Jane Chilton's 65th.
Birthday Trip
My birthday was back in
September, but what with one thing and another, my celebratory caving trip did
not happen until November. I wanted to
go down County Pot, through Mushroom Passage to Platypus Junction and back up
through Spout Hall and out of County again.
It is a lovely little round trip, and in my eyes, perfectly doable
though I knew I would need help getting up Spout Hall. Having had a bad back for a while has left my
right leg very weak for climbs. I didn’t know what to expect in the way of
takers for this trip when I got to the Farm.
The night before, I hadn’t even been sure it would happen because the weather
forecast was for very heavy rain on Friday night. However, it had been nowhere near as bad as
predicted and Saturday was fine so it looked like we were on.
Walking into the members’
room I was surprised and delighted to find a Magnificent Seven volunteers to
take part in the trip. Dalek, I knew was
coming because he’d been to see us the week before and left his saddle bags of
caving kit for me to take up to the farm.
Andy Hall had generously decided to come and had advertised the
trip. The others were a surprise. Alan Kerr I hadn’t seen since Starker’s 65th
trip, Boz was there with his son Zak, Bill Sherrington who I hadn’t seen for
ages and biggest surprise of all, Scouser Mark who last caved with me 20 years
ago when we went down Tatham Wife and who had come out of retirement for this
trip. We trotted across the moor and set
off down County. Andy and Bill went in
front to rig the pitch followed by Zak who was going to watch and learn. Zak is coming up to 18 years old and is very
keen to do more caving and certainly had the fitness and stamina that the rest
of us had lost. It was when we started
going underground by dribs and drabs that we started to realise that our
waistbands had expanded much faster than the cave had eroded since we had last
been down. Several Winnie the Pooh moments ensued.
(You know, where Winnie the Pooh gets stuck in Rabbit’s
hole after eating too much hunny, and Rabbit uses his legs as a washing line
until he slims enough to get out.)
Well … this was the
predicament. A few judicious pushes and
shoves on people’s nether regions and borrowing of other people’s arms and legs
as footholds, sorted out these predicaments.
Finally we all slithered and sluthered down into Oxford Circus. Mushroom
Passage is the left hand streamway leading out of Oxford Circus. It is a lovely winding canyon passage with
little fluted curtains in the roof at the beginning which look like the gills
of a mushroom from underneath. I have
always presumed that this is how it got its name. After a while the passage starts to widen and
change shape in an extended, blocky boulder choke. Here the rule is to keep down most of the
time and follow the water. Another few
curses ensued as people wriggled down drops from snug holes between
boulders.
Following this comes my
favourite bit of Mushroom Passage where the walls are made up of beautiful,
thin flakes of stone like the opening leaves of a book and the ceiling starts
to be decorated with delicate stal. Soon
we came to Platypus junction and went a little further downstream to admire the
formations in the streamway forming a white grotto above our heads. Returning to the junction we stopped for a
rest. Boz produced a box of Quality Street for my
birthday and we all sat round for a Quality moment enjoying the fantastic
passage we were in. The way out was pretty straight forward until we got to
Spout Hall. The climb up the Spout is a
bit more exposed than I remembered. The
water spout that debouches into the Hall forms a graceful curve onto the rocks
below, and I was hoping not to do the same.
Andy had encouragingly put in the advert for the trip, that “Jane wants
a bunk up in Spout Hall”. Gracefully put,
Andy with due regard to my dignity and years.
However, it took both Bill Sherrington and Dalek to get me up the Spout
(Boom. Boom). My legs just will not bend
to reach the foothold. They were very
patient, with Dalek letting me clamber all over his shoulders and Bill dragging
me from above. The same happened at the
climb out of Oxford Circus. I used to
go round a bypass traverse to avoid this slippery and strenuous climb up, but now
my leg won’t let me step up into the traverse, so it got the same heaving and
pulling treatment up the climb.
However, it was my turn to
help after the pitch. I am still small
enough (just) to go round the next bend at floor level, but had to help to push
someone up into the higher and wider part of the passage. Really the teamwork and craik is what made
this trip so good. We all emerged and made our way back to the farm. Andy commandeered some of the party to carry
some scaffolding back for him from a dig whilst me and Boz went straight back
to make tea. Mark says he’ll come caving again, which is great. Maybe I’ll be able to rustle up a few
volunteers to do another trip in the future.
Despite it having been an
easy trip a few years ago, now, for me, this was on my limit. I loved it and felt happy in a way that only
caving makes me feel afterwards. Only going caving makes you fit to go caving. So
watch this space. I may come out of
hibernation to go caving again this winter.
Jane Chilton
Jane with her box of Quality Street photo Andy Hall Outside County Pot. photo Andy Hall
