Goatchurch Cavern, 22nd January
On Sunday 22nd January I took my friend Loretta to Goatchurch Cavern, not so much for itself, but to get her ready to go to Swildon's Hole, which she particuarly wanted to visit. The weather was favourable, so the initial palaver of getting togged up passed smothly, then we made our way to the cave and went in, lights off. It was a pretty stright forward trip via the Giants Staircase, Drunkard's Gallery, then down the Pixie Steps to the Dining Chamber, then via the rift to the Boulder Chamber, where we ran out of time, and headed back to the surface for a warming cup of hot chocolate and a bowl of cheesy chips at the Burrington Inn.
Swildon's Hole, 28th January
I hadn't been to Swildon's Hole for a while, so this was a good opportunity for me to re-acquaint myself with my favourite cave, and to have a sporty trip with Chris Castle. We went in the Pretty Way, crawling about in the streamway after the Boulder Chamber, then made it all the way to the top of the Twenty Foot, but it was a bit crowded there, so we did not peer over the edge. It was fun ascending the waterfall, which was in strong flow. We made our way back out via the Wet Way, enjoying its many amusing and exciting features; the Twelve-Foot Well was negotiated with elegance and poise. We were both soaking wet by the end, and happy with our adventure. As an addded benefit, my suit was nice and clean, for the first time in months.
digging
I showed up a couple of times to help clear up in Rod's Pot, and a couple of times to scoop out heavy sticky clay at Toothache Pot and Puncture Pot.
