Post date: Jun 18, 2011 9:50:30 PM

Cavers: Kayleigh, Petie, Penguin

Trip time: ~3 hours (underground)

Kibbles of muck moved: ~15

Progress in Ardclinis Pot dig: 0 metres

[Gaelan you need read no further.]

Not daunted by the rain that lashed Belfast on Friday, and putting our hopes in a half-decent forecast for Saturday, Kayleigh picked me up early on Saturday morning, then we collected some rope from Aileen's, and Petie from the bus station. The weather looked presentable as we headed north, certainly better than the last wet day.

We kitted up at the car in a shower of rain and hiked up the hill, the noise of the Ardclinis Burn growing louder, when it should have been silent... The first climb was dry, but there was a decent waterfall flowing over the parallel route. A bit of reverse canyoning brought us to the second climb. Attempts to lasso the tree failed; i tried to traverse from the right along what appeared to be a decent ledge, but in true Ardclinis fashion the holds petered out when most needed. Still not daunted, we reversed the gorge and headed on up the lane, attempting to bypass the gorge along the eastern scarp. This was more challenging than it seemed. A long hike up through primeval bracken offered great views (through the mist) but proportionally little in horizontal progress. Soon we were considerably higher than the cave and still being forced upwards by the scarp. We crossed above the large waterfall upstream from the pot. And went higher and higher. Eventually, we'd gained so much height that i suggested we go on - and up - to try to find the old mine, so we would then only have to descend to the cave. I knew it was at the end of the valley, below the final waterfall. But there were a lot of waterfalls... I kept forging positively onwards, wondering when the mutiny would break out behind. After a kilometer of wet walking, and 250 metres vertical gain, in full caving and SRT gear, we reached the final waterfall, and the mine.

A view of Ardclinis Burn.

The same, with Petie for scale.

This old mine, worked in the nineteenth century, was reportedly the most productive in the valley (a few vanished trial adits are recorded lower down), and a cart track had been constructed along the western side of the valley to the sea to allow the export of the iron ore. It should be good then. It was gated, but not very securely, and soon we stood in a decent main passage, about 1.5 metres across and high, but flooded with cold clear water. The miners had used a room and pillar method, so once at the first room we could get out the water and crawl through the rooms. There was one skinny pit prop, and the pillars weren't much thicker. The rooms were only 3 or 4 metres deep, and only one room deep had been excavated the length of the main passage. Several rooms later we had to go back into the main passage, Petie refused to go first so i plunged into thigh deep water and snuck past another shonky prop, expecting the mine to continue for several hundred more metres. After another 15 metres or so it ended. It seemed more excavation had gone into the trackway than into the mine. I took a few photos of Petie stuck in the gate on the way out, and my camera battery died.

Lobster Pot

After a chocolate stop, sock wringing session, and some faffing with the GPS to get a position and a height (250 metres) for the mine, we crossed the burn to the track and wandered back through the mist. After the first switchback we tried to get back down into the gorge. Very steep grass slopes lead straight to a scarp, but a traverse left brought us to a ramp down to the waterfall immediately upstream of the cave (not in my plan, i'd thought we were lower). Another traverse and climb down finally brought us to the cave. The descent was unremarkable, except for a large rock dislodged, and caught, by Kayleigh, which she set out of the way. The digging too was undistinguished, even more squalid than before.

Jock's Lake had grown, and i couldn't find the drain in the right hand wall (must have been blocked). So i dug the lake deeper, Kayleigh dragging the tray from the first corner and Petie hauling it back to the spoil heap. Once this had been deepened, i moved through the squeeze (not so tight, but horribly wet), and turned, while Kayleigh came to the second corner. I dug from the inside of the squeeze and Kayleigh dumped it in the puddle on the outside. I tried to drain the lake, lying in the right hand branch passage initially. This was successful, and much of the water choose it's downhill route via the inside of my Meander. Doh. I got out the stream and kept digging. After reducing the lake to half its depth i could go no further downwards as the bottom of the squeeze became rocky. Taking one final kibble of mud out from the beginning of the right hand branch passage made it easier to go in head first so i squeezed downwards, hoping for glory. This passage goes for about a body length, dropping about 0.5 metres, then turns 90 degrees left. After the drop the passage was flooded (on my previous feet-first trip here the passage was dry) 10-15 cm deep, with a muddy bottom. At the left turn, the passage continued (but i didn't), tight and triangular with about 20 cm airspace, to another 'car wash' area. Nice. About 3 or 4 metres are visible, to another corner (turning right again??)??Defeated for the day by the wet and cold, we all crawled out, Kayleigh managing to turn at the second corner.

While Kayleigh and i kitted up Petie crawled all the way to the fourth corner too. The ascent was, mmm, interesting, for me. After shouting lots of instructions and guidance to Petie and Kayleigh, i started out like an old hand. On the upwards traverse from the alcove my main light failed at a critical move. In the dark i felt my way to a spot where i could balance without using my hands and checked the helmet connection. This was ok, so i switched on my backup light (around my neck) and felt inside my suit to try to reconnect the battery end, which off course had fallen to the middle of my back. To get my backup light on my helmet meant taking it off, removing my hood, removing the backup light from my neck, and fitting it to the helmet. That didn't appeal on such a loose pitch. With light around my neck and held in my teeth, i felt my way upwards, and of course knocked into Kayleigh's rock... Stylish.

Back out in the misty evening, after GPSing the entrance (height given as 100 metres), we thought we'd make a descent of the gorge for fun. With typical Penguin luck, there was even more water flowing in the river than there had been in the morning. It was very sporting, and good fun on the second climb. Water was also spalshing down the first climb. We took a look at the wetter option here, but it was utterly tanking with a huge spout of water. The whole valley-gorge would give a decent canyon trip in similar conditions.

Penguin