bob Cork 10; Mark Lumley 8; Steve
Milner 5; Dany Bradshaw 9; Andy Sparrow 8; Mike McDonald 7; Tony Jarratt 8;
Dave Turner 6; Brian Workman 7; Phil Romford 5.
Cuthberts Photos
If any members have any photos (including slides) of St.
Cuthberts which they think may be suitable for the Cuthberts report can they
let Barry Wilton see them. He needs over
a hundred photographs and will obviously take great care of anything lent. Historical photos etc are all needed together
with photos of digs and formations etc.
Thanks to Jim & Mary Rand for the etched glass in the
Belfry. front door.
The Quest for the Rusty Tankard, was won by the BEC by
devious means as most members are aware.
Caving News
DAREN CILAU
The short extension found at the end of Frag Street on the 9
day camp looked so promising that at Easter Clive Gardener, Peter Bolt and
myself went back to push it. Henry
Bennett came in too but 300ft in through the entrance crawl the mournful cry
“Mark
.I’ve just shat in my furry suit!” was followed by a hasty exit.
After a few hours of digging through a shattered, draughting
bed we’d gained about 30ft and things looked long term and fairly
hopeless. We persevered however and a
couple of hours later we were rewarded by a small, open passage ahead. This led up a sloping crawl to the base of an
aven. 40ft up this we gained access to a
tight high rift with a good draught which was heading east into the blank area
between Daren and Craig a Ffynnon.
We were held up about 100ft further on with no obvious way
ahead. Eventually I found a tight rift
ending in a formidable squeeze which was finally passed by a committed Clive
pushing with his feet against my nose (well it comes in useful
sometimes!). The way on was open in big
rift passage and we stormed past a couple of boulder constrictions and up a
tight version of the Cuthberts entrance rift. The way on continued large but progress was made difficult by the large
number of boulder chokes, several of which we had to dig through.
Finally, after a total of 1200ft we ended up in a large
collapse chamber with the way on blocked by fallen roof crud (Rock Steady
geological phenomenon found extensively in the lower reaches of Daren along
with ‘Choked Bastards’, ‘Staled up Herberts’, ‘Hanging Laxatives’ and ‘Crystal
Crinkly Bits’). The passage heads
parallel with the
and lines up with Half Mile passage. The
draught would suggest a separate entrance in the Clydach Gorge. The floor deposits are of a thick grey mud
which I haven’t seen elsewhere in the cave.
Two weeks later we returned in force to push the end of the
chamber and after several hours of hard work we gave up, the draught emitting
from a tight crack in the floor. The way
on would appear to be in passage buried below the chamber.
The place lives up to its new name of Remote Chamber and a
trip from the Daren entrance to here and out again without doubt is the most
strenuous in the country.
After several weeks layoff we returned to the Hard Rock Cafe
on July 3-5, banging in Red River passage (Clive’s project), and digging the
formidable Agen Allwedd Passage chokes where the spoil heap has now gone up to
an estimated 400-500 tons. Clive and I
only managed to remove a trifling 2-3 tons in 2 hours. The rest of the trip was used to make a
photographic record of lower Daren on a 2 1/4″ Hasselblad.
An uneventful exit from the cave was followed some hours
later by the removal of my appendix food for thought if it had gone while we
were still down the cave!
Gonzo.
Hunter’s Hole
JRat et al have put a lot of work and chemical persuasion
into Sanctimonious Passage in Hunters Hole recently. They made a breakthrough which leads to a
static sump. Apparently the air was bad
due to carbon dioxide and bang fumes and Tony nearly met his end. Steve Milner went down on 8th Aug to dive the
sump but could not get through the squeeze. Tony emptied the bottle near the sump (now dried up) to try and clear
the fumes.
Bob Cork has returned after the BEC’s first week in
years limit and ran out of rope. More
rope has now reached the team and so they should be well into new ground by
now. Hirlatzhohle has been extended and
a connection with it now has a potential depth of 1200m.
Bob says that they also rigged Orkan Hohle as far as the
10th pitch and that its looking good with bigger size passages than usual for
and a potential of 1300m. A full report
in the next BB.
He also said that it took a while to patch up relations the
Austrians particularly due to the graffiti and rubbish including carbide
everywhere which was left by the last people out last year
Goatchurch
Andy Sparrow and other BEC members have pushed the ‘Final’
chamber beyond the “Drainpipe” and have entered a new chamber. They decided to dig here as they followed the
draught all the way to this point from near the entrance. As Andy reported in the log, “After an
hours work the roof fell out of the dig and onto Sparrow’s head – he retreated
bloodily and left Tom to squeeze up into the echoing void above – results as
follows:-
New chamber is quite pretty and has two obvious leads/digs –
not bad for six hours digging! (AND OUT
IN TIME FOR THE PUB!)
Ogof Capel
Of interest to the Daren & Aggy – watchers – welsh
cavers have pushed Ogof Capel towards Perseverance Passage.
Agen Allwedd
Sump 4 has been passed by Ian Roland to a short large
passage ending in a boulder choke.
Membership Changes
New Members
1085 Duncan Price, Edgebaston,
1086 Richard Neville-Dove, Keynsham,
Ratifications
The following members were ratified at the August Committee
meeting: –
1074 Jerry Jones 1077 Brian Wafer
1075 Tony Williams 1078 Mike
Hearn
1076 Roz Williams 1079 Henry
Bennett
Address Changes
1005 Jane Cobrey (nee Brew), Keighley,
868 Dany Bradshaw, Haybridge, Wells
The Library
Many will know of the very generous bequest from Mrs. Tuck,
a considerable amount of money which was to be put towards “the
Club”. A good number will have
heard that the Committee decided to put the money towards re-fitting the
library completely, with new bookcases, cabinets, map chests etc. It was thought that this would be a fitting
memorial and something that was both tangible and practical. She also requested that a tree be planted in
her memory in the garden.
Towards this end, a flexible system of mahogany bookcases
have been ordered comprising solid door base units, for storing
“unsightly” papers, periodicals and newsletters, and glazed upper
shelving for book display. We’ve ordered
slightly more than we presently need; firstly to do a complete job worthy of
the bequest and secondly to allow room for our library to expand into. Providing we don’t lose books though
“wastage” (i.e. people pinching them), J-Rat can gradually increase
our collection. All glazed shelving will
have locks and a plaque to Mrs. Tuck will be put on the door.
For those who are likely to criticize the project, a
refitted library was considered most appropriate for a memorial – a tangible
and useful feature, rather than re-fitted showers, drying room or tackle, for
example. We need decent cupboards and
bookshelves in any event. An expensive
and quality set of shelving was chosen mainly because the alternatives were
rubbish – formica garbage hardly worthy of a memorial or inflexible bookcase
stack systems. We’d much rather spend
all the money on a good quality, useful, flexible bookcase system, rather than
tatty stuff at two thirds the price that wouldn’t last very long.
The new units should be ready in 10 weeks from the date of
order (10 June 1987).
Whilst on the subject, and not wishing to impose on J-Rat’s
job, he tells me there’s a load of missing books; either missing and not booked
out, or booked out for months and not returned. Can all these be returned as soon as possible.
Trebor
Outstanding Belfry Jobs
Main Room
1. Re-fix hasp & staple to roof access
2. Cut & fix supalux around flue pipe
3. Repair leak in roof
4. Fix worktop
5. Repair water heater over sink
6. Wire in fridge
Drying Room
1. Clean out
2. Fix hanging rail
3. Build in air bricks
4. Clean and paint window
Bunk Rooms
1. Patch up render by meters
2. Finish off painting
3. Patch up holes in ceiling and walls
4. Fix bunks to walls
Entrance Hall
1. Tile floor
2. Finish of painting
3. Fix hat & coat hook on toilet door
4. Lag pipes
Loft
1. Lag Pipes
2. Install time switch to immersion heater
3. Clean out rubbish
Showers and Changing Room
1. All doors to be cleaned down and re-stained
2. Re-fix lock to entrance door
3. Put up hat & coat hooks
4. Make up & fix new benches
5. Fix shower curtain to third shower
6. Finish of painting
7. Rod drain pipe
8. Clean out gully
9. Fix toilet roll holder to wall
10. Clean of walls and re paint
11. Fix tiles to wall
12. Re-move cement mixer and put in shed
13. Install new coin meter
14. Fit new 0 rings to shower
External
1. Build gas bottle store
2. Clear away rubbish from site
3. Re-build manhole to soak-away
4. All windows to be cleaned & re painted
5. Remove facia and replace with U.P.V.C.
6. Repair rainwater guttering
7. Fix frame and hang door to shed
8. Cut grass
9. Build roof over fire buckets
10. Fix sign on carbide store
11. Clean out shed
Tackle Store
1. Clean out “all rubbish”
2. Rewire electric ring main and lights
3. Fix shelves
Did you know, it was June 1985 when the alterations at the
Belfry were finished apart from the panting, which the BEC membership agreed to
do. Now 2 Years later we still have not
finished giving the Belfry a first coat of paint, despite organizing several
working weekends and members weekends in which we hoped you would turn up and
go caving, see your mates then spend some time doing a job or two. The last members weekend only 1 person showed
up, which is less than a normal weekend, so much for members weekends!
