YCC Blog
Ogof Carno to Whale Chamber
Gary Douthwaite | 7 July 2010
Carno, a cave I'd been looking forward to for ages, did not disappoint. It has to be the most unusual and interesting trip I've ever been on and I would recommend it to anyone. A good mixture of interest, easy and hard bits and a dash of excitement. Parking right on...
Ogof Draenen (Gilwern Passage to Hearts of Olden Glory Streamway)
Gary Douthwaite | 7 July 2010
Not really feeling like *another* Draenen round trip we decided to investigate another area - Strawberry Passage - or so we thought! With low water, the entrance was rather more pleasant than on previous trips with only a small amount of water going down the slot above the scaffolding. Still managed to get...
Ogof Draenen (Gilwern Passage to Hearts of Olden Glory Streamway)
Matt Ewles | 4 July 2010
A little bit of a mistake in this trip, which was originally intended to be Strawberry Passage! We headed down at midday via the pitch bypass to Cairn Junction. Looking at the survey (of which we only had a very small scale copy) it appeared that Strawberry Passage headed off to...
Dale Head Pot
Matt Ewles | 20 June 2010
We had a short but enjoyable trip down Dale Head Pot on Saturday. The cave is very easy to find, and the obvious entrance shaft can be rigged from metal stakes and a single bolt rebelay just over the edge (hidden by foliage). The bottom of the 5m shaft is horrible,...
Coolagh River Cave
Matt Ewles | 6 June 2010
It was interesting to take a trip down Coolagh River cave again, as it was amazing how well I remembered certain parts from four years ago, and how badly I remembered others! It was a lovely sunny day, we parked on the verge at the crossroads and walked down the road...
Cullaun Five
Catherine Moody | 4 June 2010
I'm fairly sure the Selected Caves description for this cave was written by a very short person, as we very much disagreed with the statements of "walking-sized" canyons. The cave caused quite a bit of back-ache and was relatively uninspiring until near the end where we found some very impressive...
Coolagh River Cave
Catherine Moody | 3 June 2010
Fantastic trip! A rather unpleasantly wet entrance followed by some mildly difficult traversing (for me anyway) led to some scrotty bedding plane crawls and canals to avoid the pitch at the end of Gour Passage. Definitely would not have wanted to be in there if there was any chance of rain....
Doolin River Cave to Fisherstreet Pot
Catherine Moody | 3 June 2010
A cracking cave to start off the weekend... Matt and Gary left early to pre-rig Fisherstreet Pot whilst the rest of us got ready at a leisurely pace. On their return we did a couple of shuttle runs and after a couple of wrong turnings we all made it to...
Doolin River Cave to Fisherstreet Pot
Matt Ewles | 3 June 2010
A thoroughly enjoyable and relaxing trip down a magnificent cave! After efficient pre-rigging of Fisherstreet Pot and a check of the water level (air space was approximately 50-60cm, far more than stated in the guide), we were underground before midday on a lovely warm morning, and soon making progress through the...
Birks Fell Cave
Matt Ewles | 9 May 2010
Another excellent trip to Birks Fell! After an early start in Buckden, we were underground by 11:30am. The cave is very easy to find - simply follow the tack up past Redmire Farm, and then after going through the gates, come off the path and follow the wall on the right...
Penyghent Pot
Matt Ewles | 25 April 2010
Fantastic and efficient trip down Penyghent! Staying at the YSS hut on Friday night (thanks to Rich and Nikki for catering), we made a hungover early start and were up at Brackenbottom by 9am, and at the entrance by 9:45am!!! I have never even seen a cave entrance this early in...
Hurnel Moss Pot
Chad Bullivant | 20 April 2010
A cracking trip down Hurnel moss :) The weather was beautiful, which meant that it was a little warm on the long walk up. We came across what may have turned out to be Grey Wife hole first (?) thinking that was our pot - alas no. So more walking, but...
Hunter's Scar Jet Mine
Gary Douthwaite | 5 April 2010
Promised so much, but delivered so little. Reports on this mine looked good, however the reality was rather different. After meeting up in Great Ayton, we all headed up towards Captain Cook's Monument and after the third stop, found the right car park! An easy walk up the forestry track followed...
Tatham Wife Hole
Matt Ewles | 28 March 2010
A pleasant and uncomplicated trip down Tatty Wife. Parking at the quarry layby, we headed straight up the hillside and towards the scar of the Tatham Wife Fault, in line with the lower slope of Ingleborough where the shakehole is found at the far end of the scar (my first...
Boxhead Pot - Lost Johns Pot
Mark S Sims | 8 February 2010
Matt & Gary arrived 10 minutes early, and amazingly I was already packed and ready to go. After a diversion back to their house (!) to pick up the rest of the descriptions, we were on our way to the Dales. Bernies was reached 20 mins ahead of schedule, and...
Boxhead Pot - Lost Johns Pot
Matt Ewles | 8 February 2010
A superb trip, one of the finest I have ever done! We were really efficient, arriving for breakfast at Bernie's for 9:45am! Mark, Gary and I were joined by Rich, Steve and Ellie. The intention was originally just Boxhead Pot however the decision was made to go for the exchange with...
Kildale Mine & Christmas Meal
Matt Ewles | 30 January 2010
On a very snowy day we met up with the Scarborough guys in Stokesley for breakfast, following large amounts of snow over the previous week. We headed up towards the village of Kildale, thankfully following a tractor which was gritting the narrow road. A trudge up the hill in the...
Lost Johns Pot
Matt Ewles | 30 January 2010
A pleasant trip down Lost Johns following Boxhead being too wet at the bottom of the entrance aven. We got down to the meeting point for all routes (via Centipede and Catherdral routes) where we swapped routes for the journey out, reaching the surface after only a couple of hours...
Devis Hole Mine
Matt Ewles | 9 January 2010
An excellent trip that didn't look like it was going to happen! We had an early start and John, Gary, Ade and I met up with Rich, Nikki and Tash up near snowy Leyburn. We found that the road between Leyburn and Reeth (which the mine is near) was closed at...
Jean Pot
Gary Douthwaite | 1 December 2009
A quite unexpectedly enjoyable trip! I started the day with thoughts of 6 hours of tight squeezes and waterfall filled awkward pitch heads, but it was quite the opposite. There are some awkward parts and a couple of crawls but not at all as nasty as the guide book suggests. A lovely...