Link Pot to County Pot

From Ease Gill

Link Pot Entrance[edit | edit source]

The entrance pitch (P15) is narrow and rather awkward. It is free-climbable in extremis.

  • 21m rope; back-up to drilled thread before wall; short sling on scaffold bar; one or two bolts.

At the bottom of the pitch, a couple of steps lead into Hylton Hall.

Hylton Hall[edit | edit source]

Hylton Hall is a chamber at the base of the Link Pot entrance pitch. It is on the route between Lancaster Hole and the caves of Leck Fell. The chamber is a few metres wide, and quite long. Several stacks of rocks appear to be supporting the roof.

The following are described in an clockwise direction.

  • The Link Pot Entrance Pitch (P15) is to the left when looking up slope. The pitch is climbable in extremis, but is best pre-rigged.
  • [Upslope leads to an inlet.]
  • [Opposite the entrance pitch is a side passage.]
  • 8m downslope from the entrance pitch is a slit in the left-hand wall, Pybus Bypass; this is the start of the route towards Pippikin Pot and Serendipity.
  • Continuing downslope is the route to Echo Aven, the start of the route to Lancaster Hole.

Hylton Hall to Echo Aven[edit | edit source]

Descending Hylton Hall, and then continuing upslope meets an inlet sinking to the left, and then entering from the right and the roof. Turning left then right leads into a small chamber. A T-shaped rift continues, best tackled at the top. Following the rift leads to a slope to the right into a small bouldery chamber. At the bottom of the chamber, a way leads down through boulders —care!— into a downwards crawl. The crawl opens out into a small chamber within the boulder choke. Continuing downwards, towards the sound of water, breaks out into larger passage at a T-junction.

To the left, after a few steps, an inlet is met, entering from the left. Downstream, a meandering passage soon meets the start of the ropes for Echo Aven (P26). The pitches are currently permanently rigged (April 2016). An initial ascending traverse and awkward climb reaches the top of a short hang. This leads to the main hang, with a deviation part way down. The pitch can be somewhat wet. The pitch lands in a very drippy chamber. Downstream leads towards the 88' Pitch.

Echo Aven to the 88' Pitch[edit | edit source]

Note: the lower streamways flood to the roof in very wet weather, in particular backing up from the sump.

A streamway, The Wormway, leads off from the base of Echo Aven. A stooping/walking passage passes two small inlets on the right. A boulder in the passage can be squeezed past or clambered over. Soon, a larger inlet is met entering from the right, The Grind.

Shortly beyond, a short muddy oxbow soon regains the stream. A mix of stooping and crawling passage continues. After about four minutes, Sausage Junction is reached, where a large inlet enters on the left; [ascending this leads to pitches, which need pre-rigging, up into Ramsden's Crawl.]

Two minutes further downstream, another stream is met, entering from ahead. [The combined waters run to the left, and sump almost immediately.] Continuing upstream leads after a few minutes to the foot of the 88' Pitch. [Cellar Passage enters from the right.] The pitch is currently permanently rigged (April 2016).

At the top of the pitch, a junction is met.

  • Turning right leads towards Long Gallery, and the route to Lancaster Hole.
  • Turning left leads to Maple Leaf Junction, leading to Maple Leaf Passage and Ramsden's Crawl.

88' Pitch to Long Gallery[edit | edit source]

From the top of the 88' Pitch, a short traverse leads into a chamber containing a scaffold bar. A 5m climb up to the left leads to the top of a pit, where a step right enters a parallel rift. Traversing forward leads to a route over boulders into a bouldery chamber.

A route leads ahead to the left, and up a climb. A crawl forward enters Long Gallery.

  • Ahead, a route leads to Mortuary Passage.
  • The route towards Canuck Climb and Stake Pot is up the mud slope to the left.

Long Gallery to Canuck Climb[edit | edit source]

From Long Gallery, a mud slope leads up to the left; a turn to the left leads up into larger passage. Directly opposite the point of entry, 2.5m up a mud slope is an irregularly arched hole, 50cm by 50cm. This leads to a climb up a mud chute, then a climb up between boulders into Brew Chamber.

[To the left in Brew Chamber leads to Equinox Hall.] To the right, walking passage leads down a slope to the bottom of a dribbly climb on the right. Above the climb, a short traverse leads into a bouldery section. At a junction, the way on is a crawl down to the right past stal; [straight on soon leads to a pit.]

A mix of crawling, stooping and walking passage leads to a 1.5m climb up to a crawl. The floor soon drops again, and a chamber is entered. [A rift drops down to the right, and there is a blind alcove to the left.]

Ahead, a few steps lead into the next chamber. [A small crawl leads left, and a side passage leads straight ahead.] The way on is to the right, where a crawl leads into a chamber with tall stal bosses [or an alternative crawl to the left]. Turning left past the stal bosses, a crawl leads forward into a chamber. A continuing crawl between and over boulders leads to the top of Canuck Climb, a 5m descent with a fixed iron ladder. [Beyond the ladder, the passage soon chokes.]

Below the ladder, a short crawl leads to a junction.

