Saturday April 03; Cavers: Artur Kozlowski, Chris Jewell, Petie Barry

Having nothing else to do on Saturday Morning I decided to tag along with Artur and Chris in Acknaglack. Chris was intending to dive Aghnaglack Rising described in COFAC as a rocky 18 meter wet crawl to an undived sump.

After arriving in Aghnaglack the car was parked in an old farmyard and we changed into wellies to go look for the rising. With Chris’s GPS we found it in no time, a fast moving stream issuing from beneath a small crag. This done we clambered up the greasy path to the road and the lads changed into wetsuits. Since there was little point in me changing into caving gear I decided to find some surface sites in the book and look at them while the two others were occupied with diving. There were three sites in COFAC.

1. Aghnaglack sinks – No report but probably more than one.

2. Rising – No report

3. Sink – No report on this probable site behind Brimstone Rock

The Aghnaglack Sinks seemed near enough so we all wandered up the track and found a flooded meadow with the water sinking down into marshy hollows. Three or so sinks in all. We returned to the car and picked up the dive gear. Back at the sink Chris crawled off into the darkness and after taking a few photos I took my leave and headed back to the road.

I faffed about with Chris’s GPS and eventually it told me that the Rising was half a kilometre to the north, despite the fact that I was standing pretty much where it was marked in the COFAC book. Couldn’t find it so quite possibly doesn’t exist.

Next up was the sink. After crossing a few fields there was a roar of crashing water and I descended into a wooded gorge. After some Bear Grylls antics crossing logs I discovered a cave entrance where a large block had sheared off the gorge wall. There was some old dead formations and an unpromising rising rift. A few meters further up there was a cascade I couldn’t pass and just after turning back I spotted a dark hole in the ground. I yelled into it. No Echo. Probably a gap beneath rocks I thought.

I made my way further along the valley to where I thought the sink was marked on the map. Atop brimstone rock I could hear water falling but could see no stream. I kicked through the brambles and found a small muddy hole that further kicking enlarged to a fat man sized hole. 2 meters down was a bottom and off to the left below that was a black hole. A rock thrown down made no discernable sound.

I went back to the car and found Chris and Artur looking for me. Chris had gotten 20 meters into the cave but was impeded by a chert bridge across the passage. Having told them of my finds I threw on an oversuit and a helmet and led them to the gorge. I was only intending to show them the site on Brimstone Rock but decided for the lark show them the Fossil cave at the top of the gorge. Artur scrambled in for a few meters but it closed down. It is now named Cavity Wall Cave. I remembered the dark hole a few meters away and decided to pay a second visit. I pulled back some moss, a rock and the rest of the debris in the way could be kicked into the hole, now dropping 2 meters down a slope. 20 seconds into the dig I slid into the hole. Inside the passage descended into blackness. I switched on my light, which accomplished almost nothing, since I was using the Petzt Craplite 100 with weak batteries. Never the less I scrambled down another bit and realised I was in a passage 2 meters wide by 3 high. Screaming like a child at a party I shambled down the passage for all of 30 seconds until confronted with a large calcite choke which completely plugged the passage. Disappointed we went back to the low crawl on the right that we’d spotted on the way in. Artur kindly allowed me to go first and I crawled leg first for two body lengths in cherty passage until it became too tight. There seemed to be a small draught. This much done, we left.

Having made our way to the top of brimstone rock the black hole was found to be a muddy pool 4 meters down that Artur reckoned was diggable. This is now Coincidental Cave

Sunday April 04; Cavers: Al Kennedy, Una Donoghue, Petie Barry.

The next day I returned with Al and Una. We picked up a chisel in Les’s and since the lump hammer was in Shannon for the day I went and bought one in Londis. 3.99 – bloody good value! Back in the new cave Una spotted a hole in the floor that looked as if it might bypass the tight section in the crawl And so, we hammered and chisled our way through rocks and clay for half an hour until the I could place my head through a head sized hole to find the bottom of the hole completely choked with clay. The way on seems to lie with the choke.

A thorough rough poke about the gorge found two impenetrable sinks half way down. The water, being in spate, flowed right to the bottom of the valley though the stream is marked as sinking on the OSNI map. These sinks are in fact the site marked as being behind Brimstone Rock. In fact, having misread the map I went to where I thought the sink was situated only to coincidentally find Coincidental Cave, which isn’t marked in COFAC.

Coincidental Cave was paid a visit after we walked up the dry gully in the center of Brimstone Rock. Not having been to the bottom the day before I slid down and discovered that the “cave” was originally a long rift open to the surface which was backfilled and then the “cave” carved out of this fill by the water. Most of the roof and the two far walls are made of clay and boulders. The hole was filled in with branches, to prevent sheep accessing this rather grotty little spot.

On the return a rather splendid mossball was found and carefully carried back to the car to the presumable mirth of the farmer and his daughter?/young wife? and grand children?/children?

The name of the new cave I causing some difficulties. I originally advocated Aghnaglack Gorge cave but Chris reckoned that was shite so I went for Kicked In cave (cos I kicked in the entrance), but Artur reckons it’s shite and to be honest I see his point. Splendid Cave was considered cos I kept shouting Splendid! Al wanted Peties pot but it’s not vertical enough to be a pot. Pollpeadar’s not too bad but it’s sheer vanity suggesting that I should name the cave after me, beautiful and intelligent and sticky and loveable as I am. Poorly Named Cave and Procrastination Pot are pisstakes. Suggestions?

Coincidental Cave was originally Brimstone Rock Cave but again Chris reckoned this was shite and suggested Fire and Brimstone. I went for Water and Brimstone but I thought this was shite and called it Coincidental Cave, on account of the coincidence of having found it. However it may be more apt to call it Kicked In Cave, given that I kicked in the entrance and it perhaps deserves to be kicked, for being ugly. This could however confuse it with the other cave, referred to as Kicked In cave for the duration of the weekend. Procrastination pot would also suit this cave. But potentially confuse it with the new cave.

Cavity Wall Cave has only ever been called Cavity Wall Cave. Long may it remain the case.