CSS Newsletters 2010 - Volume 52

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No. 1, January 2010

Cover: Miranda Forder, Event de Jonquilles. Photo by John Forder.
  • Selected Caves of France - Part 6: Correze/Lot - This instalment covers the Ardeche and Lot regions of France with trips to Event de Midroi, Event de Peyrejal, Event de Jonquilles, Igue de Viazac and Saut de la Pucelle.
  • Pottering About on Mendip - Caving and digging trip undertaken by John Cooper during Nov- Dec 2009.
  • Soggy Digging in Daren - A weekend at the Hard Rock Café camp in Daren Cilau and digging at The Inconvenient Truth.
  • OFD Flood Pulse - 21st November 2009 - Flash flooding in OFD witnessed on a Cwm Dwr to Streamway trip, where normally dry passages near Piccadilly became quickly submerged beneath 3-4m metres of water.
  • Our Caving Expedition That Accidently Went a Bit Adrift - At the same time as the flood pulse (above) was hitting OFD, another party experienced high water levels in Craig a Ffynnon. This is an account of their trip where a dry start culminated in being trapped by sumped exit. 
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No. 2, February 2010

Cover: Gavin Newman in Wookey Hole. Photo by John Volanthen.
  • Reminiscences - Steve Allen - Obituary with reminiscences of Steve Allen and some of his caving achievements.
  • Pottering About on Mendip - Digging and surveying trips to Charterhouse Cave, Sidcot Swallet and Withyhill Cave.
  • Don’t be Afraid of the Dark - Constructing and testing a low cost LED headtorch, with details of how to build your own.
  • Coleman's Cartoons - Article about Jack Coleman 'the doyen of Irish caving' featuring some of his artwork.
  • Springhead Rising - Diving in Springhead Rising, Rodney Stoke in Mendip and the digging prospects of this difficult to access site.
  • Dad's Digging - A fictional tale about a cave digging father and daughter.
  • How Cold Was Your Cottage? - Analysis of the temperature and humidity of the new Whitewalls extension during the cold winter months. 
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No. 3, March 2010

Cover: Robin ‘Tav’ Taviner in Fairy Cave. Photo by Mark Lumley.
  • Pottering About on Mendip - Digging in Charterhouse and trips to G.B Cave and Swildon's Hole.
  • On the 5th Day of Christmas - An evening with the ATLAS diggers in Fairy Cave Quarry with trips to Fernhill Cave and Withyhill.
  • The Agen Allwedd Survey - John's objective of resurveying Agen Allwedd starts with Upper Southern Stream. New Survey included.
  • Gathering and Interpreting Cave Visitor Data - A comparison of data taken from caver counters with that given in the logbooks at Ogof Capel and Ogof Draenen.
  • Mangle Hole - Write up of an SRT trip to Mangle Hole in Mendip.
  • Minuartia Mine - A trip to descend the newly re-discovered Minuartia Mine shaft on the Yoxter Range, Mendip.
  • Ice on the Hard Rocks - A two man camp at HRC during a particularly wet and cold weekend. 
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No. 4, April 2010

Cover: Lesser Horseshoe bat, Fairy Cave Quarry. Photo by Martin Grass.
  • Pottering About on Mendip - Collection of trips done by John Cooper in Feb-March 2010 including Box's Cave, Charterhouse, Chelm's Coombe Swildon's and The City Arms in Wells!
  • Bats in Fairy Cave Quarry - Greater and Lesser Horseshoe bats and their hibernation in the caves of Fairy Cave Quarry.
  • Withyhill Resurveyed - Duncan's quest to completely resurvey Withyhill Cave, one of the best decorated caves in Mendip. Includes full survey.
  • Daren Cilau Digging Trip - February 2010 - Report from a HRC Daren camp, with the digging projects of The Inconvenient Truth and Hopping Mad.
  • Open Letter to the CSS Committee - An open letter to the CSS Committee regarding PDCMG meetings and Draenen access issues.
  • Great Tits! A new menace to our little friends. - Great Tits observed to be killing and eating Pipistrelle bats in Hungary. The suggested plan of action if this should be encountered in our country is somewhat radical!
  • Volunteers Your Cave Rescue Team Needs You! - Cave rescue initiations have changed quite significantly over the years and Paul presents a good reason why you should consider joining the cave rescue team. 
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No. 5, May 2010

Cover: Hopping Mad extension, Daren Cilau. Photo by Mark Lumley.
  • Pottering About on Mendip - A collection of digging and caving trips undertaken by John Cooper during March and April 2010.
  • Wookey Hole - 75 years of cave diving and exploration - An Editor's Tale - The making of this new and well presented caving book, chronicling the efforts of cave divers past and present in this well known and important Mendip cave.
  • The Geryon - The story of the discovery of The Geryon, a truly fantastic formation located in the further reaches of Draenen found while surveying the cave back in 1997.
  • Underneath the Cotswolds - On telly Again! - After the discovery of a cave opening in a field in The Cotswolds Joe is asked to investigate its depths by the Countryfile TV crew.
  • Hopping Mad Hops Again - News from the Hopping Mad and Inconvenient Truth digs in Daren Cilau, dug on the April HRC camp.
  • Ogof Draenen - Correction and Clarification - Response to Stuart France's article featuring cave data gathered from caver counters in Ogof Draenen by the Hon. Secretary of the PDCMG.
  • Draenen Logbook and Counters Compared - Insight into how the data gathered from the various 'caver counters' in Draenen compares to that written in the logbook.
  • Open Letter to CSS, PDCMG and Charles Bailey - A letter of clarification of the CSS committee's position on the PDCMG by CSS Chairman Tim Morgan. 
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No. 6, June 2010

