LINK POT

SD 6685 8035 Alt: 276m

Link to CaveMaps surveys

Length 3.5km but part of Ease Gill Caverns System at 80km

Important cave that helped bridge the gap between the Easegill and Leck Fell systems.

Link to useful account of its original exploration by Northern Pennine Club

Looking down the 15 metre dugout entrance shaft of Link Pot	A wintery Ease Gill viewed from the N.W. Link Pot entrance is located below the cliff in the middle of the photograph.

WARNING

The Muddy Wallows on the route to Pippikin Pot become impassable in very wet weather and the Silver Streamway fills to the roof

A system of great variety and interest which join the caves of Leck Fell and Casterton Fell.

15m entrance shaft is narrow for the first 6m but bells out into shaft, a short descent from the foot of the pitch enters the splendid 5m square HILTON HALL. Upstream is a low bedding to a complete choke. Downstream leads quickly to a large boulder choke which has been ascended for 20m where all ways on are blocked. At the base of the right wall prior to the chokeis a low crawl to an aven. A climb up here leads to a series of choked passages under the gill. The stream enters here and flows across Hilton Hall to sink uner the south wall and is next seen at the top of Echo Aven.

Route to Lancaster Hole

To the left of the choke at the downstream end of Hilton Hall a descent leads to a chamber with two ways on. Left is a flat out crawl back to Pybus By-pass, whilst right is another drop to a T piece passage and a floor level trnch or roof bedding leads to a bouldery area. Crawl down right among potentially loose blocks drops back to solid passage to a junction. Downstream is a canyon to a sharp left hand bend and the top of ECHO AVEN a 26m pitch down to the Lower Stake Pot Series and the connection to Stake Pot in LANCASTER HOLE
Upstream at the junction is Echo Crawl, 50 metres of low passage to a squeeze, "Wrestling Alligator" Just beyond is Man Chamber where you can turn round. Passing a calcite block the way on enlarges to hands and knees crawl which suddenly ends at a 20m pitch. This drops into a large and loose boulder strewn chamber. A short way up a ramp in the south end of chamber a climb up to a shelf leads to a short muddy passage to a 4m drop into the base of ECHO AVEN

To Pippikin Port

Back at the entry from the pitch into Hilton Hall a rift in the north wall chokes under the gill and the one in the south wall 6m downstream is blind, but above this a high level passage leads to Pybus By-pass. Pybus By-pass is a wriggle up into a roomy passage, under the right wall is the flat out crawl to the end of Hilton Hall and left is a climb into a short passage overlooking Hilton Hall south wall rift.

Straight ahead is the main passage with a fine false floor to SQUID JUNCTION. Here the right branch leads to SERENDIPITY and the rest of Link Pot, whilst left connects with Pippikin via an often wet and muddy crawl through the Muddy Wallows and Trowel Crawl passing various inlets and avens before arriving at Dusty Junction and the connection with MISTRAL HOLE and LOWER PIPPIKIN

R.R.C.P.C. 2013