One Sunday lunch time, a few months back, there was a rescue
callout and lots of people came back to see what was happening. I managed to talk all those with nothing to
do to doing some work on the hut. I
think its a sad day that the only way to get people back to the Belfry to work
is have a rescue!
Perhaps you want to let the Belfry get in such a state that
the only way out is to run round and raise the money to renovate the
Headquarters every few years. The old
saying “A stitch in time saves nine” which is very true because a
small job now can be a major job later. I have not got a magic wand, so I need MEMBERS to come along and do
these jobs, because I am buggered if I will do them on my own.
After the roof was replaced on the tackle store, some MRO
people did what work was necessary, i.e. rewire lights, and moved straight back
in. After 11 weeks what have the BEC
done, fuck all. So why not pick a job
off the list, give me a ring and come down and do it.
Dany Bradshaw – Hut
Engineer.
A Brief History Of Goughs Caves, Cheddar
by Dave Irwin
The history of Gough’s Old and New Caves is a story of two
caves that were destined to become among the best known public show-caves in
the country; the earlier of which is now closed to the public. The caving world has long appreciated that
these are part of the same cave system in geomorphological sense, but to the
public the two separate sites in print, at least, was assumed to be the same
cave that has been progressively extended leading to confused reports in the
past. This has been based on
contemporary information, full details of which have bee given in separate
papers by the author published in the U.B.S. Proceedings (Irwin, 1986a, 1986b).
The caves at the lower end of Cheddar Gorge lie in a region
that was known to 19th century inhabitants of Cheddar as Rock-End. Another interesting name that has emerged is
the point we know today as Black Rock was known in 1805 as Stags Cross. Rock-End is the area from what is now the car
parks in the Coopers Hole area to the bottom of the Gorge by Birchs Bridge. There were several paper and grist mills in
the area utilising the water from the resurgence; contemporary maps show that
there were about 10 limekilns in the
Road
no more than single roomed cottages, some built against the walls of the
cliffs. In these hovels they eat, bred
and slept. A hole in the roof acted as a
chimney which appears to have rarely worked and must have filled the premises
with smoke when the wind was blowing in the wrong direction. To scrape a living the men worked as
agricultural labourers or in the quarries and mines. The women made a few extra pennies by acting
as guides to the caves and by selling spar to the visitor. There are numerous accounts of the trouble
caused by these unfortunate inhabitants, many of which would not take No for
an answer greatly irritating the visitors. Guide books of the 1840s warned visitors of the problems likely to be
met when they visited
to the local newspapers complaining that no one could visit the Cliffs in
peace.
The earliest reference to cave guides appears in the 1780s
and the commonly visited site was Long Hole. Remember at this time and up to 1933 the scree slope from the Slitter
which lies to the west of the cave entrances, spilled out to the modern road
edge thus making the ascent to Long Hole a relatively easy climb. In the early 19th century steps were cut into
the soil near the top of the slope to further ease the climb. An interesting sketch (1816) by the Reverend
John Skinner, of Camerton, of the Slitter clearly shows the entrance to the
Long Hole and Gough’s
The less fortunate individuals and families were forced to
inhabit the caves. They boarded up the
entrances to protect themselves from the weather and were able to eek out an
existence by selling spar and potatoe stone. One such site was Goughs
woman and her son who lived in the cave between c.1810 and c.1839. In 1839 the son is reported to have married
and moved into a cottage built against the cliff wall outside the cave
entrance. A newspaper reports says that
he died in January 1877. The identity of
this man has yetv to be investigated but when this is done it should clarify
the Jack and Nancy legend. Was the son
Jack Beauchamp (possible Beecham) or, as we shall se later, John Weeks?
Phelps (1836) describes the caves that were known at the
time. Briefly these are long Hole,
Sayes Hole, Goughs Old and
after a family by that name who once lived in the cave) was referenced on maps
that are stored at Longleat House. Both
Coopers Hole and Goughs
closed by wooden frames and used for long periods as cart sheds (c.1872). It is most unlikely that either were long
used for habitation as both were, and still are, subject to regular winter
flooding. During the 19th century
Goughs New Cave was known as Sand Hole, Sayes hole was called The Hall or
Cheddar Hall; the earliest record of this name was noted by John Strachey of
Ston Easton c.1736.
To make matters clear the names of Gough’s Caves shall be
used as we know them today. Goughs Old
Cave needs no explanation but Goughs Cave (that which is now open to the
public) was originally known as Goughs New Cave between the date of discovery
and about 1910; by then the Old Cave appears to have been closed for public
viewing.
Visitors to Cheddar had the opportunity to view several
caves in the neighbourhood from as early as the 17th century. This situation continued until George Cox
(1800-1868) discovered Coxs Cave in 1837. For the next year he developed the inside of the cave and opened it to
the public in 1838. At the same time
George developed the
(George’s father) in 1823 as lease-hold property, then known Harris’ Mill changing
its name to Cox’s Mill when the ownership changed. Most of the land at Cheddar at this time was
owned by the Longleat Estates and thus most properties were 1easehold. The tithes (or rates) were paid annually to
the Marquis of Bath. However, following
the discovery and development of Cox’s Cave, George Cox created the pleasure
gardens making the site an attractive place for the mid-19th century
visitors. The impact of the expansion of
the railways had yet to make its mark felt but suffice to say by this time that
Cheddar was a well known and popular place to visit.
Back to the Gough’s
exists on picture postcard (Page 8). It
is a copy photograph of an original taken in 1860 and was probably placed on
sale by Charles Collard of Cheddar about 1905. From this photograph we can clearly see the entrance to Gough’s
and above the entrance is a board that could be a signboard. The photograph has been closely inspected by
Chris Howes but he cannot determine what is written on it. The photograph also suggests that the cave
informally operated as a show cave at least by 1860. Though the contemporary guide-books mention Coxs
cave (then known as Stalactite Cavern) none mention the existence of a second
show cave until 1869. For example,
Stevens in his A Guide to Cheddar and Neighbourhood (1869) makes no mention of
a show cave other than Cox’s Cave; remember his material probably would have
been collected during the previous year. However, in 1869 a book The Tourists guide to Cheddar Cliffs published
by E. Green of Wells confirms that a second cave was open for public
viewing. The cave was called The Great
Stalactite Cavern. The fact that a
second cave was open to the public is independently confirmed by Eric Hensler’s
paternal grandfather, a certain Robert Russell Green. Green visited Cheddar in 1869 and recorded in
his diary
There are tow chief ones, one kept by one Weekes certainly the
larger of the two but not so beautiful as those by Mr. Cox
(Hensler,
1968). So we have definite proof that
Gough’s
1869. The existence of John Weeks (as
spelt in the tithe records) has been confirmed by the tithe records at Longleat
House. He is recorded as a leaseholder of
the land in front of the cliff where the modern cave offices and restaurant
have been built. The land contained a
hut, garden and cavern. Now assuming
Jack and Nancy existed thy could have lived in the hut on Weeks land and
managed the cave for Weeks. Weeks
could also have taken control of the land from Jack and Nancy and operated the
cave for himself. The man who was born
in Goughs
1877. Who was he? Weeks could have also been the son of the
woman who lived in the cave. Research
continues into this fascinating subject. Some conclusions have been drawn but it is too soon to carry the subject
sny further until some more checks have been made.
