The History of Upper Flood

1971 – The Reservoir Hole Team

Work at Upper Flood Swallet began immediately with a clearing operation. There was much evidence of the presence of lead miners. Most of the roof above the first drop consisted of large boulders, once held in place by now long-rotten timberwork, and succeeded by calcite cement. In the floor above the drop a board was found buried in the mud, while rope marks were discernible in the left hand wall above it. It is thought that miners diverted water down the swallet, using it as a drain. As much of this water would have been derived from the buddle pits used for washing lead ore it would have been heavily silted. Presumably the swallet required some attention to keep it clear – the board appeared to be part of a sluice, the rope marks are thought to have been caused by dragging out buckets containing the silt. Subsequent analysis of cave mud deposits indicated a very high lead content.

The excavation of the entry passage in Upper Flood Swallet continued with the removal of roof and floor of the drainpipe. Slabs of rock from the roof were used to construct the steps down the first drop, and also at Stal Pot. During this work a passage behind the first steps was sealed with spoil. Work on enlarging the passage continued through 1968-71 and spoil was deposited outside the cave beyond a wall of heavy boulders. Sections of the concrete pipe were rested on the wall so as to preserve access through the increasing depth of spoil which was being dumped outside.

In late 1971 work was started in the entrance passage by the (non-MCG) team who had excavated Reservoir Hole – consisting of Willie Stanton, Tom Evans, Frank Reynolds, Willie Edwards, and Alan Trickey. The aim behind their work was to establish a walk-through to the final obstruction, where more powerful methods could then be brought to bear. By a strange twist of fate this part of the valley had been sold since MCG commenced digging. The Charterhouse Caving Committee, who originally controlled access on behalf of the Bristol Waterworks were informed of the sale but details did not reach MCG. The Reservoir Hole team sought permission of the new landowner and began digging, unaware of MCG’s efforts and our existing permission to dig. Likewise, the MCG were unaware of the Reservoir Hole team and their permission to dig! The obvious solution was to have a joint dig – and in this way work continued in December 1971, with WCC digging mostly midweek and MCG digging at the weekends.

1972 – a second breakthrough

The next breakthrough came on 18/08/72 when the Reservoir Hole team of Tom Evans, Frank Reynolds, Willie Stanton, Alan Trickey, together with Malcolm Cotter (MCG) passed the Boss into 5m of passage ending in another almost total blockage. Water flowed away through a small slot at the base of the obstruction where digging recommenced. Trouble with blockages was frequent – there was danger of flooding rendering the approach passage inaccessible.

After some 6m tunnelling through solid rock, another breakthrough was made by members of the Reservoir Hole team. The passage widened and the floor dropped, revealing a long descending chamber. From here the passage continued for 10m ending in a horizontal slit above a dam of glutinous mud. Beyond, the stream could be heard cascading over a drop. It was apparent that open cave did not go as far as the tell-tale flood debris that was deposited on the roof.

Once the lip of the dam had been breached the obstacle was easily passed, and on 03/12/72 a short drop of 2m was descended. Almost immediately the stream vanished in a loosely filled floor; progress was halted again.

1983 – New Voids and New Problems

In 1983, the cave ended at a pool and a stalagmite blockage. Geoff Barton found a soft fill on the left which broke up readily to reveal a cavity. Probing this, he dislodged sediment which could be heard splashing into water ahead. An unexpected sight was water flowing back from the developing crack. We wondered if we were heading into an inlet passage. Unfortunately the void closed down to solid fill.

Digging at this time consisted of putting an explosive charge at the face, generally on the right and just below water level, where it was possible to chisel out a cavity without the extreme effort normally required to drill shot holes by hand. It sometimes required more than one hauling trip to remove the debris produced and it required a lot of persuasiveness to get people on a hauling team. Fortunately, our newly-joined members were “encouraged” into lending a hand! Without their effort progress would have been exceedingly slow. Not all the spoil produced by blasting was removed from the cave because there was a muddy water-filled void below a shelving roof, and some fine sediment probably washed onwards. Thus the pool at the face was gradually back filled as we advanced.

