Wessex-Cave-Club-Journal-Number
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Vol. 17 No. 193 CONTENTS page Editorial 27 Letter to the Editor Bob Lewis 27 Longwood – The Renolds Passage Extension Pete Moody 28 Caving on a Coach Tour, 1982 Paul Weston 32 Charterhouse Caving Committee Phil Hendy 35 The Works Outing Sanity Clause 36 Book Review; Northern Caves Volumes Two and Three Steve Gough 37 From The Log 37 CLUB OFFICERS Chairman Philip Hendy, 10 Silver St., Wells, Somerset. Secretary Bob Drake, Axeover House, Yarley, Nr. Wells, Somerset. Asst. Secretary Judith Vanderplank, 51 Cambridge Road, Clevedon, Avon Caving Secretary Jeff Price, 18 Hurston Road, Inns Court, Bristol. Asst. Caving Sec. Keith Sanderson, 11 Pye Busk Close, High Bentham, via Lancaster. (Northern caves only) Treasurer Jerry (Fred) Felstead, 47 Columbine Road, Widmer End, High Wycombe, Bucks. Gear Curator Dave Morrison, 27 Maurice Walk, London NW 11 HQ Warden Glyn Bolt, 4 The Retreat, Foxcote, Radstock, Avon. HQ Administration John Ham, The Laurels, East Brent, Highbridge, Som. Editor Al Keen, 88 Upper Albert Road, Sheffield, S8 9HT Sales Officer Barry Davies, 2 North Bank, Wookey Hole, Wells, Som. HQ Bookings Adrian Vanderplank, 51 Cambridge Road, Clevedon, Avon Librarians Pete & Alison Moody Survey Sales Maurice Hewins (c) Wessex Cave Club 1982 Price to non-members 60p inc. P&P. Vol. 17 No. 193 EDITORIAL If there is such a thing as a silly season for editorials, then this is it. I have recently moved back to London after changing jobs, and I have also been preparing for a few weeks abroad, all of which has left little time even to think of this padding! There is no 'Mendip News' or 'Club News' in this issue, as activity since the last reports is continuing on much the same lines. However, members are always up to something, not least going to France, Spain, Ireland, Yosemite (not to cave, but it deserves a mention), and Ireland. Digging fever has spread, and results should not be far around the corner (or through the sump, up the rift, or wherever). LETTER TO THE EDITOR Dear Al, The last Wessex Journal sparked off in me a train of thought on the subject of irresponsibility in caving. Thus: I visited G.B. Cave in 1963, as a novice, and I do not see in its present condition any general deterioration. Most of the wanton damage to stal there is near the entrance and pre-1963. The fact that the UBSS and others chose at one time to fill the place with the kind of artificial aid only novices or casual visitors ever really needed is directly responsible for some of this damage. Yet we apply to UBSS for digging and photographic permission. Irresponsible? A responsible Bristol club was recently alleged to be digging with compressor and drill in order to find the back-door to Otter Hole. No comment on this was made by Frank Baguley in his news-sheet, just a statement that it was taking place. I do not know whether you can imagine Otter Hole as a 'through- trip'; the 'physical challenge' the high-speed challenge; the dash to catch the tide? Or perhaps it is just a matter of an 'easy way to the stal. ' Do the members of WCC find this irresponsible? I have heard it said that John Parker (GOCAF) on learning that 'unofficial parties' (whatever they may be) were entering Ogof Craig-a-Ffynnon, took explosives and blew in part of the entrance. I took part in laying some of the tapes in this cave and witnessed the slipshod manner in which this seemed to be carried out. Plenty of tape - and no thought behind it. The reported damage caused by 'official' parties was predictable and was in fact predicted. I do not know what is wrong at Craig-a-Ffynnon or at Charterhouse. I do know that both areas are controlled by access agreements of one kind or another and that these arrangements are biased in favour of certain groups. I do know that the controlling bodies are apt to critcise all but their own membership. I suspect that the controlling bodies account for most of the visitors and by extension perhaps most of the damage. I believe most sincerely that those who would wish to restrict the rest of us in the interest of personal or, well, tribal aggrandisement, have somehow to be removed. This is a long process. It does not do anything to save Otter Hole. There is only one satisfactory solution at Otter Hole and that is commercialisation. No other way will do. Those who do not agree should visit it now, then again in five or six years, by which time it will be too late of course, and ponder on the fact in the context of whatever may be