Anther early record of the Great Stalactite Cavern is an entry
in the diary of the Reverend KiIvert, the great 19th century traveller. He visited Gough’s
in 1873 but was not impressed. He
describes the place as being wet and damp, full of slippery rocks ready to hurl
one into the Bottomless Pit. The man who
guided them through the cave was white haired, deaf and had a bandaged jaw –
obviously suffering from toothache!
Richard Cox Gough,
born in
in 1827, moved to Cheddar about 1866; this is two years earlier than previously
thought. It is said that to make ends
meet he worked in the mines and quarries higher up the gorge. His mother,
the sister of George Cox. She had
married James Gough and presumably after the death of her husband moved back to
Cheddar in her retirement. Richard
Gough, and his family 1ived with his mother and eventually came into possession
of the house after her death in 1871. What was Goughs occupation between 1871 and 1877? What is certain is that he was in control of
Goughs
still unknown. By this time he was a man
of moderate means for he entertained the villagers to a sumptuous meal in June
1877 and during the following month he entertained the Good Templars of
Westbury and Cheddar to a picnic and in the evening showed them round
the
Great stalactite Cavern. He now
operated a show cave that was constantly being, and poorly, compared with Coxs
cave, now operated by his cousins after the death of their father in 1868. Gough realised that he needed to do something
pretty damn quick to combat the competition of he was to make a successful
commercial venture from the cave. Goughs
of the rift passage beyond the entrance chamber. At the top of the rift he noticed that water
pouring from the boulder and stalagmite choke in wet weather and so he employed
men to remove the debris and in November 1877 he was rewarded by the discovery
of a large chamber which he eventually called The Convert Chamber. His advertising handbills of 1879 stated
that he had re-named the cave as The New Great Stalactite Cavern. The new chamber was quickly made ready for
public viewing and admission to the cave was now 1 shilling and 6 pence, or for
more than one person 1 shilling each. Cox’s Cave was even more expensive at 3 shillings a visitor.
Photograph of Jack
and Nancy Beauchamp said to be taken in 1860.
Notice Goughs old Cave entrance (upper centre)
(from an old postcard c.1905)
The railway came to Cheddar in 1869, and with cheap
excursion tickets during the summer months, the many visitors making Cheddar a
popular tourist spot. Works outings
particularly from
occurrences and the caves were among the highlights in addition to
In addition to the showing of the cave, Gough organised
several events in the cave during the off-peak season. In September 1877 the Welford Family gave a
hand-bell concert in the cave and in 1881 E.R. Sleator, a photographer an
exhibition of his work on local views in the Concert Chamber. For this occasion the cave was decorated with
Chinese Lanterns and additional lighting was provided by oxy-hydrogen lights. The photographs were described as being very
realistic.
Gough installed gas lighting in the cave in April 1883. The gas was obtained from petroleum by the
use of a special apparatus. The
conversion apparatus was installed in the entrance chamber and for this action
Gough was hauled before the Axbridge Magistrates because he did not possess the
necessary licence to store petroleum and because the apparatus was a potential
danger to the public. Gough claimed that
he had been advised that a licence was not necessary for the quantity that he
was storing but he was nevertheless fined 10 shillings and the petroleum
confiscated. He was warned that if he
did not place the apparatus in a safe location he would not be granted a
further licence. Gough asked that if he
complied the Police requirements would he get his petroleum back? Gough said I have committed no crime. It is like taking the bread out of a mans
mouth to take the petroleum away. Colonel Luttrell (chairman of the Magistrates Bench) replied You would
have been fined much more heavily if the petroleum was not forfeited and the
Bench will therefore reckon that your fine your petroleum is forfeited. The newspaper report continued ” … The
defendant said he would like the Magistrates to visit the cave, and Col.
Luttrell replied that he should be afraid to do so under the present
circumstances. (Weston-super-Mare
Gazette, 1883, 2nd May).
Goughs next breakthrough came in 1887 when he discovered
the Cathedral Chamber and the Queens Jewel Chamber at the end of the
cave. The route to these chambers was
already open and only required crawling through to find them. The original route is still there to
see. To make assess easy for the public,
Gough excavated at the top of the Concert Chamber and cleared a passage below
the two chambers. He opened them to the
public in 1888 hence they became known in the advertisements of the day, as the
1888 Chambers. The first newspaper
account of the new chambers appeared in the Weston-super-Mare Mercury (26th May
1888) which said
“Through this passage
(the excavated one) the members were now conducted and emerged in what might be
termed two grottoes of stalactites
..these were well illuminated and the beauty
of the effect difficult to describe. In
one place a small natural fountain played in the centre of stalactites and
stalagmites.”
Gough employed his sons to act as guides and William Gough
recalls in a letter to Thorneycroft (1949)
before I was 12 [c.1883] I was
able to conduct parties through the caves as well as the next.,” It is reported that augment the formations in
the cave Gough purchased cart-loads of stalagmite from Loxton Cave which had
been open to the public for a short time to the public in the 1860s. In addition to the added formations Gough
used various devices to enhance the cave such as fountains in the chamber and
reflected pools in the entrance chamber.
The last discovery was St. Valentine’s Chamber – a side
grotto at the entrance to the Concert Chamber (February, 1869). The existence of the chamber was probably not
unknown to Gough but to add to the ‘latest important discovery’ the grotto was
opened up sufficiently to enable the public to peer into it. This grotto seems to have been enhanced with
foreign stalagmites!
Competition between the Cox’s and Gough rose to unprecedented
levels. The cave proprietors made
exaggerated claims about the merits of their respective caves for by now
Gough’s Cave was obviously biting into the takings at Coxs Cave, the
proprietors of which had a monopoly until 1877. Even then Gough probably made little impact on Coxs Cave but by the mid
1880s the situation was changing. Between 1877 and 1887 Gough had 20,000 visitors to the cave. Edward Cox tried desperately to play down the
importance of the discovery of the Concert Chamber in Gough’s Cave typified by
the following advertisement:
Cox’s Stalactite
Cavern.
Visited by H.R.H. THE
PRINCE OF
NOTICE – There is no truth
in the announcement of the discovery of a new great cave in 1877. It is one of the original
shown to the public before Coxs Stalactite Cavern was accidentally discovered
1837-38. Both caverns were described in
1868 by Mr. Nicholls in “Pleasant Trips out of
Edward Cox, the then proprietor, was not being wholly
truthful as Nicholls’ book only mentions Cox’s Cave and Long Hole! The outburst from Richard Gough is not
unexpected:
VISITED
BY ROYALTY-
Visitors
Read this before Seeing Caves.
GOUGH’S
CAVES of 1877-1888-1889,
are
the most wonderful .. ,
Visited
by H,R.H. the Prince of
and the Colonials
..CAUTION: Station Drivers
and others who are interested in other Caves are not my Colleagues. I employ no “Touts.” I received a letter from the EARL OF
KIMBERLEY, dated June 9th, 1888, contradictory of a Statement posted at another
Cave. H.R,H. the Prince of Wales has not
visited Cheddar since a youth, with his tutor ..
Goughs Entrance
(c.1927 showing scree slope from slitter. (Courtesy of
Neither of the proprietors were being honest with the
public. Touts were employed and the
drivers received a back-hander from the respective proprietors. This technique continued well into the 20th
century. In fact fighting between the
drivers was a regular event if local memories are to be believed!
