Saturday 13th June 2026

David Cooke (Cookie) and Mike Kushy. We took the 4 scaffold bars by the entrance shaft down to TPC. DC's first time in the cave, so he went through to see MHH. MK started making a mix and this was used up building up to support a corner area. DC returned and continued with another 2 mixes, whilst MK built and added another vertical pole. It's all feeling a lot safer already and we even braved venturing below. There's some hefty calcited boulders to build off lower down and the job isn't looking so difficult to me anymore. 4x drums of sand, 2x cement and a small amount of dust in cave, need water also. We came out the old route. 3 hours. Mike.

Friday 12th June 2026

'Caucus Race'...?!

Harley Bennet, Ed Ford and Mike Kushy. Got to the entrance for just after 1700. We lowered 5 heavy bags containing sand, cement and drill and also picked up the scaffold clip bag on route. We leap frogged and ferried them down to TPC. MK and HB had a go at the higher end dig in TPC whilst EF down-sized and moved larger rocks from in and around the scaffold dig with PF's. After a while MK joined EF and the pair worked on cementing whilst HB spent his time building walls at the higher dig. More rock removed and we now have a square frame. Lost track of how much material is in cave but we brought out all the tackle sacks and these are in the lock-box on surface along with 1@1/2bags of sand and 2/3 bag of cement. MK and HB popped to get tools from MHH and the air felt very stale, whereas there was a lovely cool breeze coming up the light connection today. EF placed a section of small ladder he acquired (thanks Mick) into a gap in the ceiling right where you get into the thrutch. I personally really liked it, just needs securing. Out for 21.30. Mike.

There is/was caveable space down there. Photo MK.

MK in 'Scaff' dig. Photo EF.

The 'Higher' dig. Photo HB.

Left wall. Photo HB.

Right. Photo HB.

Wednesday 10th June 2026

Freya Bearn, Billy Evans, Ed Ford and Mike Waterworth.

There was a knock on the window around 3pm, two cavers were looking to borrow a dry bag so they can take a phone on their planned Short Round Trip as they suspected they'd need route guidance. I lent them a hard case and they went off on their trip. 30 minutes later I got a call "Billy has forgotten his undersuit, can we come digging with you instead?". And so the two person team had become a 4 person team, with Billy and Freya joining the digging trip.

Ed and I had been digging through the floor on Sunday with hand tools, a 2.5lb hammer and chisel being used to break through the thick calcite floor in Mad Hatter Hall to find the route the water coming into the chamber flows on to. This time we took in 2 hammer drills with chisel bits plus we ferried in a Daren Drum of sand. We all made it to the chamber with only a couple of small route issues from the two newbies (Freya was surprised to see me coming towards her as she'd done a loop and had somehow started climbing back towards the entrance!).

We quickly started breaking through the calcite with chisel bits, thinking we'd find a mud floor underneath it. Nearly 2ft later, we're still finding calcite! This floor, which covers the entire chamber, is ridiculously thick and has bested us and our tooling. So after 2.5 hours of digging and increasingly stale air we switched over to the TPC dig.

This proved to be a lot more fruitful as we dug down through the boulder pile, enlarging the ruckle hole down into the vadose trench. The walls were proving to be unstable and so we dug back until they were standing safely. The digging is easy, with a bucket and passing of rocks working well at the current depth. None of this has been calcited in so it's easy digging at present.

We added a single bolt hole above so it'd be possible to add a hauling rope in the future. The dig itself will shortly need shoring and more engineering to make safe and then backfilling the void to keep the shaft proportions.

Crawling back out with the drills and full kit made me appreciate leaving more tools in-situ for next time.

5 hours 8 minutes. Same again next week! Mike.

Sunday 7th June 2026

Ed Ford, Mike Kushy and Mike Waterworth.

MK met EF at the Wessex for 10am, where we loaded 4 scaffold poles, 2 Darren Drums of sand and 1 of cement. All of this was lowered down the entrance shaft and left in the old route in the tunnel. Done by 11am. MK then left for TempleTwin, meeting MW as he arrived to join EF. Mike K.

MW met EF at the car park after he'd already been down once, shuttling bags. We had a natter about the plan and decided to start off with Ed's Bet - the boulder ruckle directly below Cement Dig. We carried some additional metalwork and sand into the cave and quickly reached Ed's Bet where I hurriedly squirmed through some tight squeezes into the current end. From here there were a couple of obvious ways on, straight down or heading back towards the light connection but 2m lower. I started off with straight down and opened up a couple of new small chambers, seeing what looked like a water worn flat passage directly underneath the initial chamber. This also gave access looking back into the boulder ruckle. A number of human-sized voids around.
We needed a hammer to make further progress and so Ed went to TPC to pick one up. His voice got quieter, and then louder again.
"Mikey".
Hmm.
"Mikey"
Yeah?"
"I'm in Tea Party Chamber underneath the light connection. Shine your light around!"
I crawled over towards the noise and could easily see Ed's light. The third connection we've found through to this chamber! Nice to have ticked this off but It'd need a lot of work to make it safely navigable.

