LANCASTER HOLE

SD 6640 8072Depth 112m Alt 294m

The lid covered entrance to Lancaster Hole, located in a group of limestone boulders The lid covering the entrance can just be seen between the boulders near to the standing figure.

see link to original BSA survey

WARNING

In extremely wet weather the Master Cave backs up to a height of at least 30 m above the Downstream Sump and floods many low level passages.

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The 34 m shaft is narrow at the top but soon opens out to large dimensions, passing two ledges to reach a boulder floor. There are three ways on. To the S.E. leads up a climb to SLUG WORLD. A slot in the floor leads to the Girder Route to Kath's Way. RRCPC Newsletter. Vol. 36 No. 3 Article 1. Nov. 1999

Finding the "Way-On"

A Historical Note from Kathie Gilbert

To the S.W. is the main way on. A step up leads into a large rift passage with a slot in the floor and a short walk emerges at the top of the steep boulder slope down into Bridge Hall. Immediately on the left are two routes into SAND CAVERN Series, both of which unite at a 7 m climb. The Sand Caverns route continues below this pitch through a series of sandy chambers and crawls to a choke, which draughts. On the left in the penultimate chamber is a squeeze and a very tight connection to THE CRATER.

Slightly further down the steep boulder slope mentioned above, and also on the left, is the concealed crawl which leads to THE GRAVEYARD SERIES

By continuing down the slope into the chamber, passing a hole down through boulders at the lowest point, (Kath's Way) a mud slope can be climbed on the right to a blind 6 m pitch, Barker's Pot. To the left at the bottom of the slope an easy climb up and traverse round to the right enters a large passage. This closes down to a short crawl which enters the Colonnade Chamber with its beautiful columns. See first photo taken in Lancaster Hole by Eli Simson. At the far end of the chamber the way swings to the right and narrows to a rift which quickly chokes, as does the high level route reached by a 8 m climb.

Back in Bridge Hall the hole in the boulders drops into Kath's Way, at the bottom of the drop a low crawl is reached, with a branch off to the right into The Girder Route connecting with Sand Caverns via 7 metre pitch and also with the slot in the floor at the bottom of the Entrance Pitch.

The main route on, Bill Taylor's Passage, enlarges to an alcove on the left where a showerbath enters, and just beyond, a couple of holes to the right lead to THE CRATER. A descent of the largest enters a squeeze to a sump which can be bailed. Beyond a small passage leads to a climb into a larger section and a 19 m pitch into the Master Cave just upstream of the downstream sump. A low crawl continues over the pitch for 91 m to another small sump. This has recently been pumped out but gets too constricted. Carrying on over the top of the Crater there is a small maze of passages with a tight connection through to the end of Sand Caverns

Back in Bill Taylor's Passage the way on enlarges considerably and then splits into two, both ways unite in the vastness of Montague West Passage where it encounters FALL POT.

If the left hand route is taken, a descent of several small steps leads to a cleft in the floor which is the 20 m pitch into the Master Cave.

A careful traverse right here up a mud slope leads to a parallel passage to FALL POT. and an alternative descent via a traverse of Fall Pot

A careful traverse round to the left here, on a sloping mud floored shelf, leads to the start of MONTAGU WEST PASSAGE. Leading to Wilf Taylor's and Waterfall Passages, two separate routes down to the Master Cave and Downstream Sump.

R.R.C.P.C. 2005