To develop the site still further Gough and his wife,
Frances, opened a formal tea garden outside their house and so were now in
competition with the
Gough made no further discoveries at the
Sand Hole, the large choked entrance some 40 metres east of the
entrance. Why he had not attempted to
excavate the site before is unknown but it has been suggested that a woman
living in the adjacent cottage had prevented him doing so. The site had long been a cart shed and
according to Balch had been used as a gambling den. Early 19th century initia1s and dates have
been recorded scratched in tufaceous stalagmite close to the entrance. The cave was partially choked but
sufficiently clear so that the curious could penetrate at least 150ft. into the
cave. In January 1892 Gough had
excavated at the end choke and broke into what is now known as The Fonts. Gough cleared the passage and installed gas
lighting by November 1892. This section
of the cave he opened to the public as Goughs
because of the beautiful scalloping that exists there particularly in the two
large rifts. In fact he had removed so
much material (much of it if archaeological importance) that he organised a
concert on the 21st, November to which over 600 people attended. The cave had by now been re-named and called
Gough’s
concert. The Weston-super-Mare Mercury,
for example wrote:
NOVEL CONCERT
The
numerous audience was delighted with the cave and its decorations, which were
profuse and tasteful and the geni of the cavern came in for numerous and
well-deserved compliments for the manner in which the novel concert hall was
illuminated consisting of fairy lamps, Chinese lanterns, gas and candles, the
whole interlaced with hundreds of bannerettes. The devices were few but good, meeting the eye on coming up the cliffs
was the ‘Setting Sun” at an elevation of 100 or 200 feet over the
entrance. In the cave, at a height of
about 60 feet over the placid water, was the “New Moon” and at the
cave entrance to the left was the device “Praise God” illuminated in
blue, red and pink … ”
Gough was to make two further major discoveries. In April 1893 he discovered the passage up to
and just beyond
broke through to the then terminal chambers. Gough cleared the passage
space of time and on 29th July 1893 an advertisement in the Weston-super-Mare Gazette
read:
NEW DISCOVERY- The
extensive and beautiful cave, several hundred yards long was discovered by Mr.
Gough on April 12th 1893 and now shown to the public at a moderate charge.
But Gough’s crowning glory came in November 1898 when he and
his sons; after sporadic digging; broke up through the end choke into
Chambers with their beautiful formations. At the time there was nothing in the country that could compare with the
Cheddar discoveries. Gough obviously
knew this. The cave was ready for public
viewing in May 1899 and, novel for the time, this section was illuminated by
electricity. The old gas lighting was
gradually replaced with electricity over the next few years and for many years,
certainly up to the outbreak of the 1st. World War the cave was frequently
advertised as being illuminated by this means. In fact the method of lighting brough about another advertising slant by
the cave proprietors. Cox claimed that
his carbide lighting was more brilliant than electricity! But this did little for Cox’s Cave. The press
was ecstatic with the newly discovered cave and went over the top in their
descriptions of it. A correspondent in a
Clevedon paper wrote (1899)
When I visited the scenes, some five years
ago, this particular cave was esteemed of no importance, another cave, Cox’s
Cave, so called, was the popular one. Now all is changed, it is simply a case of transformation.
Among the important visitors to Gough’s
included Balch, Martel, Bamforth, Puttrell, in 1904, and Winston Churchill in
1911!
Following the discovery of the new cave, Gough commenced
re-organising the approach to the caves. The old cave notices were removed and an arched gateway built by the
edge of the road. Inside the perimeter
of the ground he erected several rustic buildings housing the offices and
museum. Entrance to the cave was by a
downward flight of steps to the left of the entrance archway. Winter flooding of the cave, which still
plagues the modern cave management, was hoped to be overcome by excavating
further into the infilled sand and gravels in the Vestibule. In 1903 during this clearing operation the
Gough brothers accidentally discovered the skeleton of Cheddar Man in the area
now known as Skeleton Pit into which the water was hoped to drain. This discovery made Goughs cave a household
name. Handbills, picture postcards
(which had now become exceedingly popular with the public) all mentioned or
showed photographs of the skull and bones. Eminent archaeologists studied the skeleton and estimated its age
between 40,000 and 80,000 years. Today,
researchers have suggested, after radio carbon dating, that it is about 91,000
years old.
Approach to Goughs
caves c.1927. (Note change of cave
name). (Courtesy of
Minor discoveries were made in 1908 when Aladdin’s Grotto
was opened and in 1935, after an archaeological dig at Pixie Forest a couple of
hundred feet of low passage was discovered. This was claimed to be a major discovery by the then manager, Thomas
gill, and he announced that a circular route to
idea not was not to materialise for another thirty odd years.
Richard Gough died in February 1902 at the age of 75
years. The well known photograph of him
was taken some eight years earlier by Stanley Chapman of Dawlish. Chapman had long been a friend of the family
and produced the earliest interior photographs of Goughs
about 1890. At this time the interior
photographs of the caves were becoming available to the public. The humble picture postcard did not come
into use until about 1902. The cave
proprietors soon realised the importance of the picture postcard as they formed
a very cheap form of advertising quite apart from the increased revenue the
sales would bring to their pockets. Both
national and local publishers were employed to produce the cards but it is to
the local photographers we look for the more interesting speleological
photographs.
The major part of the collection at the Cheddar Caves Museum
was discovered in March 1911 when the Gough brothers were excavating gravel to
surface a car-park between the cave entrance and the river rising. In doing so they unearthed many human bones
and pieces of pottery half-way up the Slitter, just below Long Hole. In addition they found some 200 coins
including 1 gold example. The
archaeological papers merely record that bones and coins were found at Goughs
Cave in 1911. But the newspapers and the
local photographer, Charles Henry Collard come to the historians rescue. So far 5 different photographs have been
discovered and recorded. Some are
general scenes of the dig showing Herbert Balch, William and Arthur Gough
inspecting the site, and another being a photograph of the finds layed out for
display.
The Gough lease ran out c.1927 and the property returned to
the Longleat Estates who have been operating the site ever since. The first change enacted by the new
management was to re-name the cave
unsuccessful Goughs Cave had stuck in the public memory. Several marked changes were made in 1934 when
the new office and restaurant complex was built. Largely of novel design at the time the
designer J.A. Gellicoe came in for much praise. The restaurant was opened on the 23rd. June 1934 with a V.I.P, dinner
and it was said that there were more Rolls-Royce cars present than any other
make!
Sympathetic management at
enabled cavers virtually free access to the caves for further study and this
has resulted in the discovery of the magnificent
including two large chambers. At long
last Gough’s Cave is breaking out into a major cave system. What the future will bring is a matter for
speculation – but no doubt it will not be disappointing.
Selected reading matter:
Balch., H.E. 1927 The Caves of
Mendip.
Folk Press [The
Folk Series No.26]
[Green, E.] 1935 Mendip –
Cheddar, its gorge and caves. Wells: Clare, 1st. Ed.
Hensler, E. 1869 The
tourist’s guide to Cheddar Cliffs. Wells: Green
Irwin, D.J. 1968
“Ninety-nine years ago”, WCC Jnl 10(118)102
1986a The
exploration of Gough’s Cave and its development as a show cave.
Proc. Univ.
Bristol Spelaeol. Society 17(2) for 1985, 95-104
1986b
Gough’s
North, C. 1968
Newsletter, Aug. 1968. Axbridge Caving
Group & Archaeol.
Phelps, w. 1836 The History
and antiques of Somersetshire, Vol.1, part 2.
Stevens, N.E. 1869 A Guide to
Cheddar and the neighbourhood. Cheddar:
Bryne
Thorneycroft, L.R. 1949 The
story of Cheddar its gorge, caves and ancient history.
Barnicotts.
France
1983
The following article has been
published in the Axbridge Journal recently but I make no apologies for
publishing it here even though the trips described were done four years
ago. My only apology is that I have been
unable to copy the main survey and include it with this BB. Unfortunately it is too complex to be worth
reducing, I suggest that anyone going to the Dent-deCrolles contacts Paul
Hodgson and copies the survey. (Ed)
After much deliberation and reminders from friends over
several years, I have finally finished this trip report of our visit to the
Dent-de-Crol~es and the cave systems of the Trou-deGlaz.
We had planned this trip over several months and had decided
on transport arrangements, the route, how much food, camping kit and the tackle
required. The longest part of the
preparations was obtaining BCRA Insurance Cover, I recall it having something
to do with the diversity of Caving groups which we individually belonged to.
Suddenly the day of departure arrived and we had to make our
final preparations during that day. An
old
stuffed all this kit and five people into it and set off for the late ferry
from
turns to drive the van to get used to it.
Customs passed, we found ourselves travelling through the
night towards
John, who was driving, because the van had started running on three
cylinders. With the
removal of the engine cover inside the van. So whilst still moving I took it off and woke everyone else up. With the aid of a caving lamp we found the
problem one of the spark plugs had unscrewed itself and was dangling by the
HT lead. We tried re-fitting it while
still travelling and didn’t get very far.
After a short break we were back asleep again while John
drove on through
during rush hour but managed not to get into any trouble. We continued to the
kip, a late breakfast and then made our way to one of the boulder groups in the
“bouldering”.