We decided instead to turn our attention to Mad Hatter Hall. The dig here is 12 inches of mud and then an unknown thickness of calcite. We started on either side of the cake formation before both switching over to the right hand side, taking it in turns to work through the calcite. This is proving to be extremely thick but is suspected to be hollow, or at least porous underneath. Our meagre tools of a 2.5lb hammer, crow bar and small chisel made slow progress through this and more industrious tools will be required next time!

Underground 11:15 - 15:00; MW.

Wednesday 3rd June 2026

Ed Ford and Stuart Jelliss. EF arrived a bit later than expected due to temporary traffic lights. SJ had just arrived, also later than expected. After unlocking the entrance we headed straight to Tea Party Chamber with two Darren Drums of sand (there's about half a Daren Drum's worth left in lockbox). We took a look at the scaffolding work, then headed to Mad Hatters Hall where we both took a dig, SJ to the left and EF to the right. SJ confirmed that the roof and floor meet with no obvious draught or way on. EF focused on the small trench at the end of the calcite sheet working left towards the middle of the wall. This was found to start widening and on closer inspection it looks like the sheet used to sit higher on the wall. Started excavating this gap and started finding sand rather than clay. The wall also starts undercutting at this point. There is a draught but this could be the hole which connects above. There was a steady drip of water coming in above the formation with no sign of it running in to either dig either side. Hammer drills to break calcite will be required next time.

We were both out by 20.45. EF headed to the Hunters'. Ed.

Tuesday 26th May 2026

Mike Kushy and Mike Wise. We headed into the cave at 1400 armed with 3x 6ft scaffold poles, 2x Daren Drums of sand and tools. Really hot day today, cool cave and the strongest draught in TPC. Once here we set about installing the scaffolding frame, which will help retain the chamber floor and allow us to dig down through the rocks. We opted for a triangle frame for now, with MK chiselling out a crack in the rock to get a lovely secure pocket for 1 end of the bar to sit in, with the diagonal bar sitting in a natural recess. This can be adapted later as necessary once we start removing material & things are a little more stable. Some stone work was cemented in to start the process of securing the couple of huge slabs at the head. All materials in the cave used up, bar 1/2 a bag of dust and a container of water, empty bags and drums brought out and left in the lockbox. A good day in starting to secure the boulder floor & giving us access downwards, all we need now is to get as much sand & cement material down there to enable this to continue ;-) . 

Bang wire tidied up & left in inclined rift

On the surface for 1830. Mike K.

MK evaluating.

MK building.

Wednesday 13th May

 Quick trip to look at the dig in Mad Hatters as I hadn't got around to visiting the chamber so far. Kushy was planning to dig but had to cancel. MHH was dry at the dig end and muddy at the entry point, definitely not flooded. The intermediate chamber had a puddle at the Hookah Pipe exit. Two impressive chambers and a lot of mud to shift. The air seemed OK although I did feel hot and sweaty from the end of the Hookah Pipe. Below the entrance and all the way to the now drained Puddle Dig, it looked like a lot of water had come in from the previous wet weather. 

No photos taken 

1 hr 45 minutes  

 Mike Wise 

Saturday 2nd May 2026

Mike Kushy and Ed Ford. Met at 1030 and headed straight to MHH. This time we both worked the dig to the left of the formation. With EF at point and MK close behind we burrowed to the corner within a couple of hours. We then stopped for lunch for 10 minutes. MK went and furtled at the end of the left hand route  which gets constricted by the flowstone boss towards the end. It is possible to keep following the bedding down dip though so it will get wider again. EF spent the rest of his time digging out the right hand dig, which like the other side could do with some chiselling and pf work to dig out the calcite floor. Back to the cars for 1600. You could tell it had been raining and become cloudy whilst we were underground because at one point MK remarked about the drips getting faster and within another 5 minutes EF pointed out the mist filled the chamber. Strange echoes all over the place when cutting into the mud. Mike.

All photo's by MK.

Left hand dig sharp end.

Left hand dig tunnel.

Right hand dig.

Right hand dig sharp end.

Wednesday 29th April 2026

Mike Kushy and Ed Ford. We met at 1800 and headed straight to MHH, which was very dry. EF continued digging to the right of the formation, whilst MK started channeling along the far wall working a passage towards the far corner (digging at the corner is too constricted). A thick calcite floor was hit at both sites, but the far wall dig floor seems to be slopping away steeply towards the far corner. We took turns in each dig towards the end. Back at the cars for gone 2030. Mike.

