Derbyshire Weekend

Saturday.

The club weekend started with me and Jonny heading up to Bakewell Saturday afternoon for a dive in Holme bank chert mine.

The drive was lovely until I reached the Peak District which is where the rain started, at the entrance of the mine I encountered a rather wet Jonny who had ran back from the town after being misled by the earlier sunshine.

We entered the mine and after a short walk we submerged into the water, having a look in all the nooks and cranny’s of Holme bank. After bumbling around for 75minutes we resurfaced and headed for the pub!

Sunday.

Sunday started with a drive to oxlow house farm, where we were joined by bartek and Paulina.

The tackle was organised and stowed away into tackle sacks ready for the exchange trip from oxlow cavern to maskhill mine.

It was decided bartek and me would tackle maskhill, and Jonny would rig oxlow with Paulina meeting us half way.

A short but steep walk put us at the entrance to maskhill, we started our decent down the first pitch and soon reached trebuchet corner on the second pitch. I was looking over a drop on murmuring churn when bartek announced we had run out of rope a short way from the floor. A change over was made and after a short discussion it was decided to tie onto the rope. This made things interesting to pass the knot.

Small problem sorted we carried on, soon sliding along with our cows tail whilst abseiling sees you across waterfall chamber and into west chamber.

We could now see the lights of Jonny and Paulina. One short abseil left, saw us at the exchange point. Summary of maskhill, lots of Rebelays.

A short break with some videography and photography by bartek, testing out some new gear. We all had a go at modelling… however something makes me think we’re not going to make vogue magazine.

Jonny and Bartek headed back out of maskhill.

Me and Paulina headed out of oxlow. A series of short pitches and slopes saw us out into daylight.

Our day didn’t end here tho after we all reunited it was decided to go and have a look at Poole’s cavern in Buxton. John showed us around the cave, pointing out the different items of equipment that is being used to monitor the cave for scientific research.

A very beautiful cave with some interesting formations, the one formation has got an orange tip on them and they can’t find out why… a huge formation, Snow White in colour signalled the end of the show-cave.

The last stop a Thai restaurant in Buxton a bite to eat finished this weekend off just right.

Cavers: George Tolley, Jonny Bellman, Bartek Beila, and Paulina Beila.
Trip report: George Tolley
Photos: Bartek Biela

 OFD 1-3-1 Attempt

After the OFD 3 trip back in December 2024, an idea was sparkling in Dave's' head, a super adventurous traverse of the Ogof FFynnon Ddu, starting from the bottom, the OFD 1 entrance, visiting the Smith's Armoury in OFD 3, and turning back the same way. Early in the year the planning started and the date was set for the International Women's' Day 2025 (8th March). Four of us met up in Penwylt the night before and decided for an early start at 7am. We weren't far behind the timings but the nightly disturbance at SWCC hut didn't allow for easy sleep for some of us. 

We marched into the cave at 7.45am and within first half an hour we learned that Jas decides not to continue. After emotional 'good bye' three of us remaining manage to keep fairly good pace all the way to the Traverses before OFD 3. To get there we have taken the traditional well known by us route following the steamway to the Maypole Inlet, through the Arette Chamber and Poached Eggs. We reach Smith's Armoury in just under 6hrs, which was really decent since we have allocated 16hrs for the whole trip. After quick refuel we turn around and get back to Maypole Inlet where we come across another group of cavers going opposite direction. The tiredness is about to kick in, for some more then for the others but we bravely march on since it is all downhill now (mostly) and being propelled by water (kind of). There is a brief moment (that probably lasted one hour) were we stopped talking to each other but another refuel helped to lift the mood and obviously energy levels. We exited the cave after 12hours and 30 minutes of caving and since it was in a shorter time then originally planned and we weren't gonna cave next day anyway we all decided to drive back home. 

Short video from the trip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6dZnJIA7KU

Cavers: Bartek B, Dave B, Jas S, George T

Nettle Pot: Muddy and (sometimes) tight

The club's February trip was arranged for the Peaks, and specifically a trip to Derbyshire Hall in Nettle Pot was the objective. Much has been said about the entrance pitches and how difficult they are due to being so tight. In reality, though, they really weren't that bad. George said that parts of Mayday Hole were tighter and I reckon he's right. That doesn't mean that it wasn't a bit of a struggle - particularly going back up - but progress wasn't that minimal, nor that hard to make. 