Cover: ATLAS Pot, Thrupe Lane Swallet. Photo by Steve Sharp.
  • Pottering About on Mendip - Trips to Charterhouse Cave, Swildon's Hole and Wookey Hole undertaken by John Cooper in April-May 2010.
  • Four Days on Lundy Island - Trip to Lundy Island to seek out the caves, interesting surface features and of course beer at The Marisco Tavern.
  • Kingsdale Master Cave via the Valley Entrance - An outing to the Kingsdale Master Cave visiting the Rowten sumps and Swinsto Chamber.
  • Geryon Logbook - Entries from the logbook located by the fantastic Geryon formation in Dollimore's Series, Ogof Draenen.
  • Bats v Birds - The Plot Thickens - Response article to Pete Ward's 'Great Tits' about birds being preyed on by bats, Joe tells of bats that get eaten by birds.
  • Mines of the Yoxter Range - Exploration of mine shafts in the Yoxter Range, Mendip.
  • TJ's Dig - Digging at TJ's Swallet near Dallimore's Cave, Green Ore in Mendip.
  • Is That So? - Book Review - Book review of 'Is That So?' a collection of caving tales and real life japes compiled by Rob 'Tav' Taviner.
  • Dan yr Ogof - Write up of a Dan yr Ogof round trip with an added excursion to the Great North Road ladder. 
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No. 7, July 2010

Cover: Main Passage, Agen Allwedd. Photo by Steve Sharp.
  • Pottering About on Mendip - Caving trips undertaken by John Cooper in May-June 2010.
  • Ibbeth Peril Cave - Trip to Ibbeth Peril Cave in the Yorkshire Dales.
  • Manor Farm Swallet - A trip to practice ladder climbing technique in Manor Farm heading to the NHASA Gallery.
  • Daren Cilau/Ogof Cnwc Rescue Practice - A rescue practice with the objective of checking out if a stretcher carry could be successfully achieved through the Cnwc entrance of Daren Cilau. 
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Nos. 8-9, August-September 2010

Cover: Pat Cronin in the breakthrough at Poulnafearbui, Doolin, Co. Clare. Photo by Mark Lumley.
  • Pottering About on Mendip - Trips undertaken by John Cooper from June -Sep 2010, including Charterhouse Cave, Eastwater Cavern, G.B. Cave, Spider Hole, Stoke Lane Slocker and Swildon's Hole.
  • A Week's Digging in The Burren - A week of digging in a variety of promising sites in The Burren, Ireland.
  • Charterhouse Photos - Showcasing some of Steve Sharps photographs of Charterhouse Cave.
  • Mendip Meet - Longwood August - A trip to the notoriously awkward Reynold's Passage in Longwood Swallet.
  • Montenegro 2010 Expedition - A brief summary of the Montenegro 2010 expedition (see Vol. 52 No. 12 for full report).
  • Tourist Caving in China - Showcaves visited by Adrian during his time living and working in Wuhan, China.
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Nos. 10-11, October-November 2010

Cover: Montage of 1960s photos from the CSS archives.
  • Steep Holm - A jolly outing to Steep Holm with a foray into some of the underground shelters and caves of the island.
  • Ogof Cnwc to Daren Cilau Through Trip Description - A route description of the Daren through-trip, from the Cnwc entrance to the infamous Daren entrance crawl.
  • Daren Cilau to Ogof Cnwc Through Trip Description - A route description of the Daren through-trip, entering Daren and exiting Cnwc.
  • Surveying Busman's Holiday - Surveying the Busman's Holiday part of the Daren Cilau system and the connection with Ogof Cnwc. With additional information regarding digging prospects in the area and a full survey of the through trip.
  • More Caving in France - Write up of trips to Grotte du Coutal, Grotte de Clujade and Abime de Bramabiau in the Tarn Gorge area of France
  • Trapdoor and Vesper Pot - SRT trips to Trapdoor and Vesper Pot, two sporting potholes in the Yorkshire Dales.
  • CSS Golden Oldies Weekend Meet in South Wales - The CSS 'Golden Oldies' social gathering and the role they played in the renovation of Whitewalls.
  • Pottering About on Mendip - Two trip reports from Charterhouse Cave. 
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No. 12, December 2010

Cover: Alison Moody ascending Jet Passages Pitch, Charterhouse Cave. Photo by Pete Hann.
  • Charterhouse - The Obstacle Course - A descriptive journey to the Terminal Sump in Charterhouse Cave and the obstacles to overcome along the way. Complete with photos and surveys of various sections of the route.
  • TJ's Swallet, Ores Close - Write up of progress at TJ's Swallet in Mendip currently being dug by the ATLAS digging team. Including a survey of Ores Close Folly Mine.
  • Anglo-Irish Team Rescue American Cavers from Mammoth Cave - A tourist trip to Mammoth Cave in Utah, with a rescue/impromptu cave guiding tour of lost Americans.
  • Pottering About on Mendip - Caving trips undertaken by John Cooper during October and November 2010.
  • Matienzo 2010 - A summary of trips and caving exploits on the Matienzo expedition 2010 with photos.
  • Montenegro 2010 - Report from the 2010 Montenegro Expedition and the caves explored by the team.
  • Index to Volume 52 - Index of contents of Vol. 52 CSS Newsletter.
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