An uneventful journey followed, we travelled along the
Autoroutes to the outskirts of
where camp was set up in a motorway service picnic area. Early next morning we made our way through
up to the ‘
du cog’, which is the closest point by road to the Dent-de-Crolles. The views across the valley to the
The Dent-de-Crolles is part of the Massif de la Grande
Chartreuse which is an elongated mountain block some 45 miles long by 15 miles
wide and is located between
south and
in the north. It is flanked by the
to the east and south, while the D520 and N6 form the western boundary from
to
found to the south-west about five miles beyond the
valley. To the east the ground rises sharply to the Crests of the Massif
d’Allevard, a part of the French Alps.
Provisions were picked up in St Pierre de Chartreuse and a
suitable camp site located in St Hughs de Chartreuse, a few miles up the
valley. Previous club trips have used a
variety of camp sites, especially at perquelin which gives easy access to the
Guiers Mort but a long drive or trek to get to the Trou-de-Glaz and P40.
DENT DU CROLLES
St Pierre de Chartreuse
MASSIF DE LA GRANDE CHARTREUSE
TROU-DE-GLAZ – ANNETTE BOUCHACOURTE GROTTO
Our first trip was a ‘pull through’ trip from the
Trou-deGlaz to the Grotte Annette Bouchacourte. The van was taken to the Col-du-Cog where we
got partially changed before setting off on a well defined track, through the
woods, which shortly disappeared leaving us to force a way through to reach the
grassland beyond. We climbed up the
steep slope to the track at the foot of the cliff faces and followed this to
the Trou-du-Glaz where we found a snow drift in the entrance and a good cold
draught. Once kitted up we descended the
large gently descending phreatic entrance tube to a short maze. A well marked right hand turn leads abruptly
to the first “Lantern Pitch” (11 m). This was already rigged with ‘bluewater’ so we abseiled down on it.
The second pitch (12 m) follows immediately after, again
rigged, and after a short crawl the third pitch (13 m) is reached. Here we met a party from Hadies Caving Club (
gallery, although wide it was not very tall and the fossilized stal in the roof
made it necessary to stoop. The fourth
“Lantern Pitch” (12 m) was reached and quickly descended.
The large dry passage which we were now in was suddenly
broken by a shaft which replaced the floor. A short climb into an oxbow on the right took us to a traverse past the
“P36″ shaft and back into the continuation of the passage via an eye
hole. The passage continued only to be
broken by another hole in the floor, this time by ”
(52 m). An exposed traverse with a bold
step was negotiated on the left. The
passage continued. We noted the Cairn
which marked the start of the meanders to “Pendulum Pitch” which we
would use for our through trip to the Guiers Mort.
The next shaft to replace the floor was “P60”, the
traverse on this was larger and on a sloping muddy ledge, fortunately there
were plenty of handholds. Just up a side
gallery was “Labour Shaft” (63 m) which was about 10 m diameter and
well watered by a small stream from a considerable distance above.
The main gallery was followed to “Fernand Shaft”
(25 m) which is an easy broken pitch. A
short way along we found ourselves traversing along an earthen ledge above a
deep rift, plenty of handholds but tricky in places when carrying tackle. A narrow sporting rift followed and ended in
a 20m drop which was free climbable, although we abseiled/climbed using the
fixed rope at the top of the pitch. At
the bottom were two pots, one was blind, and the other leads to “Gallery
43” (4 m wide, 2-3 m high) a steadily ascending ‘railway tunnel’.
“Traverse Shaft” is next. This is bypassed by a crawl along a ledge on
the left with a stretch to distant handholds. The passage is followed to another
hole in the floor, “Climbers Shaft”. An exposed traverse along the left hand wall leads to a fallen slab
across the shaft. Moving across the slab
a 6 m climb on the right wall, with few hand and foot holds, leads to the
passage continuation. At the next fork
in the route we turned left and the following two forks the right hand turn was
taken, this brought us to the head of “Corog Shaft” (30 m). This was a pleasant pitch of 10 m to a ledge
and 20 m free.
TRAVERSE ROUND
TRAVERSE ROUND P60
The passage continues, with various side galleries, through
five boulder ruckles. The first of which
is the “Cistern”. This is a
well concealed hole in the ruckle and the only way on. The other four ruckles present no real
problems, the passage finally leads to a loose spiral stone chute leading to a
self blocking squeeze – “The Spiral Staircase”. Route finding was made easier by following
orange marker tape and the remains of some cotton thread (first noticed on
“Fernand Shaft”). The other side
of the squeeze we ascended more loose stones, which were kept back by motorway
crash barriers, to exit in the Annette Bouchacourte Grotto. The
valley is 1400 m below, most of which appears vertical. The view from the cave, exit is
impressive. The
valley below and the snow covered French Alps rising the other side.
After de-tackling we trekked along the sometimes
non-existent path around the Dont du Crolles and eventually back to the van at
the Col du Cog. Total time underground
was somewhere in the region of 8 hours.
GOUFFRE P40 TO TROU DU GLAZ
We drove the van to the Col du Cog and parked, this time
lower down to allow easy access to the usual approach to the steep ascending
grass slope to the track along the cliff base. By the time we had got the tackle bags sorted it was about 07-30
hrs. We followed the same route to the
Trou du Glaz as before, and concealed our change of clothes in the
entrance. The path continues upwards, up
a couple of chimneys and a few scrambles to the plateau. By following the red painted arrows we
arrived at the summit, took a few photos and then searched for the entrance of
P40. By following the valley down from
the summit the entrance was easily found just beyond the first trees.
Pete and I melted snow for the carbides, got changed and
rigged the entrance shaft whilst Tony, John and Steve searched for the Gouffre
Therese (without much success). We
descended the large fluted shaft (40m) and searched for the way on, a narrow
blasted slot. We eventually found it at
the top of the rubble slope and not as the description said, the bottom.
A short crawl leads to “Kid Shaft” (8 m) which we
free climbed down into “York Gallery”. This is a mud floored, wide bedding plane
with several local collapses. In places
it was possible to walk, otherwise we had to stoop and crawl. At the end a ‘no hold’ 30 m climb leads into
a short meander to a ledge around a 3 m diameter shaft. Directly after, a slippery slope, with a
fixed hand-line, leads abruptly to the head of the “Three Sisters
Pitch” (45 m). The rope is belayed
to a buttress to give a free descent of 10 m to a ledge, then 10 m to another
ledge. Here we met the stream and since
little water was flowing we continued to the floor rather than traverse the
ledge and rebelay to descent one of the other dry shafts which met at the
bottom.
Two ways on were found, one following the stream, and the
other through a partially blocked bedding plane into a meander. Taking the latter we soon found ourselves
traversing a deep rift at a high level. The stream dropped rapidly away below and the meander gained a floor at
an intermittent level. The meanders
continued and we decided that the description we were following was inadequate
so as a precaution we left the odd pitch rigged as we continued until we could
verify where we were. We then had to go
back and pull the rope through.
A boulder blockage was next, some went over; some went under
to reach a chamber – “Orbitalina Shaft”. The meanders continued to a
6m shaft and beyond to two short slippery drops and finally a pitch. John went down and declared it was
“Balcony Pitch” (40m). The
first part of the pitch is descended in three stages, 10m to a ledge, a further
10m to a narrow ledge which has to be traversed for 6-7 m to a re-belay point
for the final pleasant 20 m descent to a wide ledge. The stream cascades down a gully at the side
of ledge into the next shaft. The water
is avoided by traversing along the ledge and up an awkward 5 m climb to
“The Balcony” a 1 m x 1.5 m ledge. From here we could see the passage by which Chevalier first approached
“Balcony Pitch”. It is some
7-10 m lower and in the opposite side of the rift. The pitch is an easy 25 m drop to a chamber
from which a short piece of rift passage is followed to “Shower Bath
Pitch” (30 m). The stream can be
avoided for part of the descent, but you get drenched just the same. Pete tried a bit of aerial bombardment on his
way down dislodging a few large rocks.
Two passages exit from the bottom of the pitch and we
followed the lower – they both met at a junction of five further along. After a scout along the passages we took the
most obvious route and noted that we passed black painted numbers in descending
order. The route involved a lot of
stooping and there were a large number of side passages which were not marked
on the survey.
