The chosen venue for this week's trip was to be a repeat of an earlier (unreported and sparsely attended) midweek trip into Great Masson Cavern visiting a very aqueous and sumpy passage leading to caverns measureless to, if not man, certainly your average caver. However, Katie, who was on that earlier trip and is now returning to caving after a short family-expansion interlude, had other ideas for her first post-natal Tuesday nighter, and proposed an optional "other trip" into Old Jant Mine, entering via Gentlewoman's Shaft, and exploring through to Youd's Level.
Gentlewoman’s Pipe
Not strictly speaking a TSG mid-week trip, but I thought it was worth posting a record of this on the forum as this shaft (also known as Deep Shaft) isn't recorded too well in current caving publications, and it is worth letting people know the details of access and location. Please ask Mr or Mrs Wardman at Greenhills Farm for permission to park there, and to cross their land to the mine. They were both very friendly when I rang and Gordon Wardman was well aware of the popularity of the shaft, and the through trip it leads to. I have telephone numbers if you need them.
Present: Alex Crow, Alastair Gott, Wayne Sheldon, Phil Wolstenholme
Lisa Wootton, Phil Wolstenholme, Mickey Campbell, Paul Trower & Emma Key
To build up an appetite for the TSG Christmas Dinner a group of us decided to head over to Matlock to do the Gentlewoman’s Shaft to Youd’s Level through trip. Lisa & Phil had done it a few times before but it was a first for the rest of us. Phil arrived at the Chapel with the news that DCC had reported raw sewage in Youd’s Level a few days before so we ummed and ahhed for a while about what to do, after a bit of consideration we decided to go for it anyway.