Having dropped down to the Flats, we crawled along these past a few deep pots. This crawl is absolutely covered in thick mud that gets everywhere. By the time we reached the next pitch down, we were covered in it. There's no point trying to avoid a complete covering, nor any point trying to remove it. In fact, a particularly large piece got stuck under my nose and - not having any part of my body that wasn't also covered - I couldn't wipe it off. Instead I simply ended up smearing it across my face. The only other cave that comes close to being so muddy (in my experience) is Otter Hole. And at least there you can have a good scrub in a streamway after you've negotiated the entrance series.

Anyhow, at the end of the Flats, there were a few more pitches: down, up, up, down (if I've remembered correctly), all of which continued the theme of being muddy. Before long we arrived at the infamous Freeze Squeeze. Dave J. was the first to give this a go. Being behind George in a narrow passage, I couldn't see how much progress he was making. However, the grunting, groaning, and puffing told me that he wasn’t finding it that easy. Before long, he admitted defeat and it was George’s turn to have a go.

George also made a valiant effort, and was determined not to be beaten easily. Despite his best attempts, however, he just couldn't fit under the low bulge that makes up the roof of the squeeze. Finally, it was my turn to give it a go.

The best way looked to be on your front, over to the right of the squeeze, where the roof was a little higher. However, the floor also sloped up here, which meant that I tended to slide back towards (and under) the low bulge. What made things worse was that my left shoulder got progressively bent back against itself as I tried to enter the squeeze. As I didn't like the idea of a dislocated / fractured shoulder, I decided to back out and try on my back.

This time, I realised it was impossible to avoid the large bulge, and ended up going more or less directly underneath it. I had to back out fairly quickly when I realised the zippers on my over and under suits were getting pressed painfully into my ribcage. Having rectified this, I gave it another go, but it was clear I wasn't getting through. The roof was pressed tight onto the upper part of my ribcage, and I couldn't make any progress. With difficulty, I wriggled my way out and acknowledged defeat. 

After this, all that remained was to complete the journey back out, negotiating the liberal coatings of mud on the way. We emerged after five-ish hours underground to the satisfaction of competing another classic caving trip. Although George is already planning a return to Freeze Squeeze, this time with a wetsuit and a slim companion to show him how it's done!

Cavers: Dave, Dave & George
Trip Report: Dave
Photo: Mark B

I Hate You Edwards!

Cwm  Dwr Quarry Cave in South Wales is entered via a vertical rift which has been stabilised by lining it with sewer pipes. Getting in is easy, but for some cavers getting back out can prove more than a little challenging.

OFD 1.5: Confusing and Tight

One of the downsides of getting older, is that it really doesn't take much to get confused. This is probably why I like things to be simple, but I'm fast realising that OFD isn't simple in any way!

Take OFD1.5, for example. I thought this was the maze of passages to the east of the Connection, and north of the Letterbox. This is what is on the survey, and being a simple sort of chap, I tend to believe what I see with my eyes. So when we bumped into someone by the Letterbox who told us that we were in OFD1.5, this stretched my poor little mind. Because it meant that OFD1.5 isn't where I thought it was, and we weren't where I thought we were; rather we were where I thought we weren't and we weren’t going where we wanted because we were already there.

Confused? Evidently, so was I. One thing I did know, however, is why we were where we were. (Which is some consolation, as the why of a matter is normally more important than the what of a matter. Or I like to think it is, anyway.)

We were there because I watched a video by the wily cave wizard all about OFD1.5, and it looked like an interesting place to visit. Unfortunately, we didn't have a ladder and therefore we couldn't sample the delights of the Knackeracker Pitch, however we did take a couple of SRT kits so we could go down the pitch into Falcon Chamber. But back to that in a bit.

We started our trip in Cwm Dwr, where - despite not being confident in the navigation - Phoebe’s knowledge of the cave and Jas’/George’s ability to follow their noses saw us make good progress. Eventually, another group of cavers appeared behind us and confirmed that we were on the right route, and were just shy of Piccadilly.