CLIMBERS SHAFT P40
GROTTE ANNETTE
BOUCHACOURTE
ENTRANCE SHAFT P40
TRAVERSE THROUGH THE
EYELET, AROUND P36
ARROW POINTS TO TROY
GROTTE DE GOURNIER
MAIN FOSSIL GALLERY
Eventually we carne to the turn to the “Lantern
Pitches” and familiar ground. Back
through the maze and into the main gallery. Just as we approached the exit a large ice stalactite tried,
unsuccessfully, to impale itself in Pete, missing him by a mere five feet.
We changed in the late evening warmth and made our way down
to the van and back to the camp site. This trip, although enjoyable, was marred by the inadequacies of the
description which we had obtained and as a consequence our time underground was
much longer than it should have been.
GROTTE AU BOURNILLON
The next day was a day of rest. The following morning we were up early and on
our way through
and up into the Vercors. Eventually we
started to descend the Bourne Gorge, the road stayed about halfway between the
floor and the top of the cliffs. Just
after the turning to the
we turned down a narrow steeply descending road which led down to the
hydro-electric power station at the bottom. The descent was in the order of 700 ft. After changing in a small car park, we followed a footpath up to, and
around, the Bournillon Cirque, ducking under the water feed pipe for the
hydro-electric station. The cave
entrance, one of the largest in
hidden in a corner of the Cirque. The last bend in the path, when you are at
last able to see the cave, is practically inside the entrance.
We ascended a large scree slope into a large fossil passage,
at one side of the main entrance, and followed it until it degenerated, from
about 100 feet diameter with boulder infill, to a boulder ruckle. Dropping through the boulders we entered a
passage which gradually assumed large bedding plane characteristics. The end of the bedding plane would appear
prone to flooding judging by the black deposits over everything. A short climb through boulders brought us
into the main passage. Turning upstream
took us to a large black sump pool. The
way out was to follow the main gallery and the stream. The passage became vast and had a few
attractive formations, the largest of which was the ”
the swarms of midges and mosquitoes etc. which were crawling up your nose and
other places.
The final section involves some relatively easy traverses
around some deep pools before reaching the large entrance lake. This is crossed at its narrowest point by a
fixed bridge. Time taken: about 2 1/2
hours. After changing we drove back up
the narrow road and up to the
car park which is in the ‘Cirque de Chorancle’ where a number of cave exits may
be found. We dried our kit in the sun
and had lunch, then went to the show cave to ask permission to descent the
‘Grotte de Gournier’, this was given.
GROTTE DE GOURNIER
The Grotte de Gournier is a resurgence cave and from it
issues the larger of the two permanent streams in the Cirque. Wearing only swimming trunks and boots we set
off from the car park and made our way to the entrance, picking up a large
crowd of inquisitive tourists.
The entrance arch leads to a large clear lake between 60 and
75 m long, 15 m wide and about 10 m deep and COLD. After swimming around the left hand wall of
the lake for about 50 m we climbed onto a small ledge where John and Tony
climbed up 8 m to another ledge which they traversed along to the top of a huge
gour. We swam to the next ledge and
climbed up the ladder which had been lowered over the gour. NOTE: If water is flowing over this gour then
the cave is flooded.
We decided to follow the main gallery as far as we could,
and not to bother with the stream access points, then return taking
photographs. The fossil gallery starts
as a ‘railway tunnel’ about 10 m wide with a large gour bank starting on the
left and eventually dropping over a lip into what may be the lake
continuation. A little way on the
passage takes on enormous dimensions, the roof being over 20 m high and the
walls in excess of 15 m apart. The floor
was nearly always of boulders, some enormous – the size of bungalows – some
distance further in we came across another well decorated section where a
series of massive gours stretched across the passage, beyond this the passage
size increased and we found ourselves in a chamber strewn with huge stalagmites
on flowstone covered boulders. An oxbow
on the left contained some very good formations. Further on, something like 2 km in, we
reached a huge chamber into which we descended and then climbed up a steep
boulder slope the other side to find ourselves at roof level with the main
gallery choked off. A hands and knees
bedding plane crawl on the right brought us to another parallel (!) passage
which shortly gained the same stature as the previous one.
GROTTE DE GOURNIER
MAIN FOSSIL GALLERY
GROTTE DE GOURNIER
MAIN FOSSIL GALLERY
GROTTE DE GOURNIER
MAIN FOSSIL GALLERY
GROTTE DE GOURNIER
MAIN FOSSIL GALLERY
More gours were found when a trickle entered the passage
from an aven and the number and quality of the formations increased. Large boulder heaps now had to be crossed and
some of these brought us near to the roof. A 5 m drop halted all of us but John who somehow managed to climb down
and have a look further on.
The way out was the reverse of the way in, but I stopped
frequently to take photographs, in fact I could quite happily have taken many
more. This gave time for the other
members of the party to explore side passages and to find two of the four ways
down into the active streamway. The trip
took about 4 hours and was very enjoyable.
TROU DE GLAZ TO GUIERS MORT
Our next trip was the through trip from the Trou de Glaz to
the Guiers Mort. Tony and John went into
the Guiers Mort entrance and traced the way back to the bottom of
“Chevalier II” the day prior to the through trip, as we had no wish
to spend a long time in the labyrinth.
We drove up to the Col de Coq again and unloaded all the
kit, including Tony’s, who then took the van to a car park in the
entrance later.
We followed known territory descending all four
“Lantern” pitches and the traverses around “P36″ and ”
we found the cairn marking the meanders to “Pendulum Pitch”. We descended and found that although the
passage was not too constricting the shelving made it difficult to haul the
tackle bags after us.
After 50 m the passage came abruptly to a shaft,
“Pendulum Pitch” (60m). There
are two excellent bolts above a small hole in the floor which give a free 60m
descent in the middle of the shaft. At
the bottom the meanders continue for about 220 m which took us 45 minutes to
negotiate. At the end was “Petzl
Shaft” (20m) which was free. A few
meters on, at the bottom, was “Trap Shaft” (15m). The abseil was slightly awkward and made
worse by a trickle from above. By
halting part way down we were able to pendulum over to “Dubost Halt”
instead of climbing from the bottom. This is a small platform, just big enough for all five of us,
overlooking “Chevalier Shaft I” (35m).
The descent was in a large chamber and it-was noted that
there were some rock flakes which were very thin and intricate. We landed on a jagged floor with a huge hole
in it – “Chevalier II” (20 m). On our right, looking down the second shaft, we saw a traverse guarded
by a heavy duty handline and we think that this is the connection with the
“Metro”.
We climbed down 3 m to a ledge in Chevalier II before
abseiling. At the bottom we found Tony
and John’s marker placed there the day before. A short traverse in a rift leads to a sandy crawl to the top end of the
Guiers Mort main passage. On the right
the stream sumps to the left, we followed the large abandoned streamway
crossing numerous deep water filled potholes. The largest of which being called the “Swimming pool”. Using the fixed handline and a lot of
stretching this was passed without getting too wet.
The stream appears shortly after and the gradient
steepens. We came to the remains of a
French ladder hanging. Tony and John
free climbed and dropped our ladder down – it was short. Eventually got a start on the ladder and
climbed up into the stalagmite traverse which is a wide bedding plane running
on top of the vadose stream canyon and is covered in formations.
A rift begins to develop in places – “Marmite
Gallery” – and we maintained our level in traversing along it. A traverse over a pot requires delicate
footwork, fortunately there was a fixed handline.
The passage continues into “Bivouac Gallery” and
the main streamway is gained from a wide balcony via a short climb. Another broken ladder hanging down from
“Syphon Gallery”. Again Tony
and John free climbed and hung our ladder down. A short way along we found yet another broken ladder hanging in a recess
and we used our ladder on this occasion more as a handline to gain “Syphon
Gallery I”.
