Three very different days of caving in the Yorkshire Dales, based at the YSS hut at Helwith Bridge, with a mix of SRT and horizontal caves featuring big pitches, a sporting through-trip, fine formations and a notable pair of newts.
Two trips were undertaken on Friday, starting with a short and relatively easy SRT trip to Pillar Holes in the morning. This was descended via the western route, before moving on to the impressive big pitches of neighbouring pothole Long Kin West. More arrivals joined the team later that evening, and a very sociable evening was had in the Helwith Bridge Inn followed by drinks and snacks back at the hut.
The notorious Dowbergill Traverse was the destination for the big Saturday trip, entering Providence Pot and exiting through Dow Cave. Here the apparent straight line of the survey belies the veritable assault course of this interesting through trip. This niche collection of awkward climbs, squeezes, traverses and deep water ensured there was never a dull moment, and made the large stream passage of Dow Cave seem all the more impressive when it was successfully reached.
A much gentler caving trip took place on Sunday in Shuttleworth Pot, with a multi-pitch descent of short abseils dropping into the well-decorated Witches II Cave. This enjoyable and scenic cave has vast array of different formations, from long straws and helictites to rusty looking mini volcanos and drip pockets, plus many other fascinating features to look at including sumps, sediment banks, dog bones and a pair of newt skeletons.
