Bagshawe Cavern in Flood - 21/01/2008

After large amounts of rain during the previous week we expected that the main streamway in Bagshawe would have a decent amount of water in it. In fact Lumbago Walk in Peak Cavern had been flooded only the day before so hopes were high for some photographs of an 'active' Bagshawe streamway. None of us are really cave photographers but Sam rang around the previous evening and Mark Brown and Nick Williams kindly lent us Firefly 3s that would give us some light for Sam's digital camera. Arriving at the Cavern we changed and headed down to the Dungeon to find the pitch full of water and a healthy stream flowing down into it. We did have a few problems getting the flashes to fire at the right time but eventually Sam got them working. We made our way up the streamway to where there was about a foot of airspace just downstream of the Cave of Worms. Once past the Cave of Worms Sam carried on taking photos whilst Toni and I held the flashes on the way up to where the passage sumped on the other side of the Hippodrome. We spent some time in the Hippodrome which looks great in these conditions. We were wading up to our waists for much of the time and eventually, having got quite cold we headed back to the Dungeon taking photographs on the way.

Thanks to Mark Brown and Nick Williams for the loan of kit. A very pleasant short trip and well worthwhile to get some photographs of a high Bagshawe streamway.

Click on the images above to enlarge.
1. The Dungeon pitch flooded to within a couple of feet of the bolts at the top. Photo by Sam Townsend.
2. Upstream of the Dungeon pitch. Photo by Sam Townsend.
3. The Bagshawe Streamway. Photo by Sam Townsend.
4. Jules and Toni in the Bagshawe streamway. Photo by Sam Townsend.
5. The Hippodrome. Photo by Sam Townsend.
5. Just downstream of the Cave of Worms. Photo by Sam Townsend.

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