The next discovery was made by Martin Rowe in May 1983. While working at the face he broke into a small cavity at roof level which took a chisel at arms length without impedance. It was later possible to shine a light along the hole which did not reveal any immediate enlargement.

1984-1985 – On the Verge of Discovery

The next interesting news from the cave came in November 1984 when Mike Haselden reported hearing a distant rumble from beyond the choke. Unfortunately no one else could confirm hearing a stream, leaving uncertainty as to the source of the sound.

By March 1985 we had reached the end of the eye hole in the roof and lost the draft, but fortunately the air remained fresh. The pool at the end could be probed a full arms length. What lay only a short way ahead could only be guessed at, but after 17 years of digging, it seemed that Upper Flood Swallet was about to reveal its secrets!

1985-1986 – Bypass Passage

Midnight Passage/Sunset Boulevard ended at an impenetrable sump, but just prior to this an awkward climb up appeared to be the beginning of a potential bypass, so it was decided to excavate onwards in the hope of avoiding the sump and dropping back into the stream. Several skips were brought down and a continuous loop used to pull the containers back and forth along the crawl. New diggers joined, among them being John Beauchamp, Alan Dougherty, Andy Scully (the sculptor) and Yvonne Ward (Rowe).

By November 1985 when the dig had progressed 4m, Malcolm Cotter made an attack on the roof of the passage. Progress with hammer and chisel was initially slow. Then, quite suddenly, a boom developed and a few blows later a hole appeared, to reveal a very low passage starting at a height of some 6cms but getting a little higher further on. An obstruction could be made out at the limit of vision some 6m ahead.

We had by August 1986 advanced a further 3.5m beyond the window and effective work required three people to get spoil back into the chamber where it was disposed of behind a wall of “deads”. On Wednesday 13/08/86, Gary Pairaudeau and Alan Dougherty brought down some large slabs of calcite, leaving a small hole in the false floor which formed the dig roof. They enlarged the hole until they were able to see the boulder, which had been visible from the first hole in the roof for some months, only 3m away.

Another day was spent removing a layer of stalagmite floor for 2m beyond the second window. The rock obstruction seen earlier was pushed away and a 4m crawl lead to a slope giving a view into a large passageway, Hannah’s Grotto, a t-shaped passage some 5m high ending at a vertical ‘cliff’ after only 20m.

Upper Flood was back to revealing its secrets in small packages! It had taken 1½ years to dig 9m and gain only 25m.

The ‘cliff’ was climbed on the day of exploration and but no continuation was found. At the end of the passage and below the cliff was a hole formed by collapse. Extensive areas of mud-cracked floor were taped off, since owing to the lack of water we thought they were an ancient feature. This conclusion we later found to be wrong. The best examples of mud cracks occurred above the hole referred to above and they remain intact.

The day following the discovery of the new passage the hole became the site of intensive digging. Work was easy at first as it involved the removal of clean loosely packed rock, and the presence of a weak inward air current indicated that this was the way to go. By the end of the first session at the new dig we could see into a small cavity with a mud-cracked floor.

1987-1990 – Puddle Lake and the Red Room

A serious attempt to pass the downstream obstruction from Sludge Duck Junction was made by Martin Rowe in July. He struggled to pass the downstream squeeze but safety demanded enlargement. On 02/08/87 bang was put into a shale parting above the constriction and the obstruction was passed.

Ahead, a pool of water was held back by a bank of rounded pebbles and mud, and a garden hoe proved its worth in clearing the mud. The ‘pool’ proved much less in extent than first reported and on return the name Puddle Lake was suggested by Pete Goddard. Ahead, the explorers entered a wide chamber formed by collapse in a fault and the stream dropped rapidly to the right. A squeeze was passed by Andrew Cotter which gave access to a small well-decorated grotto at one end of which was a hole between boulders which emitted a good air current. There were no other open possibilities. The chamber before the boulder choke contains a very fine red stained stalagmite flow and several names were tried, The Red Room being the one which seems to have survived.

