March 13th Hollandtwine
From Tony Jarratt's Log Book 2hrs10mins.
Al Steans, Mike, Steve Watson
Al and I took the telephone to the top of the climbing shaft to contact Mac & Bill at the surface. We found that it was possible to hear each other without the phone and we must be very close - though several hours of strenuous digging failed to reveal any sign of the shaft. Most annoying.
March 19th Hollandtwine
From Tony Jarratt's Log Book
Mac surface digging and shoring at Hollandtwine. Extensive collapse of sides didn't help matters.
May 14th Douber Gill Passage
Training meet for potential new members and Fish’s divorce. Training meet for Liz calling out UWFRA.
(yeah and Gill’s very Douber, Fish)
From UWFRA book ‘Anytime – Anywhere
rescue 315; 8 cavers overdue DGP
July 16th Giants Hole
Jenny, Richard, Trevor, Bill
Quick trip to the canals, water low. Back via upper series and out.
July 17th P8
Trevor, Bill
Tourist trip to look around.
July 23rd Giants Hole
Bill and BEC crowd
7-hour trip, good look around. Nigel the man had difficulty in the vice (Big Bastard).
August 14th Clatterway Sough, Bonsall
Big Al, Richard and Jenny, Trevor, Bill, Cheg
Nice Sunday trip, 300 ft crawling and crouching in 1ft of liquid mud. A big boulder near entrance to be avoided. The workings are dry with some thrutchy bits. Time 1.5hrs.
August 21st Gautries Hole
Trevor, Bill
Looked around as never been down before and generally went everywhere? The duck before the pitch was sumped so dived through 2ft. Bailed it to make the return journey. 6’’ airspace now. A nice shitty trip for Sunday. Time 2hrs.
August 25th Swildons I
Richard, Jenny, Phil the Miner (PCC) Batspiss, G W J, Ross (BEC)
No report
August 27th Swildons Hole
Big Al, Cheg, Trev, Mac, Bill
Quick trip through sump I to sump II
August 28th St Cuthberts
Big Al, Bishop, Trev, Cheg, Bill + 3 Yorkshire Yobs (1 Female)
No report
September 3rd Masson Cavern, Kings Mine, Matlock
A. Steans, S.Chester, B.McGuinness
2 hour trip, plenty to see. Mined passage still going down rift, stream not yet encounted at bottom.
September 4th Gautries Hole
A.Steans, Richard and Bill
Trip to bottom, sump/duck, no water. Got lost in first bit. Still a shit hole.
September 4th Santorini Island, midway between Greece and Crete
J Rat
3 caves near Kamari beach.
1) c 200ft of dry stal decorated passage in marble. Maze like and probably would go further with digging or bang. Previously explored by one Jack Sigalus in 1963 plus other name in Greek, unreadable. Situated about 60ft up old quarry face. Bat in residence plus numerous creppie-crawlies.
2) c 200ft of large bore ascending phreatic tunnel in marble, mostly full up with loose sandy material, possibly volcanic ash. A good dig if you could get a JCB up there. Situated above a small church, several hundred feet above the cliff overlooking Karmari and reached by 1,000,000 steps.
3) Behind above mentioned church. Large passage for 100ft to an underground stream (the only running water seen on the island).This rises from the floor and appears to sump around the corner. Not pushed due to idleness, lack of clothes and day long opening hours.
This island would be grate for a caving holiday. There are two limestone hills (marble really) and the rest is volcanic ash and lava; the main bay is one of the biggest craters in the world with a new active volcano growing up right in the middle (also worth a trip) From my brief visit it is obvious caves exist, and probably extensive ones. I doubt if much caving has been done here. More to the point the beaches are too hot to stand on in bare feet, there are hundreds of naked birds everywhere and the island produces the best wine in Greece-enough said!
Septemer 6th Grotte de Antiparos, Antiparos Island off Paros Island Greece
J.Rat
Caught boat from Paros to bay below the cave. ¾hr mule ride up steep track leads to large cave entrance on mountainside. Very cheap admission (10 drachmas – 18p) Huge steeply descending passage with 2ft wide concrete steps, some minus handrail, in mid air. Drops down for 400ft – end of cave. Tons of white and cream stal everywhere. Highlight of the cave is the multi-national graffiti dating from 1673 and that lots of pritties where stolen by the Russian soldiers in 1800’s and Musalinies Wops in 1940’s. Bloody good cave and well worth a visit if only for the mule ride!! Good beach, cafes and tits at Piso Livadi, Paros island.
September 7th Masson Mine, Kings Mine, Matlock
A.Steans, Mac, Cheg, Big Al, Thompson
No report
September 10th Lathkill revisited
Dave Gill, Fish
One-year later episode II. Forced downstream choke, draft stopped. Upstream blowing. Down stream now 1000ft, maximum height still 1ft, must be the hardest sustained crawl in the UK. Next choke reached and banged. Shot cable and a pile of dumped carbide plus 1 pencil still in evidence under 30ft head of winter flood?
September 12-13th 7th International Congress of Speleology, Sheffield
J.Rat
Went along as sole Pegasus representative. Met assorted wogs, aliens and foreigners. Learnt a lot in only 1½ days. Wish I could have stayed the week. Disgusting bar hours.
