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Written by: Victoria Kocher

Published: 12 August 2026

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Tuesday nighters

Edvin, Katie, Jess, Julian, Chris and Victoria

Edvin suggested a trip to Merlins in Stoney to check on the streamway. Always a good suggestion — unless you’re John, who I suspect has now had quite enough of Merlins. Fortunately for him, he was unavailable anyway, being off in bonny Scotland.

It had not rained for 40 days and 40 nights, so this seemed like an excellent opportunity to see just how far into the sumps we could get without actually having to get into any sumps. It had also been unusually hot in the UK, so some time underground in the cool, refreshing embrace of a cave seemed like exactly what was required. Natural air conditioning, basically.

It was therefore a trip that definitely called for knee and elbow pads.

I had downloaded the conservation survey for the DCA Cave Conservation Scheme, so we had a look at this before heading in. The areas of conservation interest included the streamway, which contains numerous speleothems in permanently flooded passage. We were also looking for a particularly heavily contaminated stalagmite from the streamway, and planned to take photographs of various formations and interesting speleothems along the way for the conservation form.

As it turned out, the conditions were so dry that we found absolutely nothing that wanted to be flooded. We did, however, take plenty of photos.

The walk to the pitch was short, and Katie had sensibly brought a rope. When we arrived, there was already a rather good-looking rope in situ, we decided a rather fun freeclimb was in order.

So we did, a little traversing and some helpful vertical assistance from the rope. Julian had also brought his SRT kit, which turned out to be another very good decision.

Once down, we carefully watched the roof as we descended one at a time into the streamway. Many of us had been on the previous trip, which had resulted in a large boulder falling onto someone’s head — generally considered poor form in a cave. Thankfully, the offending boulder has since been blown to smithereens, and the roof all seemed considerably more cooperative this time.

We followed the dive lines, with plenty of crawling along the streamway. At one point Edvin commented that it was the easiest cave diving he had ever done.

Katie helpfully pointed out that if he was cave diving, he should probably be blowing bubbles rather than talking.

Progress continued through a series of dry sumps, each followed by a large chamber where we could stand up, have a rest, admire the surroundings and briefly remember what it was like to be a person who could walk upright. Then it was back down for more crawling.

We stopped at Sump 5, which was where we had reached last year and felt suitably accomplished. This time, however, there was a growing realisation that we could actually keep going.

So we did.

More dive lines. More crawling. More formations. More photographs. And, increasingly, a suspicion that the cave was going to carry on for considerably longer.

Eventually, we believed we had made it all the way to Sump 8. The passage finally ended at a low roof with a small pool of water. We could see what appeared to be a board under a ledge, but there was nowhere obvious to go beyond it.

This was finally the end.

Or at least, we assumed it was.

I checked the survey we had downloaded for the conservation work — only to discover that it stopped at Sump 5.

We were officially off the survey.

There was something particularly satisfying about this. Last year, Sump 5 had felt like the impressive end point. This year, with exceptionally low water levels, we had crawled our way beyond it and apparently wandered off the edge of our paperwork.

A very satisfying Tuesday night.

We emerged very muddy and extremely pleased with ourselves — having confirmed that Merlins was indeed very dry, the streamway was very crawlable, and our survey was considerably less ambitious than we were.

A great trip, with plenty of photos for the conservation work and, most importantly, another reminder that sometimes the best way to deal with a heatwave is to spend an evening underground crawling through a streamway.

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Written by: Josh

Published: 20 June 2026

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Thursday night saw me (Josh G), Jon and Jim heading to Eldon Hole after a long break from caving.

I arrived first on the scene and, after being told off for parking in the wrong place, found myself standing on the side of Eldon Hill. The sun was setting, sheep were baaing, and green hills rolled away into the distance. A beautiful sight. Twenty minutes later, Jon's big red van came bounding up the hill like it was searching for the nearest school, disturbing the peace.

I suited up, expecting to head straight for the cave, but instead spent the next 30 minutes waiting for a photoshoot for Jim’s LinkedIn.  Once that was finally over, we set off up the hill, discussing local legends surrounding the hole, including the tale of a goose that supposedly fell in and later emerged from Peak Cavern with its wings singed off.

Soon enough, we were standing at the edge of Eldon Hole itself. The 80-metre-deep chasm is quite a sight, and it also seemed like the perfect place to test my second-hand SRT kit for the very first time. There's something about a huge black hole that makes you need to know what's at the bottom of it, a privilege I was soon about to enjoy.

