Cave Diving in the UK

[FW]

The first dive I did was sump one, in Swildon's, solo. Nobody else was interested, so I had a quick look around, and returned.

Then we went over to Wales, and dove Porth yr Ogof, in the "Tradesman's entrance". We only had 5 liter tanks (about like a 30), so it was a short dive. We got to the the second air bell. The viz was good for Porth, about 25', and the current was low. We didn't really notice it until the return trip. I am told the viz is usually about 5-7', and the current is like the Lipps at Devil's Eye.

Then we went to Pwll y Cwm, still in Wales. Duncan went in first, and Ken and I went in a few minutes later. The boulder choke was worse than when i was there in 2012, and I couldn't get in using Duncan's tanks on my harness. The tanks stuck up too high in the back. I might have gotten through pushing them ahead, but Ken couldn't get in either, so we called the dive. FWIW, it took Duncan five minutes to dig his way out.

We came back to England, and dove Wookey hole. The viz was great there, around 50'. When I was there before, it was less than 10'. I got to see a lot I had swam by before, but didn't know was there because of the bad viz. We carried our tanks to chamber 3 in cave packs, and went back out to get into drysuits. We entered the water at chamber three, dove to 9-1, took the Extension line, to chamber 9, then the deep line, leaving a marker at the first"T", taking the deep route. We went on to the second "T" and up into chamber 20. We then went back to the 2nd T, and went all the way to chamber 22. My neck seal was leaking, and I was getting cold, so we didn't get out of the water. We went back via the shallow route, picking up our marker at the 1st T. I walked my tanks (7L/45s) to the divers entrance, and left them to go back to the car and change out of my wet "drysuit". I think something must have been caught under the neck seal, since it was intact when I examined it.

[diveconjeff]

Appreciate your post! Gear sales and discussions are great, but I really enjoy the dive stories!

[FW]

We were staying in the local "dry" caving club all week. It was nice as we usually had it all to ourselves. Last night was very different. All the weekend cavers arrived in the evening, and the place was getting crowded. I went to bed around 10pm, but people kept arriving until after midnight, turning the lights on each time. It was hard to sleep for all the people getting up to go to the "loo" (restroom), or snoring. One guy was coughing for nearly a minute, every hour. At around 4am, a sleeping bag fell from the upper bunk over me, waking me up, The guy reached for it, and fell off the bed! From then on, there were alarms going off every half hour from people's cellphones they hadn't shut off from their daily wake up time

Duncan is collecting me at 10am or so, and we are going to the town of Bath, known for the old Roman baths from nearly 2000 years ago. Later I will catch a train to the nearest stop to the airport. I will stay the night there, and fly out Sunday about 7am Florida time (noon here). I will get into Atlanta around 5pm EDT.

[speleocrone]

I am so envious Forrest! Of the diving, not the horrors of hut life. I know I shouldn't laugh but huts on weekend are the pits. Caving huts on weekends are a horror unto themselves. We get too old for that crap. I did by 25

[FW]

...I know I shouldn't laugh but huts on weekend are the pits..:

What is even more funny, the address of the hut is "Upper Pitts"

[keri.lewis]

Could have been worse.. could have been the Belfrey... Upper Pitts is a haven of peace and quiet in comparison..

Sorry I missed you this trip. Was away working.

[FW]

Could have been worse.. could have been the Belfrey... Upper Pitts is a haven of peace and quiet in comparison..

Sorry I missed you this trip. Was away working.

You will just have to come to the US. I have 50 unchecked leads in Alabama alone

[diveconjeff]

Could have been worse.. could have been the Belfrey... Upper Pitts is a haven of peace and quiet in comparison..

Sorry I missed you this trip. Was away working.

A Belfry and some Pitts?

EI: Well when I say "house" it was only a hole in the ground covered by a piece of tarpolin, but it was a house to US.

GC: We were evicted from *our* hole in the ground; we had to go and live in a lake!

TG: You were lucky to have a LAKE! There were a hundred and sixty of us living in a small shoebox in the middle of the road.

MP: Cardboard box?

TG: Aye.

MP: You were lucky. We lived for three months in a brown paper bag in a septic tank. We used to have to get up at six o'clock in the morning, clean the bag, eat a crust of stale bread, go to work down mill for fourteen hours a day week in-week out. When we got home, out Dad would thrash us to sleep with his belt!

GC: Luxury. We used to have to get out of the lake at three o'clock in the morning, clean the lake, eat a handful of hot gravel, go to work at the mill every day for tuppence a month, come home, and Dad would beat us around the head and neck with a broken bottle, if we were LUCKY!

TG: Well we had it tough. We used to have to get up out of the shoebox at twelve o'clock at night, and LICK the road clean with our tongues. We had half a handful of freezing cold gravel, worked twenty-four hours a day at the mill for fourpence every six years, and when we got home, our Dad would slice us in two with a bread knife.

EI: Right. I had to get up in the morning at ten o'clock at night, half an hour before I went to bed, (pause for laughter), eat a lump of cold poison, work twenty-nine hours a day down mill, and pay mill owner for permission to come to work, and when we got home, our Dad would kill us, and dance about on our graves singing "Hallelujah."

MP: But you try and tell the young people today that... and they won't believe ya'.

ALL: Nope, nope..


Jeff
Diveconjeff@yahoo.com

[speleocrone]

Ahhh. Monty Python. How much sadder and sorrier a world it would be without them.

[WEPIV]

Ahhh. Monty Python. How much sadder and sorrier a world it would be without them.

You're certainly right about that.
Anyone know if any of their "final" tour dates this past summer are somewhere online to see?