February 24th P8
Cross, Muir and 1 bod from PDMHS
Bloody freezing. Missed pub.
March 5th Aggy Aggy
Dave Gill, Al Steans, Gobmike
Dan Y O too wet, OFD too wet, Neath River too wet etc. So Aggy trip with New Univ as host. An enthralling trip, Inner Circle by glow worm light and a few other bits and pieces by even less light, out of Ogof G with no lights.
March 6th Porth Y Ogof and New Inn
Thrown out of boozer at 13.55!!
March 23rd Llygad Llwchwr
D. Gill
A rising somewhere in S.Wales. Everyone else at the dinner so I went to Wales. A very interesting hole worth repeating at Easter with a larger party for Ogof Carreg Cennen. A grotty little hole under a castle, used to be a dungeon.
March 24th Aggy
D. Gill
To the Cliffs of Dover. Bridge Inn after.
April 14th (Easter) Llygad Llwchwr (Source of Lougher nr Trapp) 2½hrs
Batspiss, R Cross, Fish and Mrs Fish, Dave Gill, John the wall and mate.
Excellent trip down this S.Wales rising. River chambers, stream passages and dry s inspired by a super several Backley’s keg session in Cennen Arms.
April 15th Aggy Grand Circle 6hrs 40m
J. Rat, J. Price (Chelsea),R. Websail (Wessex) T. Hughes (BEC)
Usual round trip fleeing from surface sunshine.
April 15th Aggy Swiss Passage
Wind Tunnel Deep Water 5hrs
Dave Gill + two youths.
Having lined two youth underground, I contrived to extinguish all the lights and come out with a faint glow and two sore arses.
April 16th Aggy Inner Circle 4hrs
Poisoned Dwarf (EPC) Dave Gill, Lugger (NCC) and another NCC
Very good trip, marathon style, didn’t get lost and light didn’t pack up.
April 16th Aggy Cliffs of Dover 2½hrs
Loads of people some of whom succeeded in looking at the most amazing fissures in the first boulder choke.
Friday. Old Ham –New Dunn
Durdy, D. Muir, Terry and Babara Wright
Grot searching trip
April 29th Duce Hole ½hr
Tombstone, Dave Muir, J Rat
Intention of digging was thwarted by usual problem and also lack of equipment (The latter also indirectly caused by the usual problem)
Had a look at the shitty upstream and the resident rats (!) then I went to the Bulls Head for more of the usual problem.
May 5th Duce Hole 1hr
J Rat
Potted about for an hour, scrapping gravel from lower railway track. Found an old ‘mineral water’ bottle.
May 6th Duce Hole 1hr 50min
Icarus, Teapot, Poisoned Dwarf, Grotty Gill, J Rat
Initial problems with dig sumping up were solved and about 30 tubs of gravel removed. Bad air curtailed digging.
May 12th P8
Bob Cross, Ian Caldwell, Tim Weston
Apre’s Bulls Head trip at breakneck speed to sump and out. Very wet. Silly fixed handline just inside entrance removed to upset wegies! (Watch next Descent for irate Boy Scout letter)
May 19th Birks Fell 5hr
Stump Cross
V Good trip !?!?!?
August 11th
Jeny + Richard, Cheg + Aileen
Stopped off at the hut after a strenuous visit to the Miners at Brassington. Didn’t go caving due to the state of Richard’s wetsuit, good excuse.
August 11th OFDI 5hrs
Dave Gill + 3 Doncaster Rover scouts
Change of new leadership states but no one at farm so either irrelevant. Rather slow trip to top entrance via Maypole. Dismal route finding by leader in OFDI. Also dismal scene in Gwynn Arms.
August 25th Lancaster
Vic, Martin
Through trip
August 26th Disappointment – Gaping Gill
Vic, Martin, Russell, Al Steans
Bar Pot through trip (7hrs??)
August 27th Simpsons Master Cave
Vic, Martin, Russell
Through trip to Valley Entrance. One rope no snags, quick trip.
NB. Very good bolts in Simpsons for SRT descents.
September 8th Swildons
Richard, Jenny, R. Cross, Mac, Bishop
Trip to Tratman’s Temple to talk about farting and sample the delights of varicose arseholes.
September 16th Giants Hole
Al Harrison, Richard, Cheg, Stuart, Alistair (C**t) (Apprentices)
Down Crab Walk to Geology (didn’t descend due to lack of tethers). Looked at Coopers extension or rather the rope dangling across the top of Geology (to find this rope climb up passage between pool and Geology and into muddy crawl to top of pitch) Back through upper series. Belay at top of Garlands covered in human excreta.
October4th* Ogof Hesp Alyn and Poachers Cave
Dave Gill, Al Steans, Vic, Trevor, Dave Gough, Dave Epton & Dickinson
Large well attended ordinary trip with a quick trip due to a party in Nottingham on Saturday night.
Ogof Hesp Alyn. A remarkable place which floods throughout with some tricky climbs plus an 80ft pitch. A collectors pull with excitement mud.
Poacher’s Cave which now has a complicated Welsh name was done by Vic, Dave’s Gill, Gough and Epton in a quick 1½ trip. In the my place outer very awkward lock, nice stream passage and great chamber.
November 3rd* GB Swildons, Tynnings Barrow
D Muir, Mick Durdey, Jeanmaire, D. Gill, Thompson, Trevor, Dickie, Gobmike, Steve Watson and bird, Al Steans, Adrian varkle, Bob Proctor and wife, Mac, Bishop, Bob Cross, Batstone
Plus several SS pubs in Wells + Nancue Farm. A very good alcoholic weekend with some people doing two trips on Saturday with the Hunters in between.
A lot of trips on Saturday + a training meet in Tynnings Barrow with Bob Proctor and Dave Gill. A pushing dig down Manor Easting 54½hrs by LS and BEC, keen types.
November 4th* Shatter Cave
Al Steans, Gobmike, Trevor, Dickie, Dave Gill
After a drunken Nov 3rd trip to Shatter Cave in Fairy Cave quarry, unbelievable formations. Out in time for Hunters (13.30)
* October 4th, November 3rd & 4th entries are a brave attempt By Dave Gough to decipher Icarus's Writing. So see below for a scan of the log book so you can make your own assumptions.
December 8th Cwn Dwr, OFDII, OFDI
Dave Gill, Vic, Al Steans, LS, Gobmike, Trevor
Excellent trip marred by coordination difficulties before ever descending into the bowels of the earth. Between 08.00 and 11.00 there was a grand tour of all the transport cafes of s.Wales. Eventually everyone met up at Penwyllt. Too late and too wet for Dan yr Ogof. The BEC success team where down in any case. The other snag was that LS felt that the smithy area was like Duce Hole. Good straight forward trip apart from the leaders light packing up and the entrance to OFDI being jammed. No one felt like braving the stream passage again and at last the power of prayer was amazingly demonstrated. A super severe walk back to Penwyllt. Superb ale sampling after at the Old Ford and various premises in Crickhowell.
December 9th Aggy
Up at the amazingly early time at 7.15 all in the interest of a long Sunday lunchtime booze. The usual good walk up the vicinity of Turkey pool, Panic then set in leading to a headlong flight out. Established in the Bridge End by 12.30 sampling the various delights, tried the beer as well.
December 15th Longwood 4hrs
Durdy, Dave Gill, Bill McGuinness
Apre’s Hunters trip which turned into an epic down Reynolds Passage sniffing gelignite.