Digging in late 1987 and 88 was concentrated at the lowest part of the Red Room. In 1989 digging moved to the lower end of the Red Room then to Flake Dig just beyond the original dig. Andrews Grotto was opened from below. The way on could be seen about 2m ahead but the diggers were greatly discouraged. They returned to Andrews Grotto to dig a double choke – an old one of large cemented boulders, and a newer one in the boulders which could be followed for 8m. At the end the sound of water could be heard. In the upper part of the choke above Andrew’s Grotto a wall was also followed. But by the 1990’s all possibilities seemed to be exhausted.

1998 – Conservation and Monitoring

Unable to find a way beyond the Red Room and Andrew’s Grotto boulder chokes, the diggers moved on to other projects. A leader system was introduced to protect the formations in Midnight Streamway and a period of conservation and cleaning of formations began. In addition, fixed-point photography was introduced so that any deterioration of the cave could be monitored.

2006 – Streamway Regained

In October 2005 a dig was started in the floor of Golden Chamber and by February 2006 a stream could be heard. The way on was ridiculously tight but a 36v Bosch drill with lithium-ion batteries soon proved its worth. By April it seemed that a major breakthrough was imminent.

Sadly, on the next trip Malcolm Cotter suffered fatal heart failure in the canal on the way out. Malcolm had seen the way on beyond the rift and knew there were good things ahead for the cave that he loved. We were sure Malcolm would have wanted us to continue, so a week later on 07/05/06 after 3 more double Hiltis, Peat Bennett and Tim Francis broke through to Streamway Regained. 2 more Hiltis from the inside and the larger members of the team, Doug Harris and Mike Richardson, joined them. A walking-size passage with a floor of boulders and rocks terminated at a jumble of boulders but we could hear the stream below. A few rocks were ripped out and we could spy a tight continuation in the floor.

2006 – The Departure Lounge

On 08/08/06 Mike Richardson, Peat Bennett and Tim Francis were digging in Streamway Regained. At the top of the choke Peat dug through a squeeze between the solid wall and a house-sized boulder. Tim then dropped down a narrow crack and excavated through jammed boulders and breccia. A hole opened up with a storming draft coming out of it. After some boulder-juggling they reached a huge jammed boulder over a 5m drop.

Winding their way down they squeezed through a flowstone gap between boulders and a sporting squeeze to roomier passage below and the sound of the streamway. Following a wall as best they could through an horrendous choke, they reached a gap between boulders and another good draft.

Mike Richardson, Julie Hesketh and Tim Francis returned to the choke on 10/09/06. Mike busied himself widening the squeezes and Julie headed to the end with Tim. The way on looked much too dodgy but Tim spotted a small crack on the right hand side. This was excavated and hammered for 30 minutes allowing a desperate vertical squeeze to a boulder balcony. Julie followed after Tim confirmed that the breakthrough really was worth seeing. Ahead was a huge chamber – the Departure Lounge:

Neverland

Upper Flood Swallet was now giving up its secrets at an alarming rate. On On 01/12/06 Julie Hesketh and Bill Chadwick took the bold decision to enter “Neverland” Grotto at the start of West Passage. Julie removed her helmet, wellies, oversuit and gloves and carefully crawled though the passage. The passage, lined with white crystals running along the walls, turned a corner and continued for 30m with the most exquisite and unusual formations – gossamer thin icy curtains, club-shaped formations 20-30cm long hanging down from walls completely made from ice-white crystal and one stunning carrot-shaped crystal encrusted formation again 25-30cm long hanging from a tiny straw.

The pretties ended abruptly at a white flowstone boss and the passage rose up to a low bedding plane 0.5m wide. Julie returned to get Bill. After shifting some rocks, they entered a magnificent decorated aven 8m high with two ways on. They headed down over a calcite slope with razor sharp crystals into walking-size passage, to a 5m high active flowstone inlet, glued to the opposite wall with a solid white curtain the same length.