considered the best decorated in 1988. If they do get a back entrance, it is done for. Yours, Bob Lewis 27 LONGWOOD THE RENOLDS PASSAGE EXTENSION Pete Moody Cheddar has the largest rising on Mendip, drawing water from as far away as the Tor Hole area in the east and Pinetree Pot in the north. Draining the south flank of Blackdown to Cheddar are the swallets Manor Farm, Read's Grotto, G.B. and Tyning's Farm. Longwood is the principal sink in this line. It's catchment area is far greater than any other Mendip swallet and although Bristol Waterworks have capped one of the major springs at the head of the valley the cave is often extremely wet. The entrance to Longwood is 187m above the resurgence and 2700m from it. The system is a classic, it has everything; crawls, climbs, chambers and galleries, formations and a very fine stream way. The first explorers must have been euphoric and the adrenalin must have flowed when 30m after entering the Great Rift at -107m they found the already large stream augmented by another cascading in. The way opens out to 3m x 4m and looks set to continue all the way to Cheddar! Disappointment is around the next corner; the passage rapidly degenerates to a hands and knees crawl and ends at a miserable stream sink in mud and cobbles. A flood overflow on the right leads to a narrow, awkward rift, snaggy and tight. Efforts to extend the cave have centred on the Oxbow region, which is supposed to equate to St, Paul's Series in Swildons - a gateway into major old fossil passage (Atkinson 1967). The Mendip Caving Group have toiled at this site for many years without any great success. The only serious attempt to open up the stream sink was made by the Wessex in 1966 and they did not get very far. The flood overflow, Renolds Passage, received very little attention at all until recently. The surveying partly turned back in Renolds after 60m and many cavers today get no further. With the limit of exploration neither pinpointed by map nor described in an easily obtainable account, confusion often arose as to how far the passage had actually been pushed. In similar circumstances in Yorkshire there have been occasions when cavers have unknowingly passed a ‘final' squeeze into new territory; in Longwood, the opposite has happened. All too frequently people have claimed to have extended Renold's beyond 60m but have done nothing of the sort. The most notorious of these 'discoveries' was made by Brian Lewarne of the Plymouth Caving Group in 1973. Although the published accounts (Lewarne '73 & '74) were more restrained than the stories put about on Mendip, everyone came to believe that at least 100m of new passage had been found, ending at the head of a wet pitch where a boulder blocked the way down. Following up the initial breakthrough, the PCG did several trips down Longwood to bang at the boulder but apparently without success as no further progress was reported. The discovery sounded exciting but all who tried to visit the extension were stopped by the squeeze at the start of the new passage. Many were sceptical that anyone could have passed the squeeze, which was extremely tight, however, the constriction was short and the roar of a large stream could be plainly heard. It seemed just possible that some of the Plymouth's small boys may have pushed through and the only way that anyone was going to verify the claim was to bang out the squeeze. An enthusiastic Wessex team, Alan Mills, Dave Walker, Paul Hadfield, Alison and myself started work in May 1977 and it only took us a couple of days to see our way through the squeeze. On the far side, the passage dropped a metre or so (the pitch?) and widened sufficiently for one to be able to crouch up and turn around. We had to turn because there was no way on - the rift ahead was only about 10cm wide for as far as we could see. The Plymouth's claim may have been refuted but there was no denying that roar of water; the sirens' call made us determined to reach it. 1977 saw ten blasting trips down Renold's. Progress was slow - the rift descended steeply and had to be extensively widened. By December we had made 9m and still we could not see any increase in the passage size although from the thunder of the water we just knew it must open up around the next bend. 1978: The breakup of the team. Dave was able to come on a few trips at the start of the year and Al continued to provide some welcome financial support towards the cost of the explosives, Paul offered some feeble excuse about it not being possible for him to commute from Canada.