Moss Chamber

Four Dudley members joined forces with Grace and Jenny from Crewe Climbing and Potholing Club for a short, but sporting and fun trip to Moss Chamber. A couple of club members were keen to do a trip that helped them build confidence after not being underground for a while.

We slid down the slide beyond the show cave into Five Arches Passage, before wading through the Wallows and ducking through the Mucky Ducks to arrive in Upper Gallery. After a short while we climbed up into Pickering's Passage, which led to a good variety of different types of caving: some crawls, some squeezes and some simple climbs, all of which were coated or interspersed with liberal coatings of slippery mud to keep us on our toes (or off them!).

A final chest-deep wade through very cold water brought us into Moss Chamber. The formations are truly stunning, if overshadowed by the tragic history of the chamber. We spent a little while playing around with photography before deciding that we were getting cold and heading back.

On our return we deviated to the streamway to get some film footage for another Dudley member and enjoyed the dramatic phreatic passage - and the rib like structures on the floor. All in all a very photogenic bit of cave.

Moss Chamber was a fun little trip and well worth revisiting.

Cavers: Mike B., Firas F., Anne B., and Dave B., with Grace and Jenny from CPCC
Trip report: Anne B.
Photos: Dave B.

Lost John's

Monday 21st April 2025.

Lost johns & George.

We decided on an ambitious plan to do the centipede route and try and make it to the final pitch and having a crack at battle axe traverse.

We started by sorting the ropes this was a task in itself with two tackle sacks bursting with ropes and 42 carabiners.

We started off down the stream following our description we took the first left we seen which turned out to be a long rift with a few climbs up and down, battling with the tackle sacks at every obstruction. This soon turned out to be choked we explored all off shoots on the way back to the first junction with no luck in a way on.

We decided to go straight on at the junction, this soon brought us to some cascades that we traversed across and a large hole the foot and hand holds were large and plentiful. This was starting to line up with the description. Great news.

We soon arrived at the top of a pitch head, I rigged the first short pitch and we carried on soon reaching the head of a large pitch was this centipede. Jonny took over the rigging and started rigging the traverse line where the bolts are high up in the rift, I couldn’t work out why the bolts wasn’t lining up with the toppo but we carried on. Soon we had dropped the y-hang and into a little alcove onto a false floor, this definitely doesn’t line up with the toppo. This is when we realised we were actually at the monastery pitch. We checked the toppo now knowing where we were and realised we had enough tackle to make it to the bottom so we descended.

On reaching the bottom we had a nice spray coming off the waterfall we slid down a tight passage into a stream way and followed it down a few small, climbs and wet legs saw us at the top of the piscine pitch. I rigged this down and we had a short cave to the next pitch head pinnacle where we didn’t have the correct rope lengths to carry on. We turned and headed back out.

We reached the top of the Hampstead Heath pitch and had a study of the description to see if we could find the top of hammer which will give us the way on to centipede. We traversed over the top of Hampstead Heath where I thought it carried on due to polishing but couldn’t find my way on. We backtracked along the passage on the way out exploring any holes we missed on the way in but couldn’t find our way on.

We started our way out trying to keep our spirits high by saying we now know the way down monastery for a future exchange trip.

We need to revisit lost John and find our way on we are missing it somewhere… and take extra people to split the tackle sacks down as they got considerably heavier when they was wet.

An excellent trip nonetheless. With some unfinished business.

Cavers: George T and Jonny B
Trip report: George T

Aquamole

A quick jaunt down Aquamole by George and Jonny, after diving Joint Hole.

Cavers: George T. and Jonny B.
Photo: Jonny B.

Eldon Hole

Friday's Eldon Hole trip started with an uphill walk (including a short detour). Once we found the cave, Dave and George rigged two of the four pitches, North and South Gully. The descent was quite enjoyable as the weather was fair. Once we reached the bottom of the first pitch, we climbed down the ladder in the cave. Before heading up to Damocles Rift, we decided to explore the boulder choke just off the main chamber, which was too small for any of us to fit in and quickly completely closed off.

The pull through was fine and the up pitches were pretty. Once we reached Damocles Rift, we paused to take photos and then started to head back. Descending the pull through posed a few challenges as the ropes had twisted which resulted in some time going up and down the ropes and some detangling from Dave before I could finally descend. We learnt that it is maybe not the best idea to leave a tackle sack hanging off the end to the rope as the swinging had caused this issue. We then headed out into the sunlight to ascend out of the entrance pitch and de-rig.

Cavers: George T, Phoebe G, and Dave B
Trip report: Phoebe G
Photos: Dave B

DYO

DYO

It was Loz's trip to get familiar with the Dali's Delight series of the cave. Water level in the Lake 2 & 3 were lower than usual, barely a belly level. Getting through the cave was straight forward following fairly know route. On the way there Loz had a look into the entrance pool to the Mazeways only to realise that it was completely open, but we proceeded to our objective. We found the climb to the Dali's Delight more of an SRT that the anticipated handline but we were geared up for it so once we were all up there the exploration begun. We proceeded left passed the Mini Pinnacles to the Chamber Pot where we turned around and went looking for the Tubeways. We also looked into another side passage that spat us out half way up an aven with the 12m drop below (unrigged) and slightly suspiciously looking rope hanging from the ceiling (some 15m above us), not knowing the age of this rigging we decided to leave it until next time. The Tubeway passage also presented us with more ''active'' leads, ropes hanging from above and another one going down few small pitches. We explored what was sensible and turned around with enough time to visit the Mazeways - what a spectacular part of the cave, scalloping even better then the in the Bakerloo Straight. 