All photo's by MK.

EF working along the far wall towards the far corner.

The dig to the right of the formation.

Wednesday 11th March 2026

Mike Kushy, Mike Wise, Hollie London and Harley Bennet. Return to Puddle Dig. HL lead in and reported no water in the dig. MK and MW went around to the Tooth Dig approach (stacking area), HB sat in the 'Attic' position hauling buckets and HL filled buckets from the dam. Around 30 loads cleared, unfortunately the dam emptied itself of any water and filled the dig face up again. Eventually all 4 of us ended up at Puddle Dig and we moved a dozen buckets of spoil from the face back into the dam. HL was soaked and there was an impressive cold draught coming out of Puddle today, she left slightly earlier. Meanwhile HB and MW had a go at drain hunting for 20 minutes or so. The dam pipe needs working on, it's been crushed somehow and is split. May be wise to leave it another month before having another go at clearing again (or get a wetsuit). Over 2 hours. Mike K.

Wednesday 28th January 2026

Mike Kushy, Stu Jelliss, Tom Frost and Jake Baynes. First trip back in since closure and the last trip in December 3rd 2025, so personally I was very keen to see the conditions in MHH. Fair stream heading into Puddle Dig as we made our way in. Everyone got through the light connection fine, it was TF's first trip, JB's and SJ's third time. Comments were made about the significant improvments to the Light Connection and The Hookah Pipe to get all the team to the end (previously JB was unable to get through The Hookah, this time he went head first!). Unfortunately MHH was as much a lake as we've ever seen it, although the water has been tracing it's way to the far corner and the amount of water coming in today didn't warrant the lake size (it should having been overflowing back into TPC at that rate!). We did a bit of poking in the mud then headed out. On the way out we popped into 'ED's bet'. SJ went for a look first and made it to where Ed got before. MK also went in for a look and got to the same place. He had brought the long crowbar back from TPC and poked at the floor a bit, right next to the upright flake boulder. Stones did freefall below for an estimated 15ft, it has promise but stabilisation is a must and personally I'd use remote rock removal techniques to push further (video was made). MK and TF went out the old route, whilst the others headed out via Puddle dig. SJ investigated Puddle dig and reported no water at all, just mud, although there was a healthy stream running in! The cave seemed to be breathing the whole trip, it was a colder evening outside with intermittent showers. 2 hours. Mike.

Video of Ed's bet.

SJ, JB and TF in MHH lake. Photo MK.

Friday 16th January 2026

White Rabbit is back open. 

We've been asked to be discreet when changing (put on fleece before arriving or just be discreet).

Also keep noise to minimum and lights low, the people who are in the farmhouse opposite where we park the cars are not the same as those who own White Rabbit.

Please pull the gate to when digging and after leaving. We mean the second gate that is on the cattle grid (basically keep the WRH parking secure when were underground and leaving).

Sunday 7th December 2025

**

Ownership of the land has changed and we are asking about parking and other access arrangements.

We should not drive up, park or go across to the dig at all until we know more.

Hopefully update soon.

**

Wednesday 3rd December 2025

 Eds Bet

Ed Ford and Mike Wise entered WR at 1830. We took 2 drills, batteries, plug and feathers and a crowbar. Got to Eds Bet which looked to be fairly sketching digging. EF started by removing some sizable blocks from the floor working above 2 larger blocks. Some of the removed blocks had holes on the sides from the 12g bang of the Up&Over Boulder - one of the bigger ones brutally attacked one of MWs fingers and crushed it, chipping the top joint, whilst being wrestled into its storage location although the extent of the damage wasn't appreciated until the next morning 😢.

Once a bit of loose fill had been removed, it was clear there was a drop below taking some time for loose rocks to fall and a flowstone covered vertical fault wall was visible.

 EF asked MW to take a look to ensure he didn't bring the roof down on him. MW then took a turn removing some of the spoil and a few loose rocks threatening to drop on anyone venturing below the the 2 larger blocks. The drop below became more visible but all looked reasonably stable considering.

We swapped again and EF went below the two larger blocks. Down here there is sizable space between the bedding. Some overly large rocks were lifted out before the whole floor became quite unstable. Careful footing was required at this point and MW requested that EF refrain from getting sucked down into a loose rock funnel as it was nearing pub time. All the rock was removed bar one which was far bigger than could be lifted. To this point we hadn't used the P&F and decided we didn't have time to retrieve the hammer from Tea Party. EF instead opted to remove the keystone holding it and drop it. It dropped a couple of inches onto a shelf also exposing a body sized hole. EF headed through the hole to explore the new bit before heading out reaching the surface at 2100 for a celebratory pint and a cheese&onion roll. The new bit looks promising and is not fully explored - we will be back. It is still a 2 caver job.