Jon rigged the north pitch and Jim set off first. I received a quick refresher course in SRT before following behind. The first section consists of a series of steep slopes descending a narrow, muddy passage. Eventually, this leads to a ledge decorated with wild garlic (with a powerful smell) and sheep bones.

After a short traverse to the edge of the ledge came the main event: a rebelay leading into a 65-metre free-hanging drop into the abyss.

Jon disappeared over the edge and, after waiting for him to rig the rebelay, it was my turn. Jim talked me through the setup. I always feel safe when Jim's big arms are nearby. After triple-checking everything on my new stop descender, off I went. Dropping into that enormous black crevasse instantly became a new core memory.

I reached the rebelay, with Jon talking me through it from below, before finally touching down at the bottom of the hole. The floor consisted of rocks and rubble, thrown down over the centuries by curious passers-by. In one corner stood a fenced-off ladder leading further into the darkness. However, I wasn't alone… A small crow was also sitting at the bottom.

We'd been hearing its caws echoing around the hole all evening and had finally found the culprit. It was pretty obvious the poor thing was trapped. Jim and Jon soon joined me and, being the severe empaths they are, immediately set about rescuing it.

Jim calmly stuffed the crow into his bag before beginning the long journey back to the surface, while Jon and I continued down the ladder into the chamber below.

The chamber is seriously impressive, a cavern roughly 20 × 15 × 40 metres, with countless stalactites decorating the walls. Another ladder stood in one corner, descending into the dig site where, apparently, ancient human remains were discovered a few years ago. There is also a route onwards into further chambers high above the floor via additional pitches.

After another photoshoot, this time for my LinkedIn, we headed back to reunite with Jim and his new pet, which was patiently waiting inside the bag. The prusik back to the surface was long and painful for me after months of doing virtually no exercise. At least it gave me the wake-up call I needed, and I've since started running and going back to the gym. No doubt I'll soon be deadlifting more than Jim.

Eventually, we emerged out of the hole where it had now become dark outside. Jim attempted to release the crow but unfortunately, the fledgling had grown rather attached to its newfound father figure and refused to let go of his arm.

Long story short, Jon ended up taking it home because Jim has a cat. The following morning he delivered it to a wildlife sanctuary, so it's safe to assume the crow is now living it large and has a happier life than the slow death it faced at the bottom of Eldon Hole.

I'd call that successful trip.

Jim and his new son

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Written by: Victoria Kocher

Published: 09 June 2026

Hits: 404

Tuesday Nighters – Knotlow Exchange Trip

Jess, Cat, Pete x2, Chris, Robert, Edvin, Frances and Victoria gathered in the Knotlow Triangle on Tuesday evening for an exchange trip from Wharf Climbing Shaft to Wharf Engine Shaft.

With the sun shining and the weather glorious, it seemed like the perfect evening to spend several hours underground. Naturally.

After Robert successfully located the rigging guide, we split into two groups and prepared to head off. Following some careful consideration, Pete #1 decided against what would have been a fairly lengthy prussiking trip. A wise reminder that listening to your body (and your brain) is always good practice underground. We bid him farewell and hoped he'd enjoy the sunshine on our behalf.

Grace had been making her way over, but the universe apparently had alternative plans and diverted her elsewhere. Hopefully next time, Grace!

I joined Edvin, Jess and Frances, with Edvin leading the charge to rig Climbing Shaft. Part way down, Jess spotted that a block or two appeared to be missing from the pack wall after the first rebelay. She promptly shouted up a warning for everyone following to take extra care on the descent.

At the bottom of the shaft, there was further evidence of rockfall, so we made a mental note to report it on UKCaving. ,Jenny helpfully chimed in on the Tuesday Nighters group chat with the reminder that:

"The law of gravity is only loosely enforced underground."

Words to live by.

With everyone safely down, we spent some time exploring and heading towards Mercano. Frances treated us to some fascinating geology commentary, proving once again that every cave trip can double as a field lecture if you bring the right people along.

Eventually we met up with the other group at the bottom. After a blurry photo or two—which should be sufficient evidence that the trip definitely happened—we completed the exchange.

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I always enjoy Climbing Shaft and somehow always forget quite how long the prussik up Engine Shaft feels. No matter. Upwards we went.
A special thank you goes to Edvin for retrieving both bags during the de-rig. I made sure he received a half pint in compensation afterwards, although on reflection that may not have been entirely adequate payment. Perhaps next time.

We emerged back into daylight having made good time, which left the important business of the evening still to be completed: a cheerful pint and catch-up at the Bulls Head.

Another thoroughly enjoyable evening underground with great people, good company, and only the usual amount of gravity.