On past the Flood Bypass, up the Divers' Pitch, and through the tight tube towards the Letterbox we went. I remember finding the passages here to be a complex maze on an earlier trip, and having remembered the key navigational decisions from the other direction, I found myself facing more confusion: what was the opposite of left, right, left, left, right, right, left, right, left?

Whatever it was, it wasn't what I thought it was, so I ended up leading everyone round back to where we'd exited the low tunnel from the Divers’ Pitch. A quick look at the survey showed me that my original sequence of lefts and rights was utter rubbish. However, the tortuous (and circular) route we followed did mirror the tortuous (and circular!) pattern of thoughts in my head, which seemed apt.

Well, after the Letterbox, we trudged on to the mud slope leading up to OFD 1.5. Here we quickly found ourselves in a tight passage. It didn't look very nice, so I asked Phoebe if she'd like to have a look. After a few seconds, the words “um, it's getting very small,” floated back to us. “Ok, see if you can get a bit further,” I replied. “Well there's a rock in the way; I might be able to get past it.” “Oh good, keep going,” I said, reflecting how pleasant it is to have a ferret in the team whose superpower is small spaces. At this point, Jas’ sensible streak intervened, and he called out to Phoebe to come back before she got stuck. (After all, what can successfully rescue a ferret?)

After this, Jas took point and before long said: “It's a bit tight.” “That's ok,” I said, just keep going,” thinking for a second time how pleasant it is when other people test the tight bits. Before long we were through into yet more crawling passage. This time George set off in the lead, and after ten minutes or so, he called out - you guessed it! - “this is quite tight.” Despite being less of a ferret than Phoebe, he persisted until it became impossibly small.

Turning around, we decided to look for a connection with a higher passage. Peering up into a jumble of boulders, I was surprised to spot it. Twisting into it, it quickly became clear that it was another tight section, and was indeed the hole which Mark can be seen squeezing through in Keith’s OFD 1.5 video. This led to an unstable rock / sandy slope, and one by one, we made our way up through the hole. Here, some of my confusion rubbed off on Phoebe, who got the order of shouting “climb free” and kicking a rock down the hole the wrong way around. (I'm sure it was accidental!). Fortunately, the rock missed Jas, and I was left to reflect on many such occasions when I have knocked things down pitches...

A short while later we came across a beautiful crystal pool which we traversed over to arrive at a bridge of boulders (imaginatively called Boulder Bridge). From here, a steep, loose slope led down to the head of the 8m pitch that takes you to Falcon Chamber. Keen to look at this and possible rigging options, George and I started wandering backwards and forwards over the bridge. In his new-found role of sensible caver, Jas told us that perhaps both of us stomping over a load of boulders jammed together and suspended over a big drop wasn’t such a great idea…

In any case, it turned out that the rope we had wasn't going to be long enough to rig an approach line and the pitch. I was sorely tempted to rig only off the one bolt, until Jas and George sensibly pointed out that the bolt was of unknown age, and that this was an absurd idea. (Evidently, the progression from confusion to abject stupidity can be quite swift).

Destined to see neither the Knackeracker Pitch nor Falcon Chamber, we turned round, exiting the series down a 4m climb into the passages leading towards the Connection. Once through this and the boulder choke, we took the escape route out, with a quick diversion up Column Passage. Here, Jas put his lassoing skills to good use by throwing the rope up and around a small stump of rock before we climbed up. It was well worth seeing the column, which was certainly very impressive.

Another fun caving trip under the belt, all that remained was the trudge up the hill to Penwyllt to get showered and changed, and to reflect back on yet another enjoyable caving trip with members of the Dudley.

Cavers: Phoebe, George, Jas, and Dave.
Trip report: Dave.
Photos: Jas.

Upper Oxbow

For The Dudley’s first official meet of 2025, we decided on a trip that was not too taxing and which took us to a beautiful section of OFD: the Upper Oxbow Series, via the Skyhook Pitch. Bartek, Paulina, Mark, Jess, Jonny, Phoebe, Anne and myself all duly arrived at Penwyllt, and after the necessary chat and kitting up we trudged up the hill to Top Entrance.