September 14th Devonshire Mine.
Al Steans, Cheg, Mac, Big Al, Rich Gough, Bill + Thomo
Trip to the inner reaches of this breathtaking example of a Punk Colony. We successfully reached camp 1 and then onto camp 2. On reaching a tight obstacle, successfully pushed it and broke through to bottom this mine. Once again human endeavour conquers. Time 2 hrs.
September 21st Masson – Great Ox, High Loft, Kings Mine
From Tony Jarratt's Log Book
Big Al, Cheg, Mac, Rich, Bill, Thomo, Al Steans, JARat, Pat, Mick
Evening trip into complex by Masson Cavern entrance and through Black Ox Mine and High Loft Mine workings into parts of Kings Mine. Amazing labyrinth of multi sized mined and partly natural passages, very easy to get lost in. We only explored a tiny corner of the complex shown on the survey (itself not complete) Deserves many more trips to become familiar with the interesting system.
September 23rd Longshot Cave, Middleton by Youlgrave
J Rat, Rich, Al, Mac
Digging in a shithole.
From Tony Jarratt's Log Book 1hr.
Recce digging trip to a small bedding cave, one of several to which the name could apply. A boulder was broken and removed plus other small rocks. The way on consisted of a flat 3ft high bedding plane in nearly all directions. Not worth anymore work in my opinion as the present day resurgence is of identical dimensions. There is certainly a small cave system there but I am sure it is impassable without vasts amounts of blasting to actually make the cave passage.
October 1st Queens Mine – Youds Level, Matlock
Al Steans, Big Al, Cheg, J Rat, Gob Mike, Dave Gough, Terry and 2 other PDMHS
From Tony Jarratt's Log Book 4hrs.
Combined meet with PDMHS to investigate the possibility of connecting the recently investigated series of workings (Youd's Level) with the bottom of Gentlewoman's Pipe in Queen's Mine. We entered via the 220' "Day Shaft" on the PDMHS winch. The shaft is a fantastic example of a hand picked haulage shaft. Approx 6' x 3' it is perfectly vertical and clean washed and drops into some 1500' of fantastic coffin level - probably the best in Derbyshire.
We headed up the workings to a collapsed area some distance in where digging, letting off detonators and burning fuel for smoke ensued. (A smoke connection was established with the collapsed winze in Queen's Mine)
We exited via the coffin level and sough, emerging in a back yard in Matlock Bath! Fantastic mine and superb trip.The through trip when connected will be over a mile in length and some 700' deep making it an extremely fine system.
Masson - Gentlewomans Pipe
Pat + Mate + 2 PDMHS
Attempt to make connection between two parts of Queens Mine. Smoke connection made by Big Al’s shaft, also ‘det’ heard by one of second party. 2 places dug in Queens, both abortive, better place to dig discovered for next time. Excellent trip down 220ft shaft by PDMHS winch. Superb coffin level.
Tony Jarraett about to descend "Day Shaft" of Queen's Mine, Mike (O')Toole (Gob Mike) looks on
October 8th Hollandtwine Mine
Al Steans, Bill, Mike O’Toole, J Rat (Pegasus)
Terry, Jeff, Les, Sue & John (PDMHS)
4 other blokes (Jackpot CC)
The Jackpot team abseiled main shaft to bottom. PDMHS set up two winches. Pegasus with Terry and Jeff descended to 150ft level by winch. All to bottom, where Al, Bill, Mike and Jackpots visited natural series and removed all digging gear. Terry, Jeff and J Rat prepared assorted gear and artefacts for winch. All scaffolding in the mine removed plus the tram from 340ft level. Also the digging trolley and minimax ladder. Mine now clear of all useful or interesting items. Many thanks to PDMHS for their help. Tram now on display PDMHS Matlock.
October 19th Cumberland Cavern/Wapping Mine
From Tony Jarratt's Log Book 20min
Cheg, Chris, Mac, Andrew, John Bacon, Big Al, Al Steans, Dave Gough, Tommo
Very quick drunken rush through the system from Cumberland entrance to Wapping entrance. Large rambling pipe workings - part once a show cave. Nice easy trip and out for more booze.
October 22nd Duce Hole
From Tony Jarratt's Log Book 1½hrs.
Cheg, Bill, Mac, Andrew
Cleared loads of spoil from the terminal rift using paint cans - stacked in sandbags to form a dam in the main passage to deflect water into first sink.
October 25th Good Luck Mine, Via Gellia
Big Al, Paul, Mac, J Rat, Cheg,Terry, Steans, D Gough
Quick trip in this show mine and then to the Holly Bush.
From Tony Jarratt's Log Book 1¼hrs.
Very interesting visit to this "show" mine being gradually opened up and vaguely commerialised by PDMHS members. Parts of the workings date from the middle C19th to the 1940's. Fine example of original "herring bone" stone stempling and iron tramway in situ. PDMHS have added displays of tools, ore chute, winches, trams, lead ore measures, ladders etc to give adventurous members of the public a chance to see what lead mining is (or was) all about. Well worth a visit.
October 30th Duce Holes
Bill, Cheg, Paul, Trevor, Andrew, John Bacon
Installed railway line, broke for dinner at the Stags.