Gaping Gill

Bar Pot to Main Chamber inc Mud Hall

This place had been a big to-do for sometime now, and as the weather didn't permit us to attempt any other system in the area we headed over to 'Gill' as it's generally regarded as an all weather cave.

Situated in the Yorkshire Dales, Gill is famous for the UK's biggest cave chamber, and with a shaft of 105M is the second biggest to Titan at 141M.

I wasn't sure if my foot would be up to it, as there is a lot to contend with, as it's a challenging & complex system.

After a 45 minute walk, carrying rope and all manner of gear we arrived at the top of the main shaft, the point where the fell beck plummits 105M down into the main chamber.

There was an unusual amount of activity, turns out that the Bradford Pothole Club had set up for one of their annual winch meets.

We intended to enter the system at Bar Pot and head towards the Main chamber via the trade route, but thought we better say hello out of courtesy (nice bunch of chaps).

Luckily the entrances and some of the traverse's were pre-rigged, so we ditched our rope and made our way over to Bar Pot...

The entrance to Bar Pot  is a little tricky, in the fact that there are 2 pitches, the first one being a 20M (a real tight squeeze), I just about made it down!

Once down I had a quick breather and carried on down the second 37M pitch

At the bottom we bumped into a group of beards who had come for a mooch, and watched us ab down.

I looked back up thinking fook I've gotta SRT back up that lot later

Along the way was a variety of stooping, crawling, a fair bit of climbing and getting filthy & wet, but it was all worth it just to see the Main Chamber alone.

Although we did pass the Main Chamber first, we carried on to take a look at Mud Hall, the name is definately befitting to the conditions in here!

Just the one pic, as I was soaked, covered in mud and quite honestly too tired to bother by this point.

Sorry the pic doesn't do it justice, as it's one bloody huge chamber!

During such winch meets, they divert the Fell Beck down Rat Hole, another impressive shaft which one day I will have a crack at, but 4 pitches @ 135M that will have to wait for another day...

It's equally as impressive in full flow I even managed a quick shower to wash away the mud

Lastly the Main Shaft - 105M of pure win, one day I would love to abseil down here past the waterfall, in the meantime I can only look up and dream.

I managed to store enough energy to crawl back and SRT out, it was an amazing experience, but very tiring at the same time.

High Royds

Numerous visits...

I originally visited High Royds a few years back, before I was properly into UE and long before I bothered to take pics of shit.

I eventually pulled my finger out, and after numerous trips with MJS/Clough & Fowle/GeoVDUB I only managed the two shots FFS.

I'm not arsed as it's been done to death, and we had so much fun climbing around rooftops, evading security patrols, being chased by locals and in the end the fucking lot was sealed due to it being caned during the last few months.

Goodtimes

Old Manchester

Below the streets...

Look hard enough and you find bits of the old City buried beneath the streets/buildings above.

Salford Junction Canal, BUSTED!

lulZ...

Today I was in town with one of The_Collective guys recce'ing another site nearby. As we mooched about I noticed my old way in seemed do-able so in we went.

We spent about 30-40 mins looking about, I grabbed a few more pics for old times sake, before GTFO.

As we made our way out we were practically jumped by secca's, luckily I still had my camera & tripod out which explained half of what we were doing in there.

"How did you get in? what you doing in a staff area?", "Errrrr taking pictures mate" (Oh and maybe you need to review your security) wanker.

We then left through a fire door and out into another staff area/loading bay as you do just to wind them up.

...As we walked around the front I stopped to pack my gear away and all hell broke loose, some cunt came flying out of the building...

"What you doing going through a staff area? Why did you go through that door?" FFS!

"Listen mate were just photographers, we aint done nothing wrong we just went for a look in some tunnel, fuck this!"

"We've called the Police, we've been monitoring activity along with the Police since someone cut a lock off last year"

Meh - we just walked off and then appeared to be followed across town by another 2 guards and the mobile NCP smart car, was a right bag 'O lulZ :D

A few more pics, as I doubt I will be going back anytime soon

Chisel Ma Nizzle Sewer, Manchester

Yes it's another of Manchester's festering sewers, this one was no exception...

First discovered by Stepping Lightly and aptly named by Sneaky boy back in the day, this place had been on the 'to-do list' for a while now.

The drain, a sewer overflow primarily which outfalls into the River Irwell.

Located 30ft underground and intercepting the main trunk under Deansgate, the overflow continues up towards Market St. except it has been bricked with a smaller clay pipe passing through and walking any further was impossible.

Access as via a short abseil down the river bank, but be warned it's full of shite, literally and prob not worth the effort!

Once down the oval brick pipe is a sizeable 1.8M,

and seemed to be outputting fresh straight into the Irwell?

It hadn't been raining and as I continued up teh pipe there was raw sewage, thats right poop and bog roll floating down and lots of it, now correct me if I'm wrong but surely that is illegal - in the sense that raw sewer should only enter a water course when the drains flood.

With a leaky wellie I had no choice but to embrace the shite, the drain itself was pretty cool, despite it's grim contents.

The turds were streaming down this smaller sewer and down the overflow

Further up, another chamber with some small penstock controls

As we neared the bricked-up section approx 240ft from the Outfall, the air quality was poor, I only grabbed a few shots before GTFO as I didn't fancy being stuck in here.

Once out we headed over to Cathedral Gardens to wash the turds off our wellies & waterproofs...

@£500,000 it had to be put to some use :D

Chadderton Mill Air-Raid Shelters

In your MillZ...

Built in 1885 and designed by P S Stott, the Chadderton Mill has the unique claim to fame of being the last survivor of the town's once-sizable cotton industry.

Sadly, this mill was to spin its last cotton on 22nd June 2000, thus bringing to an end an era which had lasted for two and a quarter centuries.

It is also one of a few mills that retain a lodge and WWII shelters.

The lodge is still used by an angling society, thats right Greater Manchester Police no less!

Now then I decided to take a mooch one sunny morning, on arrival all seemed well until I stumbled on some coppers fishing in your lodges :D

There was no way of attempting the mill today, or any day it seems as I have been a couple of times since and there always seems to be activity, oh and the place is alarmed up as well.

Luckily I knew there were some remnants of WWII shelters on-site (previously visited by Host), so I quickly disappeared inside one of the several holes that wasn't sealed to avoid being seen.

I managed to snoop about for a good half hour in and out of the remains before I was spotted and bailed.

There isn't much left to see here to be fair, as the usual neighbourhood chavs have managed to trash the place and fill them with all manner of jumble.

None the less it passed some time on the way to another site I have had my eye on for some time now.

Above ground can be found the external remnants of the shelters

Internals

Yordas Cave, Kingsdale

A former Victorian show cave near Ingleton in the Yorkshire Dales...

We've made a couple of visits here now in varying conditions to complete the through trip.

We abseiled down the 60ft pitch at the top entrance...

...and into the chamber below

From here on in it was a 'wet crawl' the second time we visited there was no chance as it had been raining hard and the top chamber was full.

Next up we abseiled another pitch, then on through the passageways to the top of the Cascades

Getting down involved a traverse and further abseiling into the chamber below known as Chapter House.

I was now fairly soaked, as I hadn't bothered with the wetsuit

We continued on through a breach in the calcite wall and out into the

Main Chamber

A quick poke about this vast space before heading out of the Bottom Entrance and back out into daylight