Following the obvious way we came to an awkward 2.5 m drop
to re-join the river. The streamway can
be followed to a long low duct – ”
high level into a tunnel ending at a platform next to the “Elizabeth
Cascade Waterfall” (6 m). After
abseiling down we followed the stream until it disappeared under boulders while
we went over into the ”
m we ascended (10 m) by ladder into a low roofed tunnel. This marks the start of the labyrinth and is
a series of muddy crawls and crouches. Tony and John picked our way, and we came to the end via the hurricane
which was sufficiently strong to keep our Petzl carbide lights from staying
lit. An 8 m drop into “Climbers
Gallery” follows, a fixed handline aided the descent. This regains the main passage the other side
of the sump. A narrow section connects
with the “Grande Salle”, where a large tree trunk makes the high
level escape route when the sump rises to fill “Climbers
Gallery”. A series of large
chambers lead down to the Guiers Mort entrance which is a 6 m diameter tube
exiting 10 m up a cliff face.
Tony retrieved a bottle of wine from the streamway which he
had placed there on the way up, to join us at the Trou-de-Glaz. This went down a treat.
We then walked down to the van. Trip time about 8 hours.
NOTES:
Since we went to the Trou-de-Glaz quite a lot more passage
has been found and some of the trips described have now become non-preferred
routes.
The through trip from Trou-de-Glaz to the Annette
Bouchacoute Grotte is hardly ever done because a connection has been made with
Grotte Chevalier which cuts out the boulder ruckles on the Annette trip.
The preferred trip from the Trou-de-Glaz to the Guiers Mort
now uses the “Metro” and by-passes about half of the trip described.
If I get any more details I will pass them on to the Editor
for inclusion in a subsequent BB. Our
primary information for these trips came from the following references:-
1. Survey by G. Grosseil
2. LUCC journal Dec. 1966
3. LUCC journal Spring 1969
4. WCC journal Vol. 16 No 183
5. CSS journal Vol. 10 No. 6 1980
Letter via the Editor
Graham Johnson,
Leicester
Hello to all at the B.E.C.
Glad to see (from the B.B.) that youre still an all-action
club. Im pretty isolated up here dont
even know how you faired in the Quest for the Rusty Tankard. I suspect by traditional devious, sly, and
underhand means you regained the trophy. Well done. The reason for this
letter Im off to the Canadian Spelofeast, leaving
to take any messages etc. to the cavers out there – nothing that a fork-lift
truck cant handle. Best of luck.
Yours sincerely,
Bolt.
The Annual Dinner Referendum
Eighteen responses out of how many members? Two hundred odd? Not that good. Folk obviously dont really care about the
Dinner. The Committee decided to consult
the membership about the Dinner to see if any useful comments came out of the
exercise. Rumblings of discontent had
been noticed in the past, particularly since last year, so we made up the
questionnaire just to see what the reaction would be. Since only eighteen replied, the results are
hardly representative but here goes anyway.
I do not intend to set out vast columns of statistics but
rather I have gone though the returns, picking out the various trends and
salient points and adding them to the ideas Ive received just chatting to
people. The comments and conclusion are
not necessarily mine or the Committees.
The basic conclusion noted was overwhelming – the vast
majority of people were not satisfied with the last dinner. This is not due to any particular aspect,
rather the “whole”. It
transpires however that if one or more aspects were better, then the
“whole” would become, or seem to become, more enjoyable. So for example, if we had good entertainment
or riveting speeches then peoples minds would be taken away from an indifferent
meal or a dreary restaurant. People tend
to remember the good times.
a) Taking the Meal first. Most require a
£12-13 maximum. This obviously provides
a constraint to amount, choice and quality so it will have to be up to the
Organiser to get the best value for money as possible. Nobody expects an
amazing spread, just value for money nosh – hot, tasty and quick. Cavers are not rich? A sit down meal is almost unanimous.
b) The Venue. I thought most would probably want to stay on
Mendip but many say they wouldnt mind going much further a field if we get a
good meal, a good atmosphere (which we would generate ourselves) and enough
room to play about. The Caveman is
pretty dreary but we cant please everyone and get all aspects of the Dinner
right and at least its convenient. Sitting 100 or so is a constraint in itself but the organiser this year
will perhaps widen his horizons a little. In any event, if were going to mess around and play about as is
inevitable then we need room, i.e. a Caveman type place or a Village Hall that
doesnt mind getting dented a little.
c) Guests. Nobody seems to have any particularly strong views but most would rather
leave it to the Committee or Organiser with perhaps a hint that its no more
than two from each Mendip Club.
d) Entertainment and Speeches. This naturally provoked much discussion. Discos, Fancy Dress and Bands are certainly
out. The consensus is a play or plays,
say made up of three or four groups of friends of say three or four each,
interspersed with speeches and awards. This would have the effect of eeking out the speeches which invariably
get dreary. There is little doubt that
speeches must be better considered and planned so that they mean something (a
guest speaker? – Sid Perou?) not just a tipsy body standing up and spouting
forth. Plays must not offend. One returnee hinted that a play some time ago
deeply offended some people so they should not be too personal (unless
previously agreed) or slag the
too much. We’re all reasonably
intelligent and can sense when our actions are likely to offend. We dont want to be seen to be louts. Perhaps a play(s) every other year?
e) Wine. Apparently most request it to be ordered separately.
f) Two Dinners. Some have suggested two dinners. One formal sit down affair and one less formal,
fancy dress mad affair. I feel most
reject this. We are one club, despite
the age groups represented, and its the only function in the year where
everyone can get together under one roof. The older members may prefer the formal do, while the younger ones a
disco or fancy dress but this will only serve to divide the club.
g) A few pertinent points made by some people:
1. “Speeches, awards etc. (except guest
speakers) to be made at intervals during the meal.”
2. “Any radical change to the format, will
probably lead to the fall off of older members attending.”
3. “Other clubs (eg …. ) have Xmas Dinner,
Diggers Dinner etc where fancy dress is the theme.”
4. “No smoking (I really suffer).”
5. ” …. last year some of us couldn’t bear
it (a speech) and had a good pee instead.”
6. “Best BEC Dinner, excluding 50th, in recent
years was at Croscombe Village Hall in 1984 because the food was
excellent.”
7. ” re: “wine included”. This means wine on table prior to meal and a
general grabbing of reds by early arrivals leaving unspeakable and virtually
undrinkable whites for those unfortunates who arrive late.”
CONCLUSIONS
I get the impression that the style, format etc. should not
be radically changed. We cannot hope to
suit everyone and in a way the present style has probably endured naturally
over a number of years.
How about?
a) £12-14
(increase from popular £10-12 bracket due to inflation since last year).
b) Mendip
venue, but widen horizons slightly and not necessarily the Caveman. Something a little original within the
obvious constraints.
c) Plan
and restrict the speeches and get a guest speaker (not necessarily to do with
caving) – during meal?
d) Provide
our own entertainment with sketches and plays during the meal?
e) Make
sure the bar doesn’t run out
f) One Dinner only a year – although the
“Diggers” etc. could hold their own additional do if they want.
Mike (Trebor) McDonald.
Mendip Underground
The much awaited but never the less very welcome Mendip
Underground is at long last on the market. Priced at £5.95 (the first edition was £2.95 in 1977) the 212 page guide
is very good value, particularly in view of the improved presentation and
increased number of photographs.
The guide has been extended by a brief description of those
smaller sites of interest to cavers. This makes the book far more comprehensive and greatly increases its value
as a reference work.
The authors, Dave Irwln and Tony Knibbs, have put in a great
deal of effort and should be congratulated on producing an up-to-date and
eminently readable guide. The
introduction has been kept to only eight pages, very desirable when the trend
is towards increasing use of guidebooks to promote personal band wagons.
I have only two minor criticisms of the book. It would be useful if a different type-face
was used for descriptions of side passages, authors notes etc. The surveys are
a little difficult to follow, particularly where complex multi-level systems
are shown. Cavers can buy detailed
surveys of individual caves but I am sure the vast majority would be content
with something only slightly more detailed.
No doubt an army of pedants will unearth a plethora of
typographic and other errors. The only
two I am aware of are both on surveys. The Upper and Lower Series of Eastwater Cavern have been transposed, as
have the entrances of
and
Richard Stevenson
A Case For Easier Egress
There very nearly was a very nasty moment in the evening of
Wednesday the 15th April when a situation requiring the MRO was averted by a
hair’s breadth. The embarrassment of two
potential rescuees would have known no bounds for one was an active MRO warden,
another was an elderly member of the BEC not quite as accident prone as Chris
Castle but who has been known to give other members an occasional nasty turn,
and the third, just a nice guy who would have felt just as foolish.
