If you've become a member of Dudley Caving Club in the last 6 or 7 or perhaps 8 years you will probably not know that your Club has a dig. It's located very near to the SWCC hut.
Digging began in 1986 and from then until the mid 2010s it was visited and dug several times a year. The length of the cave is around 160 feet.
The reason it was abandoned was because when it rains, it floods. This meant that in order to dig it, a few members needed to travel down to SWCC on a Friday evening and set up the pumping system. This meant that we could get in two days digging on Saturday and Sunday. Unfortunately the pumps we have block too easily.
During dry weather the water in the dig gradually drains away.
A few of us would like to see if it's possible to resurrect the dig. We would have to investigate a new pumping solution first, but there is no point in beginning work until the spring.
I visited the dig on 11th December and took these two photos. In spite of the very wet weather the water level was quite low. Just covering the bottom of the railway track - about 40 feet from the entrance.
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| The Entrance. Underneath the grass is a railway track. |
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| The Entrance Passage |
Here's a short video from 2013 showing how the dig was operated.
For those who might be interested please talk to one of the longer serving members when you next visit the windmill.
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