The first challenge of the day was getting into the cave. Our key wouldn't work, and muggins (read Dave) was sent back down the hill to find someone to help. In the end another party going into Top Entrance opened the gate for us, but not without equal difficulty getting their key to work. Fortunately, we could relay these difficulties to someone from SWCC so the issue with the padlock could be resolved.

Finally into Top Entrance, we split into two parties, with Bartek, Mark, Jess and Jonny going to the Skyhook Pitch via Edwards’ Shortcut, and Paulina, Phoebe, Anne and myself going via Salubrious Streamway and President’s Leap. Arriving at the Skyhook first, the President’s Leap party found it pre-rigged and wasted no time kitting up and prussiking up the rope. Before long we heard the second party arrive at the base of the pitch, and we made our way through the first part of the series, with its impressive formations and extremely beautiful crystal pool.

Thereafter followed a fun - albeit slightly strenuous - rift. Traversing through this, we reached the pitches down to Splash Inlet, but given time and the plan to take photos we didn't drop these. Instead we wriggled into a couple of small chambers adorned with a beautiful array of formations. Here Mark and Bartek put their photography skills to good use. Mark also showed Dave the start of the connection to the Midnight Traverses; something to revisit at a later date (whilst wearing extra-absorbent big boy caver pants!).

The journey out was just as fun, although by the time Anne had reversed the rift, trudged up Midnight Passage and Salubrious Streamway, and climbed the slope up to and through the Corkscrew, she was struggling with reflux and being out of puff. As Mark had commented: is caving really suitable for someone who's seven months pregnant!? I reckon she has at least one trip left in her…

Overall, this was a thoroughly enjoyable trip to a very beautiful part of the cave. Some of the best bits remain to be explored (the route via the Midnight Traverses and the pitches down to Splash Inlet), so the Dudley can look forward to a return trip sometime in the future.

Cavers: Mark, Jess, Paulina, Bartek, Johnny, Phoebe, Dave & Anne
Trip Report: Dave
Photos: Mark

Column Hall

For the first trip of 2025, we thought we'd take advantage of Column Hall in OFD being open and make a quick trip there. Anne and myself had never been to this part of the cave before, and while Keith had, he wanted to take the opportunity to abseil the pitch having previously used the route via Cairn Chamber.

What none of us had anticipated was how busy Penwyllt would be. The car park was chock-a-block and cars were parked all down the lane to the overspill car park past the gate leading to Top Entrance. On entering the cave we saw several parties, some of whom had just gone in ahead of us, and others who were coming in just after us.

Nonetheless, after heading toward Big Chamber Near the Entrance we quickly lost most of the other parties, and ended up with just two other cavers as we started to wind our way to the pitch. Apparently everyone else was going to the columns via Cairn Chamber. The pitch itself was very pleasant; it was accessed by a simple rebelay and involved a deviation shortly below the Y-hang. This dropped us down into the southern end of Column Hall and from here a two minute walk brought us to the Columns themselves.

These are very impressive, and rise from a shallow lake full of rocks covered with thin, spidery calcite veins. The whole setting is incredibly beautiful. Having enjoyed them for several minutes, we set off to explore the rest of the hall. Highlights included walls covered with different colours of flowstone, pop-corn shaped mud formations, a huge calcited rift and pyramids of mud topped with pebbles.

We must have spent a couple of hours enjoying what would only have taken ten minutes to walk around, and took care to take several photos. Some of these were shot by the second entrance to Column Hall, which includes a wet crawl through a large puddle. Several students were coming through this as Keith took photos, and on realising that Caver Keith was present, they all fell over each other fighting to be videoed coming through the wet puddle!

Appearing somewhat bemused by this expression of fandom, Keith attempted to get the lighting quite right but eventually admitted defeat. Which means that the keen students splashed and squirmed around repeatedly in muddy water all for nothing…

Shortly after this we packed up video / photo kit and headed out again via the pitch. A pleasant 20-30 minutes of relaxed caving ensued before we arrived back at Top Entrance. The passages all around Column Hall were extremely beautiful in their own right, making the trip out very enjoyable. This was a lovely little trip and a great way to start the New Year.

Cavers: Keith, Dave & Anne
Photos: Keith
Trip Report: Dave