Ignorance is Bliss, from Pierce's Passage to Showerbath Passage

From Ease Gill

Ignorance is Bliss, from Pierce's Passage to Showerbath Passage[edit | edit source]

The lower end of Ignorance is Bliss can be found in Pierce's Passage, a few minutes upstream of where the floor changes from boulders to bedrock, marked by two prominent calcite bands, just downstream of a meander.

Climbing 2m into the roof leads to a slippery traverse (care!) to a small rift between the true right-hand wall and a large jammed boulder, level with the upstream-end of the meander. Through the rift enters a small muddy chamber; the passage opens out to the right, but the way on is straight ahead, an ascent up a small chimney. The ascent is 3m, in two sections, passing a rift. This enters a large mud-floored passage. Going right (the upstream direction) leads up through constrictions into a sand-floored chamber, Cotton Chamber, overlooking the previous passage. Up slope, over a small overhanging sand bank, leads into a rift passage, Upper Pierce's Passage.

Following the rift leads, after a few minutes, to a junction by large boulders. The way on is to the right, with a clamber over jammed boulders at the start. This soon leads to a bedding plane to the right, at roof level, above a pile of boulders in the floor. The bedding plane is a low crawl, and soon leads to a 2m drop into a rift passage. To the right, downslope, the rift is quite narrow and requires crawling. After a squeeze to the left of a boulder, the way becomes easier. Walking and easy crawling soon reaches a small chamber with boulders and a side passage to the right.

Continuing ahead leads over breakdown into a well decorated chamber with stal bosses, where the floor drops away, and the sound of the stream can be heard. A 2m descent drops into a boulder chamber. [Alternatively, a traverse ahead leads to another descent route.] A hole drops vertically down, but the easiest route is to continue ahead: round the corner, a boulder slope leads down to the stream (often dry at this point).

  • Continuing upstream, Poetic Justice is soon reached: an awkward calcited chimney tucked under the left-hand wall, by a stal boss; this leads to Eureka Junction. Ahead leads towards Broadway, passing connections to The Manchester Bypass and Trident Series.
  • Doubling back, and going downstream the passage continues as a meandering streamway with occasional dry oxbows. After about five minutes, Platypus Junction is reached.