At this point they returned to Mike Richardson and Tony Jarratt at Chuckle Choke. Together they headed back down Neverland, this time turning right to another sparkling grotto. Gour dams and lakes with snow white dinner-plate sized islands formed from large crystals, rising several centimetres out of a gour pool marked the end of exploration – not wanting to put the formations at risk by pressing past them. They passed the curtain climb to a large water-filled hole where an exposed traverse required a little nerve but Tony Jarratt pressed on, past another hole and down a 4m climb to more walking sized passage. He returned to tell them it was going “on and on!!” but leaving it open for the MCG to push.

The following morning, Doug Harris, Dongwoo Park, Tim Francis, Brian Snell and Julie Hesketh returned to Tony’s going lead. They found a 5m balcony pitch overlooking a passage. Doug traversed the pitch head to climb into an oxbow. This closed down but Tim found a muddy duck into walking-size passage. After 50m they encountered a boulder choke with a caravan-sized boulder. Tim climbed the overhanging boulder to a 12m high chamber. They excavated the floor to follow a streamlet down slope. Starting muddy and low, it opened out into walking-sized passage. The next chamber is probably the largest in the cave so far at 18m high with huge jammed boulders in the roof.

Post 2006 – Continued Exploration

Following the major breakthrough in September 2006 new discoveries have continued to be found. Over 45 dig sites have been identified. Some of these have resulted in new passages, some have been dead-ends, and others await further exploration.

Zebra Aven

06/01/07 Richard Carey, Bill Chadwick and Tim Francis Above a rubble climb in East Passage, they noted a very high aven (named Zebra Aven because of the markings on the passage wall at the bottom) and beyond the traverses they inspected a 10m high rift ending in delightful grotto with a fine crystal floor.

13/10/07 M Richardson, Joel Corrigan, Matt Sinclair, B Chadwick stopped at the Walk the Plank Aven which Joel thought tricky but do-able. Aided by the 50w spotter lamp they convinced themselves there might be a way on up there. Then they pressed on to Zebra Aven as planned. Joel again thought it a worthwhile prospect, rigged a traverse and went up the dripping aven. After a while he passed a squeeze but sadly the source of the water closed down to an impenetrable crack at a height of about 16m above the floor.

Neverland and East Passage Sumps

On 20/01/07, Sonya Cotter and Gary Jones investigated the sumps. The East passage sump turned out to be a grotty pool with no going holes. The sump in Neverland is a real sump, and progress has not been completely ruled out, but it’s certainly not going to be an easy free dive to more passage!

Radiolocation

03/02/07 Radiolocation, Brian Prewer and a surface team attempted to locate various points of the cave using the Grunterhone. At the same time, the MRO used the Heyphone to speak to the cavers below. Although the Heyphone worked well and communication was established, the Grunterphone was less successful, only West Passage Choke was located, and only to +/- 20m.

Wall Street

02/06/07 Tim Francis, Richard Carey, Ben Cooper 30m upstream from Charnel inlet is a rubble slope on the left. Upslope starts large followed by a duck under some boulders to the final chamber. On heading out they realised a passage could be seen to continue beyond the wall. Three minutes of digging and Richard was squeezing over the wall into new passage; 30-40m of nicely decorated passage that is somewhat reminiscent of Neverland with the same fossil gour lines and at the far end some more pom poms. Quite a find.

16/06/07 Wall Street, Tim Francis and Richard Carey Tim and Richard made an attempt to push the passage. The draft here is one of the strongest in the cave. It’s cold as well, whereas most of the cave near to the stream is quite warm. It is all very constricted at the end but you can clearly see that it continues. It drops away quite steeply and looks to be well decorated.

Charnel Inlet

02/06/07 Tim Francis, Richard Carey, Ben Cooper Tim pushed to the end of a small descending passage on the left and was surprised when it kept going! The passage ascends as far as a tight flowstone squeeze.