Cavers: Loz, Mel, Paulina, Bartek

Ogof Draenen

After finding myself with a free day, I sent out a message to The Dudley to see if anyone was available for a caving trip. Loz "the machine" Appleby replied that she was, and after discounting the Far North in DYO (for reasons of time and less familiar nav) we opted for a trip in Draenen. This was great, as I've been wanting to learn the nav from the Main Entrance to Elliptic Passage, for a future trip to the Geryon and Circus Maximus.

We didn't actually use the main entrance, however, and opted for the newly-dug entrance (Ogof Tarddiad Pwll Du) instead. Despite Loz telling me to fill in the sign-in book that was on the right just on the way in, I managed to miss this totally, and carried on caving through the entrance. (Incidentally, this involved passing through a very civilised plastic tunnel put in to stop water trickling over you in a tight crawl; I was most impressed). A few minutes later, Loz joined me in a little chamber and asked me why I hadn't signed the book and why I was so daft. Unfortunately, I couldn't think of a convincing or realistic answer, so I just told her to brace herself for a trying trip caving with a wally.

This came in the form of the song “Daddy Cool” by Boney M. Now that Clara has arrived, I have become that loathsome creature - the smitten father - who for unfathomable reasons thinks it's a good idea to sing to his daughter, particularly while changing her. As I do this exactly 437 times a day, this song tends to come out whether I intend it to or not, although the lyrics have somehow morphed into “Daddy, I did a poo”. (As Loz said, I should probably be mindful of where I sing that). Anyway, after humming it for the umpteenth time, Loz understandably threw a (verbal) rock at my head, and that shut me up.

In terms of caving, from the new entrance we quickly arrived at Cairn Junction before heading through Wonderbra bypass into White Arch Passage and Lamb and Fox Chamber. After this, we followed Indiana Highway, with its traverse over the 22m pitch into Destiny adding a bit of spice. We then spent the next hour and a half getting confused and trying to find the way to Megadrive. We explored Canyon East and other tight bits of passage before eventually realising we needed to climb up a pile of boulders and crawl along a ledge above a deep trench. Problem solved, we stomped along Megadrive to the Nunnery, where we picked up Perseverance 1.

This was a pleasant sandy crawl, which before long terminated at an abrupt drop down into passage below. There was a steep hole bypassing the precipice, however, and shimmying down this, Loz found where we were on the survey. Before long we had picked up Elliptic Passage, so it was mission accomplished, and all that remained was caving out to daylight. Hopefully Loz enjoyed the trip and company as much as I did. All in all, it was a great day's caving

Cavers: Loz and Dave
Trip report: Dave

P8

Today’s trip needed to be a quick, short trip, partly because I was sleep and energy-deprived and partly because George needed to be back for work at 3.30pm. We settled on P8 (Jackpot) which was new to both of us, and which has the reputation of being fun and a little sporting.

Finding the cave was the first challenge, as the description we had very helpfully said “follow the path to the cave entrance”. It turns out that the path we needed was a faint one off the main track into the field. After a few minutes of head-scratching, George got us back on track and we could quickly count off the shakeholes until we found the final one with the entrance nestling in it.

Water levels were very low, and only a dribble of water went down our necks as we dropped into Cascade Chamber. From here, it was quick work to follow the stream down Idiot’s Leap to the head of the first pitch. Here George did a sterling job of rigging the route around the corner and onto the Traverse. I think we now have another leader for future club trips to Yorkshire.

Having polished off the first pitch, we continued via Stalagmite Passage and the High Level Route to Mud Hall. Following this route to its conclusion, we reached a short climb down and traverse along the main streamway, before dropping down into it and splashing along until we came to the sump. This section of stream passage was very well decorated and it's a shame we didn't have time or the kit to take some photos.

Retracing our steps to the bottom of the first pitch, we opted to follow the stream down this to the second pitch. Again, George rigged this efficiently and we started to follow the water down a rather tight passage. This involved a few contortions and grovels in the water before we arrived at a tight, gravel squeeze. Once through this, we quickly reached a sump and it became obvious that much of the passage we had come through would sump completely in higher water levels.

Passing back through the passage, we noted a tight crawl off to our right and decided to have a quick explore. Inching through on your side with rock pressed into your back and chest and your lower leg getting stuck reminded me somewhat of coming out through the Vice in Daren Cilau. Before long it popped out into more passage which sumped to the right but which to the left connected with the streamway opposite the climb going down from the Upper Level Route.

Learning that - despite its small size - P8 is a quite complex cave, we decided to retrace our steps to pitch two and then out via pitch one. Looking at a description of the cave, I’ve ended up quite confused about which areas we visited and which we didn't. Although we had a good root around, there's evidently more to discover in P8.

Cavers: George T and Dave B
Trip report: Dave B
Photos: Mark B (from an earlier trip)