Caves & Caving

Contents of Issue 77, Autumn 1997

This page edited 15/12/00 to remove or correct some broken URLs caused by the BCRA site moving to a new server. For current contact information and diary dates, please refer to the Caves & Caving home page

News from British caving regions:

• North:

  • Inglesport Climbing Wall now has a cave/platform 15
  • Black Keld 300m passage revealed by diving 15
  • Cow Pot, Easegill extension 15
  • Lancaster Hole Montague West extended by 100m 15
  • Witches Cave dives extended towards Notts 2 15
  • BPC activity in Gaping Gill 15

• South Wales:

  • Llangattock access - Brecon & Radnor Express, Powys County Times snippet 5
  • Ogof Cil Sanws threatened by quarrying 11
  • Dollimore Series in Ogof Draenen now 8Km 11
  • Crescent Cave has three pitches of 5m leading to a pitch of 11m 11
  • Diving at Pwll y Cwm, Daren Cilau and Agen Allwedd 11
  • Draenen: The Cantankerous Surveyors (Stevens, J.) 19-21

• Peak District:

  • Peak Cavern, developments on Stemple Highway, Far Sump Extensions 12
  • Access via Garden Path shaft to Tiger 7 13
  • Farnsley Lane Swallet, Stoney Middleton dig 13
  • Peak Cavern, Buxton Water Inlet Sump dig 14
  • Bagshawe Resurgence Cave survey June 97 14

• Mendip

  • First edition of the Mendip Cave Register available from Dave Irwin, Townsend Cottage, Priddy, WELLS, Somerset BA3 5BP, Telephone 01749 870369, 4
  • The Mendip caving scene: Report of the Mendip Regional Meeting held 7 June 1997 at Priddy (Wilcock, J.) 36-37

• Forest of Dean:

  • Sewage pollution in Wet Sink (Slaughter Stream Cave) new discoveries 8
  • 1 Km of new passage and a large draught in the Re-Melt Plant Series of Slaughter Stream Cave 8
  • Redhouse Lane Swallet practice rescue 8
  • Clanna Resurgence (St Anne's Well) reopened 8

Overseas:

• Ireland:

  • Extraction of limestone pavement refused at Oughter, Cong 9
  • Cuilcagh Natural History Park wins the lottery 9
  • Poll Na Bear new discovery in Leitrim 10
  • Poulnagree extended 10

• News from abroad and foreign journals

  • Whitaker, T. 16,17

• Mongolia:

  • Deep into the Gobi (Birchall, J., M. Craik & A. Richardson) 22-26

• Vietnam:

  • Vietnam 1997 (Holroyd, M.) 27-31

General Features:

• NCA procedure for issuing a letter of support for clubs caving in the Berger 4
• Underground cavity scanner: details from Measurement Device Ltd, ABERDEEN, Scotland, Telephone 01224 824141, FAX 01224 824987, 5
• Leeds wall - caver training facility opening times, costs, etc. from Leeds Wall, 100a Gelderd Road, LEEDS LS12 6BB, Telephone 0113 234-1554
• Dr Trevor Ford awarded OBE for services to geology and cave science 6
• Obituary: Rob Palmer (Boothroyd, C., D. McGregor & D. Willis) 7
• Review of Selected caves of Britain and Ireland (Marshall, D. & D. Rust, published by Cordee, 3a De Montfort Street, LEICESTER LE1 7HD, ISBN 1 87189043 8, price UK pounds 11.95) (Hale, M.) 33
• The changing face of UK caving (Wilcock, J.) 34-36
• Ghar Parau Accounts for the year ended 31.12.96 38
• UK Cave Conservation Emergency Fund, Annual Report of the Hon, Treasurer 1996 39

Association News:

• New address for Cave Surveying Group Contact: Andy Atkinson, 38 Delvin Road, Westbury-on-Trym, BRISTOL BS10 5E,
• New address for Ghar Parau Fund Treasurer, Howard Jones, Glasfryn, Pen y Graig, Froncysyllte, LLANGOLLEN LL20 7RT, Telephone 01691 773147
• BCRA Cave Science Symposium 1997 Transcripts now available from: David Gibson, 12 Well House Drive, LEEDS LS8 4BX, Telephone 0113 248-1218 at a cost of 3 UK pounds inclusive of postage, 6
• BCRA Travel Insurance Policy specially designed for caving abroad - details from BCRA Travel Insurance Administrator, John Cooper, 31 Elm Close, WELLS, Somerset BA5 1LZ, Telephone 01749 670568
• Arthur Butcher Award for cave surveying - regulations 6
• Nominations for Officers and Members of Council for 1998 required by 30 September 1997 to the Hon. Secretary 6
• Publicity and lecture programme for BCRA National Caving Conference Hidden Earth '97 18
• Yellow centre-spread for Council Report, BCRA Accounts, Abridged notes to the accounts, 1997 AGM Notice and Agenda, Notice for motions to be placed before the AGM, proposed Amendments to Constitution
• The BCRA Cave Studies Series:
  • Caves & karst of the Yorkshire Dales (ISBN 0 900265 04 3)
  • An introduction to cave surveying (ISBN 0 900265 07 8)
  • Caves & karst of the Peak District (ISBN 0 900265 12 4)
  • An introduction to cave photography (ISBN 0 900265 17 5)
  • An introduction to British limestone karst environments (ISBN 0 900265 18 3)
  • A dictionary of karst and caves (ISBN 0 900265 19 1)
  each issue UK pounds 2.80 including UK postage (or 3.00 for overseas) obtainable from Bryan Ellis, 20 Woodland Avenue, Westonzoyland, BRIDGWATER, Somerset TA7 0LQ, UK, Telephone +44 1278 691539
• Report of Council Meeting 104, 13 April 1997 (Wilcock, J.) 37
• BCRA Council Address List 1997 40

Other points of note:

• The E.K. Tratman Award is for the best piece of caving literature published in the UK in the current year. The current judges' panel has members Ray Mansfield (Editor of Current Titles in Speleology), Roy Paulson (BCRA Librarian), and Nick Williams. To enter your publication for the current year, send a copy to Ray Mansfield, Downhead Cottage, Downhead, SHEPTON MALLET, Somerset BA4 4LG.