Ed Ford and Mike Wise

 Edit - in the initial rock removal EF found an artefact, that despite its resemblance to the plug of a 14mm plug & feather set, we are convinced is a bone from the mysterious and long extinct Sabre Toothed White Rabbit.  We left it in situ pending professional examination. 

 Photo by S.Wise taken next morning. 

Mikes finger after being crushed by a large rock. Its twice the size it should be.

 

Friday 21st November 2025

Mike Kushy, Hollie London, Alessio Sancetta, Sam Chung, Tuska, Wayne Starsmore, John Cooper and Brian Prewer. We all met around 2.30 and quickly went over how to set up the radio location equipment. Then MK, HL, AS and SC went to the first chamber on the old route in, just to check comms. Comms was established but too close to the iron ladders to Radio Locate. We then all headed to TPC to set up. SC and AS worked on this whilst MK and HL cleared The Hookah Pipe of the bang spoil and tried to divert puddles. Once TPC was located HL, AS and SC went on to MHH...I also believe the team carried on digging out channels to the far corner and the water reaches there now. Meanwhile MK made 2 mixes and carried on with supporting the landing pad. The MHH location sounded really successful (although comms weren't great), now to cross reference with the survey. 1 drum of sand, 1 of cement, lots of stone dust and water in cave. Mike.

AS and JC setting up on surface. Photo SC.

WS, AS, HL, T and MK. Photo SC.

AS on comms in TPC. Photo SC.

HL and AS in MHH. Photo SC.

The Hookah Pipe after clearing. Photo MK.

Friday 14th November 2025

Mike Kushy and Sam Hill. Possibly the wettest day of the year so far with 1 1/2 inch of rain in Priddy within 24 hours, fairly warm though. We took in 2 drills, HE and a full size spade. The entrance shaft was wet and loads of inlets higher up than we've ever seen before. Surprisingly the Lower Bedding and Cement Dig had no drips at all, whereas this used to be the wettest area. SH used his drill to put an anchor in for the Light Connection rope (need to take mallion in for this), whilst MK set to laying in a puddle drilling shot holes in The Hookah Pipe. Really apparent and cold draught coming out from MHH today. SH then went into MHH with the spade for some mud mining, he also took some footage. MK then finished holes and joined SH where we started digging away mud from the far corner. Massive lake in the chamber, but not as much water coming in as I thought there would be. MK laid the charge with SH assisting. On the way out SH went to check out Puddle Dig and reported there's a clear puddle but it's not as deep as it should be considering the amount of water coming in! All fired fine. 2 1/2 hours. Mike.

Video of MHH in flood, by SH.

MK in MHH. Photo SH

Wednesday 12th November 2025

Ed Ford and Mark Edwards went down 1815. One cement and one sand taken down. Hookah Pipe cleared of bang debris. A torrent of water was coming down in Mad Hatters Hall with the current dig flooded. This is definitely taking the water though as it flows into it. No problem with air. Felt fresher in Mad Hatters Hall than rest of cave! Out by 2030. Ed.

Saturday 8th November 2025

Party including Mike Kushy and Tuska fitted the extra bolts into the gate hinges. Mike.

Wednesday October 29th

Mike Wise and Ed Ford. Our mission was to clear the debris from last week's Hookah Pipe (HP) diameter adjustment and if needed repeat the process. We declined the suggestion to take in more cement so just took a 36v drill, a couple of 10mm drill bits, a spare set of batteries and passage widening kit in two bags.

A slight whiff of fumes was detected from the pit above the Light Connection (LC). MW descended to check things out while EF waited above. It seemed OK at first; there was a pile of small debris in the HP but further slight adjustment was needed and so the drill bag came down. There was no detectable draught and TPC was the same temperature as the upper cave. But then the fumes became more apparent in the area around HP and upstairs and the drill bag returned up LC. EF came down for a look and chat.  

EF declined to enter HP; his sense of smell hasn't been wrecked by time like mine has. We did discuss moving some rocks towards the platform below LC keeping us away from the lower part of TPC, but then EF traversing the rock pile found a pocket of fume. Time was called and we returned up LC. Despite using exemplary thrutching technique we were both panting on reaching the top and according to EF, MW was sweating buckets.

We exited puffing and panting with throats complaining we had just eaten a handful of gravel. No photos taken. Medicinal substances were taken in The Hunters' which helped to improve things slightly.

1 hour 40 minutes

 Mike Wise

Monday 27th October 2025

Mike Kushy and Tuska. 2 hours fitting metal gate. Need an extension bar for the driver to get the lower screws in on the hinges and need to sort out a lock. Mike.

Gate fitted. Photo MK.

Gate fitted. Photo MK.