Gaping Gill

[Richard G.]

Very early start this morning to drive up to Clapham, just below Ingleborough, in the Yorkshire Dales. The reason for this early start was so we could walk up to Gaping Gill and get in the queue for the Bradford Potholing Clubs (BPC) annual opportunity to be sat in a very small chair on the end of a bit of wire and lowered 360 feet, through Britain’s highest unbroken waterfall, to the bottom of the cavern!

BPC set up a winch every spring bank holiday and for a full week (starting today this year) it's open to the public should you wish to visit the cavern, which is otherwise accessible only to potholers.

It really is an amazing place and incredible what the BPC do to give the general public an opportunity to see the cavern, redirecting Fell Beck to allow the winch chair to avoid the worst of the waterfall, floodlighting the cavern for viewing and all just really friendly folk (“it’s free to be lowered into the cavern, but £10 to be brought back out again!” ). Well worth a visit over the next week, if anyone was wondering what to do for a day out.

Be warned though, it's very popular. We arrived at the winch head this morning around 8:30 and were 16/17th down. By the time we came out at 10:30, there was a 4 hour wait!!

Couple of pictures to whet your appetite.



Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the added treat of a pair of Grey Wagtails nesting in a crack in the rock right at the top of the entrance, hope their young manage to fledge successfully or they’ll have a long drop

[LynM]

OMG, Richard! I've always wanted to do that since I first heard about it many, many years ago. Problem now is being there at the right time, possibly lost the chance now.

Great pics btw.

[Meta menardi]

I used to pothole, until I got involved in farming and ended up with no free time, no money and living a long way from any caves. Gaping Gill is a sensational system, you can spend whole days going through it and there are easy bits, hard bits, wet bits, dry bits and also bits that need diving equipment.

[Richard G.]

I know Lyn. We went up there a few years ago and not knowing the way of things, arrived around 11am to find a 6 hours wait, so we missed out. I've been wanting to go for years, so this year got ourselves organised and it worked perfectly

[Richard G.]

Well I'm no potholer Meta, but think you should try and pack life full of experiences like this .

I keep saying I'll find a company that will take novices down some easy routes for a day or two to take me out of my comfort zone a little; just to remind myself how exhilarating life can be...

[Hedge Witch]

Ahh this brought back fond memories Richard, thanks for sharing.

I went there as a teenager. Once down, one of us borrowed a lamp and we set off in search of adventure. Off we went into a tunnel and into smaller and smaller caves. For about 15 min we travelled, the tunnel getting narrower and more cramped as we went. As a joke, the lamp holder switched off the lamp and never have I experienced such complete darkness and almost total silence. Being a wuss, I begged for the light to be switched back on, and eventually we turned back (it gets a wee bit eerie down there after a while).

On the way back we took a wrong turning (descending rather than ascending) and went into a maze of tunnels that none of us recognised, and didn't seem to go anywhere. By now we were all totally panic-stricken, lost in what seemed to be the bowels of the Earth. Somehow retracing our steps (well, not exactly steps, what are they called when you are on your knees ) we found the path that went upwards, but everything looked so different the other way round, we were still confused for a good while after that.

Anyway, we lived to tell the tale, and it was the most amazing experience. I would thoroughly recommend a visit there

[Meta menardi]

Originally Posted by Richard G.

Well I'm no potholer Meta, but think you should try and pack life full of experiences like this .

I keep saying I'll find a company that will take novices down some easy routes for a day or two to take me out of my comfort zone a little; just to remind myself how exhilarating life can be...

My Mum and Dad met whilst caving, and it just followed on naturaly for me. Mum was quite a toughie, though very lady-like. She died in November last year, about 2 years before a local paper did a full page on her caving exploits, particularly some of the original exploration of Mossdale, near Grassington, a supremely challenging cave that claimed several lives in a very nasty occurrence in the late 60's. It is very tight, with sharp edges to the limestone, in later life she had knee problems and the specialist asked her what had she done to scar her knees the way they were.

[Richard G.]

Oops, only just saw this reply Meta, apologies. Your Mum sounds like an amazing character, bet she didn't come across many other women cavers back then?

Anyway, the reason for resurrecting this thread was just to say that I've booked myself on a 2-day introductory caving course at Ingleborough Hall beginning of September

All very exiting, but now it's booked, I feel a little trepidation...

[PMG]

Originally Posted by Richard G.

Oops, only just saw this reply Meta, apologies. Your Mum sounds like an amazing character, bet she didn't come across many other women cavers back then?

Anyway, the reason for resurrecting this thread was just to say that I've booked myself on a 2-day introductory caving course at Ingleborough Hall beginning of September

All very exiting, but now it's booked, I feel a little trepidation...

After reading HW's account I'd feel a little trepidation too .........

Nah seriously it willl be huge fun and I wish I could do it but I don't enjoy tight spaces underground - well not anywhere really Enjoy

[ChrisJB]

Would love to do this. I might have bash sometime, but get up there mega early.

Regards, Chris