Back to where it all began. Browgill to Calf Holes Through Trip

I'm something of a late starter in the caving world and didn't begin caving until 2010.

 My first caving trip was Browgill to Calf Holes. We rigged a ladder at the Calf Holes end to exit and proceeded to try and figure out where the entrance to Browgill Was.

I can still recall the thrill and excitement I felt as we splashed through the water to the lower entrance. The carving of the rock, it's colour and texture were mesmerising. I remember feeling a little nervous going through the first crawling section as I imagined just how much rock there was above me and wondered what was supporting the void I crawled through.
I missed the way on of course and stood in awe at an underground waterfall before me. I had a big cheshire cat grin on my face, I couldn't believe that 'normal' people could do things like this, it was another world to me.
After searching around for a good 15 minutes I begun to despair of finding the way on and begun to backtrack. The rope hanging down the rift hadn't been visible from the one direction and it wasn't until I looked from the other I had spotted it. This would be a lesson that I would, in the future, often need to apply to the 3D nature of caves to find the way on.
It seems silly now to me but when we reached the deeply scolloped bedding plane I felt a little claustrophobic and worried that I may get lost. Although Jess had been before she couldn't remember the way on and we spent quite some time in the bedding plane, a lot of it up to my ears in water, searching for the connection.
We eventually found the 'Sausage Press' and at that time I was truly Chunky at 18 stone and huffed and puffed my way through it. I was so chuffed and proud of myself once I managed to get through it I completely forgot my helmet which I had removed to feel less claustrophobic!
I marvelled at just how different the Calf Holes passage was as we stomped down toward the pitch and gawked at the flowstone on the wall....my first formations.
 We waded through the water to the crawl past the ladder and continued on to the final chamber before heading back to do the pitch and out.

It feels like a life time ago since that first trip and although I have been back to the cave many times, Last weekend was the first time I had returned since taking up photography. Below are a few shots I took which embody everything that turned this first foray underground in to a passion which has consumed most of my fee time ever since.

Calf Holes Waterfall

Browgill Entrance

Waterfall chamber Browgill

Entrance crawls Browgill

Calf Holes Main Passage

Calf Holes Main Passage

Present: Mark Burkey, Mark Burgess, Kay Wood, Jessica Burkey, Keith Edwards, Mark Burkey

Dudley CC Yorkshire Meet Friday & Saturday

We started the weekend off with myself, Carl and Brendan meeting up at the YSS on friday before heading off for a quick through trip from Yordas Pot to come out through Yordas Cave with Carl leading the way. We then headed off to do Heron Pot where we swiftly made our way down the pitches to take a look around the fossil passage at the bottom. I did the crawl to the surface before a quick about turn to join the others to de-rig. Back at the surface though I could only remember that I'd exited at the base of a tree following the water out and couldn't find the other entrance from the surface!

Carl rigging the Yordas Pot entrance

Mark descends Yordas Pot

Mark in Yordas Cave

Carl and Mark at the Heron Pot top entrance

Present: (Yordas & Heron Pot) Mark Burkey, Brendan Marris & Carl Knot

Saturday
On Saturday we were joined by Tony, Rob, Loz and Andy K for another through trip, this time Browgill to Calf Holes. Loz had a play with her shiny new gear whilst the others had fun navigating the hidden connection.
We then set off in search of the new and old entrances to Dismal Hill Cave. First we headed down the rifts of the Old entrance to the tight flat out crawl where Loz was the only one skinny enough to get in the tight bedding plane to have a poke around so we all headed to the surface to try the other entrance, but not before Andy K had a moment when the ledge he was climbing gave way!
All back to the surface safe and sound we rigged the ladder in the new entrance and headed down to play. We found traverse lines going in both directions and after a good play we unfortunately failed to find the connecting passage to Old Ing. It was only after reaching the surface did we realise we had assumed we were heading down stream for the connection but we should have in fact been pushing in the other direction ;) Doh!

Carl Looking down the waterfall at the top of Calf Holes

Andy Kempster in Brow Gill

Rob Campbell in Calf Holes

Tony Ferran in Calf Holes

Present: (Browgill to Calf Holes and Dismal Hill Cave) Loz Appleby, Carl Knot, Mark Burkey, Andy Kempster, Brendan Marris, Tony Ferran and Rob Campbell

Yorkshire caving , May Bank Holiday Weekend

Flushed with enthusiasm after successful rigging for both ladders and SRT, Mark and I went up to Yorkshire with Solihull Mountaineering Club, fully equipped with tackle for whatever caving we could do as well as climbing.
On the Friday we went to Calf Holes - now we'd already tried to get through from Browgill to Calf Holes on 2 occasions, and ended up chin-deep in water both times, unable to find the way on, so this time Mark rigged up an SRT line from Calf Holes and easily found the little contorsion through to Browgill - though Mark really wasn't convinced he'd get through! Having got through easily he then insisted on going through a few more times just to make sure! Once through into Browgill we could see why we'd failed to find this tiny slot, hidden in the roof behind some rocks.
After meeting up with our friends at a bunkhouse, one asked if we'd take her caving as she'd never been, so on the Sunday we visited Calf Holes yet again, this time rigging a ladder for the pitch before entering the cave from the Browgill entrance and exiting up the ladder. Donna seemed to really enjoy poking around in all the corners and we had a lovely trip.
Present: Jess, Mark, Donna