Sat. 21^st. September 1985. (County Pot)

Today was supposed to he the Gingling Hole Meet, but seeing as most members were going to the B.C.R.A. Conference in Manchester I didn’t think anyone would be going. I was told that Rotherham Caving Club would be up at the farm for the week so I went there.

As soon as I got to Bullpot, they said hurry up and get changed, we’re ready to go. The group I went with were wanting to go down Top Sink, but someone who got there first said it was flooded, so we went to County Pot.

Easegill Beck was in flood and when we got down into County Pot there was water coming in everywhere. There was water cascading clown the first pitch, nearly enough to wash you off the ladder. There was water shooting over the short climb clown into Broadway, and Showerbath passage had more than one showerbath this time. It was pouring down from the roof in torrents & nearly washed you off your feet. We climbed up just before Spout Hall & went into Manchester Bypass. When we got to Mainline Terminus, some of the party wanted to see what it was like in Stop Pot so we went down the iron ladder to have a look.

When we reached the bottom of the boulder slope it looked different to what it normally is. That was because all the big boulders at the bottom were submerged. I found that out when I dropped into the stream and didn’t touch the bottom. One of the lads tried to see if there was a way through to Eureka Junction. I followed him, but when we jumped in the stream it was over our heads & there was no way through. They next wanted, to have a look at the crawl through to Four Ways Chamber above
Wretched Rabbit Passage. So I showed them the way & when we climbed down into Wretched Rabbit it was only knee deep. We didn’t go downstream to Eureka, so I don’t know what conditions were like there. We returned to Stop Pot., back up the iron ladder & on to Mainline Terminus, where we had left some gear then carried on the main route to Lancaster Hole. When we arrived at Stake Pot, the hole down
to the streamway was full, of water, six foot below the bottom fixed ladder. When we neared Fall Pot I could hear falling water & when I reached the top of the short slippery climb down, all I could see of Fall Pot was a big lake & a huge waterfall coming down out of Cow Pot.

The edge of the lake was close to the bottom of the short climb down. One of the lads tied himself on the end of a rope they had with them & swam across to the big iron ladder. He tied the rope to it & the rest of us pulled ourselves across on it. I would say the level of the water was about a quarter of the way up the big iron ladder. We then set off to Lancaster Entrance by either of the, two routes. I went by way of the short iron ladder & when I got there I met Randy & another group coming down the clay slope from Montague West. They had been to have a look at Wilf Taylor’s Passage. Randy said there was a lot of water pouring down that but when they first got to Fall Pot he reckoned the water was halfway up the iron ladder and to the side a large whirlpool. Thankfully there was no whirlpool there when we crossed it.

Then we got to Lancaster Entrance shaft, there were several groups going out so we had about an hour and a half’s wait. There was quite a bit of water coming down the shaft, but not too bad. Handy had told us they had to divert a stream that was pouring down the entrance shaft before they could get down.

When I got back to the farm the track to Bull Pot was a big stream & someone said it had almost reached the farm door earlier.

Frank Hardy.

Back to Contents.