The exploration of Blackmoor Valley, and
history of Upper Flood Swallet 1954-2008 (part 7)

2006 - the Departure Lounge

On 08/08/06 Mike Richardson, Peat Bennett and Tim Francis were digging in Streamway Regained. At the top of the choke Peat dug through a squeeze between the solid wall and a house-sized boulder. Tim then dropped down a narrow crack and excavated through jammed boulders and breccia. A hole opened up with a storming draft coming out of it. After some boulder-juggling they reached a huge jammed boulder over a 5m drop.

Winding their way down they squeezed through a flowstone gap between boulders and a sporting squeeze to roomier passage below and the sound of the streamway. Following a wall as best they could through an horrendous choke, they reached a gap between boulders and another good draft.

Mike Richardson, Julie Hesketh and Tim Francis returned to the choke on 10/09/06. Mike busied himself widening the squeezes and Julie headed to the end with Tim. The way on looked much too dodgy but Tim spotted a small crack on the right hand side. This was excavated and hammered for 30 minutes allowing a desperate vertical squeeze to a boulder balcony. Julie followed after Tim confirmed that the breakthrough really was worth seeing. Ahead was a huge chamber - the Departure Lounge:

Departure Lounge, Upper Flood Swallet. Photo M Shinwell

2006 - the Blackmoor master cave

The Departure Lounge starts off as a steeply descending canyon with flowstone on the entire left hand wall. Traversing a floor of jumbled boulders, the stream is reached after a few minutes and the passage narrows before breaking out into walking sized streamway. The passage gradient is very shallow here. An inlet enters on the right but it soon closes down. The main streamway zigzags several times but it turns back onto the SSE trend at a large chamber "Walk the Plank", so named because of a prominent slab of rock in the floor. A huge bank of black and white flowstone sweeps in from the right and ahead is a fine hidden gallery - a real treat for the photographers.

Below "Walk the Plank" a scramble down through boulders regains the stream; passage height is low at first but height is soon regained. There are several flyover passages above, which can be entered from time to time as much of the ceiling is a false floor. The high level route is taped off as it mirrors the route at stream level.

After several hundred metres the passage narrows briefly before opening out in a high narrow canyon. Up on the right is first side passage of note - a muddy up-and-down tube (Charnel Passage). A 5m rope climb assists the ascent up into a descending bedding plane.

50m beyond Charnel Passage wet cascade enters from the left. Another 50m on, the passage appears to pinch out but a short climb drops into passage reminiscent of the old Upper Flood Swallet. A tight tube can be followed to an 'up-and-over' rift.

The next breakthrough came quickly. On 30/09/06 Bill Chadwick and Tim Francis were surveying in Charnel Passage when Tim spotted a choke in the roof. A quick wriggle and they were into a walking-size passage. The first 50m was a narrow rift requiring traversing in places. An ascending rubble slope between two walls opened out into another huge passage and the first a major junction, clearly marked by a great pile of white flowstone (Royal Icing Junction).

To the left from Royal Icing Junction, the passage soon became a wallow. The main route headed up over a fractured boulder pile before becoming a fine high canyon and more traversing. They then went upslope from Royal Icing Junction and carefully climbed a delightful flowstone-covered boulder pile (now taped off). Up and to the left behind the boulder was a massive calcited choke in a narrow rift. Back below the boulder on the other side of the 'shoulder' was a view down into a fantastic Christmas-like grotto. The formations here are exquisite and it makes for a tranquil spot to sit and admire what Upper Flood Swallet has to offer. In the floor Doug spotted a small hole and carefully dropped down into a continuation. Up on the left was another extremely well decorated but small rift. The main passage continued down into the floor and closed down at a muddy dig. However Tim spotted a roof tube and a technical climb beyond, which bypassed the low dig. Beyond was about another 50m of crawling in a muddy streamlet. Back at the large boulder and flowstone slope area, a window down into yet another passage was spotted. A quick scramble down a flowstone slope led off again.

To the right from Royal Icing Junction, West Passage began as a low arch and led over mud banks and 30m further on the stream was encountered again, issuing from a narrow rift blocked by calcite (Chuckle Choke), and a perched sump (Chuckle Sump). West Passage continued in a straight line for another 150m as a mixture of walking and crawling but always quite narrow. The floor descended very gently with some fine potholes in places.

Upper Flood Swallet was now giving up its secrets at an alarming rate. On On 01/12/06 Julie Hesketh and Bill Chadwick took the bold decision to enter "Neverland" Grotto at the start of West Passage. Julie removed her helmet, wellies, oversuit and gloves and carefully crawled though the passage. The passage, lined with white crystals running along the walls, turned a corner and continued for 30m with the most exquisite and unusual formations - gossamer thin icy curtains, club-shaped formations 20-30cm long hanging down from walls completely made from ice-white crystal and one stunning carrot-shaped crystal encrusted formation again 25-30cm long hanging from a tiny straw.

The pretties ended abruptly at a white flowstone boss and the passage rose up to a low bedding plane 0.5m wide. Julie returned to get Bill. After shifting some rocks, they entered a magnificent decorated aven 8m high with two ways on. They headed down over a calcite slope with razor sharp crystals into walking-size passage, to a 5m high active flowstone inlet, glued to the opposite wall with a solid white curtain the same length.

At this point they returned to Mike Richardson and Tony Jarratt at Chuckle Choke. Together they headed back down Neverland, this time turning right to another sparkling grotto. Gour dams and lakes with snow white dinner-plate sized islands formed from large crystals, rising several centimetres out of a gour pool marked the end of exploration - not wanting to put the formations at risk by pressing past them. They passed the curtain climb to a large water-filled hole where an exposed traverse required a little nerve but Tony Jarratt pressed on, past another hole and down a 4m climb to more walking sized passage. He returned to tell them it was going "on and on!!" but leaving it open for the MCG to push.

The following morning, Doug Harris, Dongwoo Park, Tim Francis, Brian Snell and Julie Hesketh returned to Tony's going lead. They found a 5m balcony pitch overlooking a passage. Doug traversed the pitch head to climb into an oxbow. This closed down but Tim found a muddy duck into walking-size passage. After 50m they encountered a boulder choke with a caravan-sized boulder. Tim climbed the overhanging boulder to a 12m high chamber. They excavated the floor to follow a streamlet down slope. Starting muddy and low, it opened out into walking-sized passage. The next chamber is probably the largest in the cave so far at 18m high with huge jammed boulders in the roof.

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