Ogof Draenen, Wyvern Hall

We had hoped to extend the club dig this weekend but the wet Summer meant that this had to be postponed.  The Wyvern Series is an area of this extensive system that none of us had visited before.  Unfortunately we ran out of time before we got to the end but, as you can see, Wyvern Hall is well worth a visit.  It was also an opportunity to take some video in the entrance series and try out the latest video lighting - a LED Lenser P7.  I'm so impressed that I've bought another one.

The team: KeEd (report), BrMa, DeRo & ChWe
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVFUQwuRS60

Wapping mine/Cumberland Cavern, Jugholes and Carlswark Cavern

This trip was arranged for new member Tony to give him a taster of what caving is about.  We started with a nice simple mine called Wapping Mine which is basically a walk about with a small amount of climbing which leads you up into Cumberland Cavern. From here we moved on to Jug Holes mine which proved somewhat of a challenge to get to as they have blocked off Salters Lane at the Matlock end, so if you intend to visit Jug Holes don’t approach from the Matlock side of Salters lane. This was a little more challenging for Tony as we used the shaft to abseil into the mine and there was a bit more climbing and squeezing involved. From here we drove to Carlswark Cavern and did the short through trip by going in via Eyam shaft and coming out of the Gin entrance. The water levels in Carlswark were the lowest I had ever seen them (much to my disappointment).

The team: AnGr (report), MeWa & ToWh