Thief’s Chamber

08/12/07 Ben Cooper, Julie Hesketh As Ben was wearing a wetsuit, Julie volunteered him to lie in the stream and investigate the dig. To his right, he could see about 1m through the 5cm space and could hear a cascade beyond. Guessing that the hard floor was actually compacted mud, he dug down under the water, and within minutes had formed a 15cm trench. For over an hour he kicked and scraped the soft mud, which quickly washed away in the fast flowing water. Working away at the bank with his feet, he managed to widen the stream trench and form a more sizeable 14cm airspace. Julie retreated to find some tools and Ben got out of the stream to find some food. At this point the mass hordes arrived, having wrongly heard that there had been a breakthrough. Brian Snell, Mike Richardson, Peat Bennett and then Julie went to investigate while Ben warmed up. Refreshed, Ben went back to find they had all effortlessly pushed through the dig into a new chamber, some 30m long, with a 6m+ climb at the end. The stream disappeared at the back wall. Christmas Dinner beckoned, and digging was left for another day.

Shake’n’Vac

03/02/08 B Chadwick, Peat Bennett, Adrian ??, Mike Richardson. Cleared out the crawl at the back of Thief’s Chamber and removed the loose material on the wall and ceiling, to open it out some more. Peat then set to at the end, removing a lot of rocks and general spoil. Subsequently, Bill removed a positively humungous rock, so the end is now a turn-around sized chamber with a body-sized descending rift filled with clean (until dug anyway) washed rocks. It drafts really well whenever a decent rock is removed, and at one point the back slumped several inches, so there must be some open space below. Bill kept saying how the air is really fresh so it’s been named Shake’n’Vac.

Great Expectations

23/02/08 , B Chadwick, M Richardson, R Carey, Angus Leat managed to put in a bolt to get started on the climb. Bill managed to jam a bar to gain a bit more height and Richard was able to climb into the aven. There were a few ledges and with some shoulder-wedging Richard managed to reach some chocked boulders. They pulled up the ladder and attached it via slings. From there Richard could see two continuations. One is vertical and will require bolting. From the top of the ladder is a bold traverse to another larger boulder that forms the floor in The Old Curiosity Shop. From there it continues upslope at 70 degrees. It narrows and remains unclimbed.

West and East Passages

21/05/08 Mike Richardson and Ray Deazy In East Passage, on the right-hand (southern) side of the passage a few metres after the deeper pool, Mike climbed up into a small rift, which entered a tube, adding another 10m of passage. He was stopped by mud bank, but could see about 3m ahead. On the way out of West passage, beyond the chamber believed to be below Neverland, at a left/right joggle before Chuckle Choke, Mike checked the crawl behind the boulder. In the roof of the crawl was a narrow rift. He shoved up as far as he could go. Shouting returned a really good echo. This must be the point where the passage up to the Pork Pies crosses over West Passage.

Rift Series

13/06/08 , Ben Cooper and Mike Richardson were surveying, starting at Royal Icing Passage, when they found Rift Series. They had surveyed almost as far as the deep pool, and had climbed up into a rift. They followed this to a Short Climb where the passage went left and back to Zebra Aven; to the right led to a passage which bent to the left. After a few metres a low crawl on the left connected back to the other side of the climb. At this point the passage was apparently blind, but they spotted a second low crawl a couple of metres on. Pushing through this they entered a walking-height passage. This extended for about 45m with a couple of grovels to meet a cross rift which closed down in both directions, around 5m to the right and 10m to the left. The air was generally quite fresh but suddenly became dead about 40m in. At this point there was an aven that seemed climbable to what might be a roof tube. Mike had a go but it was muddy and he was trying to keep his hands clean for surveying. Also, at the foot of the Short Climb mentioned above, they noticed a low crawl on the left. This heads back to the main East Passage. The new passage (working name: Rift Series, to reflect the complex nature of the intersecting rifts) is 57m long. The damp cross rift at the end is 4m lower than the East Passage terminal sump. There are two unclimbed avens in the “Rift Series”. The first is just above the 3m climb, the second is in the new extension and has a visible tube.

Progress to 2009

At the end of 2008 the total surveyed length was approximately 3600m. It is important to remember that this figure is not absolute, but depends on the route the survey centreline takes. The more it cuts across the passage, the longer the cave will appear. The survey length data quoted includes all avens and side passages that have had survey legs taken into them.