We had started out late for Longwood and had been further
delayed by the fact that I had to stop at the stream to soak my boots as they
were rock hard. We had then meandered
gently through the cave after being delayed for a while by another party below
the shower bath and eventually got back to the entrance after one of us had got
inextricably muddled in the letter-box squeeze. We were pretty sure we were going to miss the pub but there was still a
chance. Or was there? I couldn’t open the lid. Nor for that matter could anyone else.
We fettled away quietly, cursed a bit, wondered how the
party we had met had got out and what they had done to the lock
afterwards. Then, we realised we were
going to miss the pub.
We didn’t beat hell out of the lock with boulders because
the engineer amongst us told me rock was no match for cold steel so the third
party went searching for anything that could be used .as a crowbar and came up
with some very rusty angle iron.
“Did you tell Pat where we
were going?”
“No. did you tell
Maggie?”
“Yes, but I don’t think
she’ll phone Pat till two o’clock”
“Pat will tell her to wait
another hour before doing anything so it will be about 4 o’clock before the MRO
will get here”.
“Shit! Well be here until morning then”.
That was enough; the strong man lay on his back on the
little ledge in the block house and gave an almighty kick.
“I’ve done something awful
to my leg but its open”
“Its what?”
“Its open”
“You must be joking”
“No I’m not”
And he wasn’t, one kick had broken the weld on the block
house door and we were on our way home by midnight.
Longwood is not locked and should not be relocked with an
Abloy key. The whole affair could have
been embarrassing for the whole caving community and most worrying for three
cavers wives.
Postscript
As it happened Trebor came to look for us as one of the cars
was still at the Belfry when he got back after the pub. We’d gone by the time he got to the parking
area so he didn’t callout the MRO who would have been with us by midnight. Honestly, we wouldn’t have broken open the
cave if we’d known.
Jeremy Henley.
Virgin
Gorda
Copper
Mine
British
Virgin
Island
Caribbean
” Ere wang, look e here. Theres a copper mine under
that there ‘ill”, says Trebor. “Aaargh, wang and yackaboo” replies
Stumpy.
Such is the language caving breeds in simple folk as they
pour over a map of Virgin Gorda prior to jetting out for a fortnights diving in
the warm, clear waters of the Carib.
The map says “Copper mine”, “ruin”,
“copper mine point”, “Copper mine bay”, and “Mine
hill” so we thought it safe to assume there was a mine somewhere
abouts. Little more to be done until we
got there.
On a break from diving, Pat and I sought out the local
library, full of well soiled books in the centre of Roadtown, the capital of
Tortola the largest of the Virgin Islands some 60 miles east of
we found nothing on mines, mining, copper, silver, gold or Butcombe. We were however directed to the
essentially a small room with books in it, where a little girl was very
helpful. Out came three or four books
with some useful facts and good references.
It transpires that this particular mine was opened up by the
Spaniards in the early 1500’s on the way back from obliterating the
Aztecs. They came over from
an island some 10 miles long and 1 1/2 miles wide at its widest point. It is the second largest of the Virgin
Islands and 1 1/2 hours sail from
given a hefty breeze.
The mine is located only some 75ft above sea level and
little more than 50yds. in from the very rocky shore on the very southern tip
of the island in a remote location served by a rough track. Nobody has any great cause to go there. Written terms like “sporadic”,
“reactivated” and “reopened” infer that the mine had a
rather cheque red history. Our knowledge
of events between the 1500’s and 1840’s is nil and we hope to obtain further
information but at present we only know that in 1840 some 40 imported
Cornishmen, assisted by 150 locals, re-opened the mine. A British Virgin Island Mining Company was
set up at an unknown date, presumably in 1840, based in
but as it went bankrupt in 1842 “operations were suspended.” This fact does not tally however with a
reference which states that “between 1860 and 1862, exports valued at
£16,224 were sent to
consisting mainly of copper ore obtained from the reactivated mine on Virgin
Gorda.” Somebody else must thus
have taken over the
operations.
A limited reference to quantities was forthcoming – 90 tons
of copper was produced in 1841 and geologists have estimated that 10,000 tons
of copper ore were taken out altogether during its history. A survey carried out in 1858/60 by an unknown
group estimated that a small quantity of copper and molybdenum was still
present in the area. “A copper mine
on Virgin Gorda was also believed to be a potential source of great
wealth” (Ref: Calendar of State Papers,
and
After the research, the action. Pat and I were dropped off by yacht and
dinghy onto a beach so we could hike across a couple of miles of thick scrub in
90 degrees of heat to get to this blessed mine (mad dogs and Englishmen). The anchorage on the correct side of the
island was positively dangerous with reefs and swell so there was nothing to do
but hoof it.
Despite its total lack of maintenance and the misuse over
100 years, the mine buildings were remarkably recognisable; with a chimney,
machinery housing, the boiler and other odds and ends but no evidence of
housing to accommodate Cornishmen or natives. A systematic search to find a shaft or adit proved unfruitful. The ruin of a small building on top of mine
hill had what could have been a blocked shaft but, subject to further research,
we suspect the area could well have been open cast. The disappointment of not being able to use
Petzl zooms, compasses and surveying gear will no doubt the tempered by the
possibility of further research with the defunct BVIMining Co., formerly based
in Liverpool.
Pat Cronin and Mike
(Trebor) McDonald.
References:
i) A Guide to Historic Places in the
Virgin Islands
ii) Tales of
BVI by Lewisohn.
iii) A History of the BVI 1672-1970. by Dookhan.
iv) Various letters 1841, 1859, 1862 and 1724.
Letter via the Editor
To Mr. R.H.S. Orr via the Editor.
Dear Jok,
Worry not about those who are involved with
“unwarranted intervention with the institution of the annual Club
Dinner”. I have seen them in action
and can assure you that they are as obnoxious as you were when you infested the
Belfry. One of them even draws cartoons!
This Club is a living tradition – let us support those who
make it what it is, whatever their generation, in the knowledge that everything
will always be done to Excess. (Mind you – if any of the more senior members
joined in more often then perhaps some of the “lost” traditions –
like singing – would not have died out).
Cheers,
922 J.Rat.
P.S. Superb article Chris, and many thanks to Trevor for
offering to clean up his mess!
Scaffolding Bar Pot!
The following planning
application may be of interest to BEC members as an indication of the sort of
problem we have yet to face! The BEC has
lodged a complaint as requested and has received a not too hopeful reply from
the
rejected at the local level but has been referred.
Planning Application: Reference Number YO/5/17/156
Planning Application for the erection of scaffolding
structures underground, to allow access in Bar Pot for adventure caving. No surface works involved,
The application is for permission to erect underground scaffolding
structures in Bar Pot to allow access for groups of people to enjoy adventure
caving.
This is an increasingly popular recreational and educational
activity for all ages, which will allow the inexperienced to enjoy the sport of
pot holing or caving in safety.
Similar schemes are also operated commercially by the
Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority operating from Whernside Manor in
Dentdale.
The structures will comprise 2 major elements. A 40 foot high access scaffolding structure
to negotiate the first part of the pot hole along with a further 100 foot
structure for the major vertical section of the pot hole. Scaffolding of aluminium with intermediate
platforms constructed so as to avoid corrosion and encased in wire mesh for
safety purposes.
It will be secured against any unauthorised use. Other minor works such as a safety hand rail
will be needed at the top of the 100 foot vertical section and rope hand rails
here and there for general assistance.
No surface buildings or structures will be required. Underground there will be little or no
environmental damage whatsoever, apart form securing bolts drilled into the
limestone and miscellaneous support work for the scaffolding. The work will not be visible from the
surface.
It is envisaged that small pre-booked groups of 15 to 20 in
number and suitably equipped will be conducted down the cave by an experienced
guide for a 2 or 3 hour caving trip. Facilities should be very useful for educational groups and for local
hotels and guest houses wishing to offer caving or pot holing activities to
their guests.
*****************************************
Reasoned letters of protest may be sent to:-Mr. Mitchell,
Craven District Council Planning Department, Granville St., Skipton, AND Mr.
R.G. Harvey, Yorkshire Dales National Park, Yorebridge House, Bainbridge, North
Yorkshire.