Wednesday 28th October 2026

Sam Hill, Oli Hill, Stuart Jellis, Mike Kushy and Alex Randall.

MK headed down with drill around 1730. Once he got to TPC 2 big mixes of cement were made and used building a wall at the top end of the Lower Dig in TPC. The rest of the team showed up together just after 1800. OH, SJ and AR had a go at the Higher Dig whilst SH and MK continued work at the lower dig. SH used the drill to downsize rock, which was then passed up to MK. Smaller spoil was put behind the newly built wall and larger, building type, blocks have been stashed at the bottom of the scaffold. Looking down the passage at Lower Dig a hole has opened up in the floor on the right and the draught increased the more this was cleared. A scaffold bar was braced across the passage and at the end we started building a base to lower the risk of a rock slide. Back in TPC we met the others who looked surprisingly wet and muddy but jovial. Back to the cars for just before 2100. Mike.

Retaining wall (Up dip). Photo MK.

Down dip. Photo MK.

While SH and MK were at the lower dig OH, AR and SJ headed to the higher dig in Tea Party Chamber. Finding a steady drip of water now flowing into the dig we started by enlarging the passage downwards to the low arch of rock seen at the bottom of the dig. In rotations we slowly enlarged this with the sediment slowly becoming wetter and more squalid. OH used the large crowbar to poke at the hole in the base of the dig with the hopes of making it drain away. A lot of loud gurgling noises followed and some of the water drained. After roughly another 30 minutes of digging downwards the hole became blocked and could no longer be found. SJ had one last go at digging in the now very wet dig before we called it a night. Hopefully the water will be able to drain away given time. Still following the right hand wall with a solid ceiling above and the floor continuing to drop away. Oli.

Perhaps also to note that it was possible to hammer the crowbar into the mud at the base of the dig which is slightly to the right of the drain hole. There’s stuff there that could be removed but it’s really restricted and awkward to access. Stuart.

Wednesday 14th October 2026

Martin Grass, Mike Kushy, Stuart McManus, Derek Sanderson and Terry Walker. Mainly to show some core members of MCR the cave and get some photos. Got into the cave for 1100 and took the old route in. Once at TPC photos were taken and we cleared several buckets from the scaff dig. We came out the newer route through the boulder rift. Back to the cars for 1330. After a bit of lunch MK went back into the cave and to The Pool Of Tears dig with a drill and 2 batteries. Good progress made and the spoil at the sharp end is now dry and sandy. Another small dam was built with the broken down rock and a good sessions worth of mud tipped into it ready to clear. Out of the cave for 1630. Mike.

P.S. Derek's 83rd birthday next week!!! He seemed to fare better coming out than any of us.

Pool of Tears Dig. Photo MK.

From further away. Photo MK.

Monday 12th October 2026

Mike Kushy and Alessio Sancetta. We met at 1000. Carried some cement across which got transferred into a Daren drum. This and a drill with 3 batteries went in. At TPC AS started down-sizing boulders in Scaff' Dig, whilst MK built more walls in Tea Party Chamber and tried to tidy up as much loose flooring as he could. Periodically we swapped jobs. Really easy access to the side passage going off from the bottom of Scaff' Dig now and there's also quite a big undercut that seems to be leading to a vertical hole. Once the drill ran out we decided to keep clearing as much of the loose stuff  as possible as everything feels fairly safe as it is. Towards the end we decided to have a go at the higher dig in TPC. I personally really like this dig. Towards the end the crowbar was going into the floor with minimal resistance and we were even convinced that some material was dropping down further, although the hole is currently fairly small (but there is a flowstone floor leading to it). We both agreed that it's not worth going down into the initial floor of Scaff' Dig for now but to check the undercut out first. Some cement work could be done but didn't seem entirely necessary, although at the top end of the Scaff' Dig passage there is room for a clever retaining wall and to create some space for backfilling. Back to the cars for 1630. Mike.

Plug & Feather work. Photo MK.

AS coming out. Photo MK.

TPC Higher Dig. Photo MK.

Wednesday 16th September 2026

Freya Bearn and Stuart Jelliss. We took a drum of sand in and left it in a plastic bag. The drum and carry bag are back on the surface. The drill and 2 flat batteries are in the lock box. Chain back on the hatch. Quite a few rocks broken and hauled up to the chamber and added to the wall. Stuart.

Friday 11th September 2026

Freya Bearn and Mike Kushy. Mike and I entered the dig by 1pm. We went straight to Tea Party Chamber with two drums of cement, 1 bag of builders sand and a drill. I went through the squeeze at the bottom of the dig and shuffled to the bottom, following the ceiling down, where it got considerably tighter and there was a crystal pool in front of me. On the way back up, I was intrigued by a phreatic tube down to the right. I then squeezed back out. About five minutes later, a large boulder collapsed at the entrance to the squeeze, blocking it in and causing various other boulders at the top of the crawl to collapse in its wake. We exchanged worried glances - how would I (or anyone else down there) have got out? Having decided it was too nauseating to keep thinking about it, we got to work downsizing some of the collapsed boulders with plug and feathers, which I then hauled up using a bucket. We cleared out the hole at the bottom of the dig, which is now much bigger. Once Mike had explained the ratios for cement mix, I mixed up three batches which I lowered one by one. Mike then used these to cement up the wall on the right hand side. We checked the time and, much like Lewis Carroll’s white rabbit, exclaimed that we were late, and swiftly left, as it was already 5 pm. The dig already feels a bit safer, but it is definitely one to be approached with caution.

1 empty drum and a few empty bags brought out. 2 full drums of cement in cave, just need to take some dust in next, no cement left in the lockbox. Freya.

Freya at work. Photo MK.

Bottom of dig. Photo MK.