GRAVEYARD SERIES, Lancaster Hole

On the left down the boulder slope in BRIDGE HALL is the concealed entrance to a crawl. After a few metres a blind 6 m. pot in the floor is crossed before you arrive at the top of a 8 m pitch down into the Graveyard series. Two P anchors are in place in the roof here for a ladder or SRT descent. An inlet enters from the boulder choke on the left and the way on is to the right, a branch off to the left enters the base of two avens, the left hand one has been bolted for 24 m past several alcoves to a ledge. From here a route up through boulders enters the Chapel of Rest a chamber with formations and all exits choked. Back at the bottom of the aven a large chamber with a further aven can be entered.

The main passage leads to the Graveyard itself, the mud floor is abundantly covered with stalagmites and is split by a gully containing a small stream. Upstream leads to a choke beneath Bridge Hall. Graveyard Project

Climbing down the gully past large blocks and heading downstream reaches a junction. To the right the passage joins the Stump Cavern Extension, whilst to the left the passage descends to a 6 m. pitch with a spit belay to reach a short duck to small airbell, and a sump. This has been dived but found to be badly silted up and impassable. A choked bedding plane leads off from here at -1 m depth and this could possibly be dug.

Continuing across the gully via a rock bridge and up a slope another aven, over to the right has been climbed for 25 m to where it closes down.Straight ahead a wide crawl leads to Stump Cavern. Across the far side of this a further crawl over breakdown enlarges at a circular 10 m high aven. Beyond the aven the passage enlarges and leads to a junction with a far larger passage. To the left here leads into SKITTLE ALLEY and a deep sump pool.

Skittle Alley Sump

The downstream sump in Skittle Alley is formed in a large rift. At the near end it descends 2m to a silt floor but this shelves off to -6 m. depth at the far end of the rift. At the far end there is a miserable inlet above water but no outlet. A thorough search of the perimeter of the floor has revealed a 3 m deep alcove but failed to locate a way on. The water appears to flow down an impenetrable gap between the left hand wall and the silt floor. The water may reappear in Pegleg Pot.

An exposed traverse in the roof over the sump leads to a dangerous choke and avens, a climb up the right wall just before the sump leads to a wet crawl and series of loose avens on a fault.

Straight on at the junction is a crawl which gets too low after 15 metres, while above the junction is a small aven which closes down immediately.

To the right at the junction leads to a muddy sump, AQUA MUD sump which can be bailed to enter MONTAGU SOUTH. This commences as a low passage, but enlarges into a rift which terminates at a seemingly blank wall. However by scaling this for 8 m a way over and down a 8 m pitch into a large chamber, NEWTON HALL can be found. From the far end a large passage soon degenerates into a low wide crawl that can be followed for over 80 m until the way on gets too low. This is now thought to be close to Saturday Afternoon Series off PORTCULLIS PASSAGE. and HEMINGWAY HALL See article on history of exploration

Back near the bottom of the 10 shaft below Stump Cavern a small passage in the floor can be followed into the STUMP CAVERN EXTENSIONS to link back up with the gully in the Graveyard.