  • To the right leads into The Subway.

Canuck Climb to E.P.C. Series Junction[edit | edit source]

Turning left below Canuck Climb leads round a couple of bends to Thirsty Junction, where a small stream is met. [To the right, upstream, leads to Razor Aven.] To the left, downstream, is a long, straight, narrow rift. Walking passage leads to a crawl under a boulder, followed by a mix of walking and crawl traverse just above the stream.

About three minutes from Thirsty Junction, an obvious traverse level is reached. This soon leads to a crawl over a polished boulder to a junction in a bouldery area, with a side passage to the left. Continuing ahead for a few metres leads to a step up into a higher passage [with another passage below.] A few metres ahead reaches another junction; [a narrow passage runs to the left;] the way on is to the right. This leads to a crawl down into a small but complex chamber. [A muddy route descends a hole in the floor, towards the sound of the streamway.] The way on is to turn sharply right at the point of entry, at the top of the chamber, and crawl upwards. This soon leads to a slope down into larger passage. [To the right closes down immediately.] To the left, a well-trodden twisting route can be followed, slightly upwards, ignoring various holes in the floor. Eventually this opens out into very large passage.

  • To the left leads, after 30m, to the top of a 3m hand-line climb, which descends to Stake Pot.

E.P.C. Series Junction to Oxbow Corner[edit | edit source]

From the junction with the E.P.C. Series, the high level route continues as a very large passage. The route, slippery in places, passes formations. After about five minutes, a 4m hand-line climb leads up to the right. At the top of the climb is the fine Painter's Palette formations.

Three minutes ahead reaches Scylla, a large hole dropping to the streamway. This is bypassed by a ledge on the right, with a traverse line; take care to avoid damaging the footholds here.

Very soon ahead is Charybdis, another large hole dropping to the streamway. This is again bypassed by a ledge on the right, the first part with a traverse line.

A couple of minutes ahead, the floor rises towards the roof, forcing an easy crawl. The crawl opens up again.

About two minutes ahead, the passage becomes more bouldery, the left-hand wall starts to become undercut, and the right-hand wall becomes streaked with calcite. At this point is an easily missed junction.

  • 3m to the left of the trodden path is a 50cm by 70cm hole down between boulders. One metre into the hole is the start of a thin rope that acts as a guideline. Following the guideline soon leads to an awkward 3m hand-line climb down. A further 5m clamber down reaches the streamway. Downstream leads towards Stake Pot. [Upstream leads through a choke to Oxbow Corner.]
  • Continuing ahead is Oxbow Corner, and the continuing high-level route towards Easegill.

Oxbow Corner to The Minarets[edit | edit source]

Ahead, the passage soon reaches Oxbow Corner, where the passage slopes down to the left. [Descending the slope reaches the streamway; downstream, the stream can be followed through a choke towards Stake Pot.] Keeping high to the right, leads to a crawl on a mud ledge overlooking Oxbow Corner. The roof rises to allow walking in a chamber, and then lowers again into continuing crawl. Soon the roof rises again at a climb up boulders to the left into larger passage.

Clambering up boulders passes taped-off formations to the right. A short narrower section opens out at the start off the very large Oakes Cavern. The route through the cavern passes a pile of large boulders chocked against the roof, with stal bosses. The chamber soon splits near taped off formations. The way on is to the left, where a well-trodden route heads into an alcove, where a hole steps down into The Minarets.

Minarets to Cornes Cavern[edit | edit source]

The Minarets are a series of parallel minaret-shaped passages. The first passage runs for 30m to a low crawl on the right. The next passage runs back to the right for 10m to another low crawl, to the left. The final passage leads for another 10m, to a choice of climbs up to the left into Cornes Cavern.

Cornes Cavern is an extremely large chamber. A gulley can be followed through the middle of the passage. At the end of the cavern are two routes.

  • Slightly to the right, the cavern narrows into a 3m wide passage, which leads to Snail Cavern.
  • Hidden behind a very large boulder on the right at the end of Cornes Cavern, just before the route to Snail Cavern, is the start of the Mancunian Way.

Snail Cavern to Monster Cavern[edit | edit source]

From the end of Cornes Cavern, a 3m wide passage soon opens out into Snail Cavern, with formations taped-off to the left. Snail Cavern is another very large boulder-strewn passage. After about two minutes, a boulder slope leads down to the start of Monster Cavern. Three side passages are met at this point.

  • About 4m up the right-hand wall is a window, which is the end of Mainline Passage; reaching the passage requires pre-rigging: it is normally entered from the other end, near Mainline Terminus.
  • A few metres to the right of Mainline Passage, about 6m up, is another window, with a rope leading up to it (February 2016); this is Sideline Passage.
  • Below and to the right of Sideline Passage is a steep descent, which leads into Lower Snail Cavern.

Straight ahead is Monster Cavern, leading to Mainline Terminus.

Monster Cavern to Mainline Terminus[edit | edit source]

Monster Cavern is another very large (20m wide in places), boulder-strewn passage. The passage passes a blind alcove to the left. After about four minutes, Mainline Terminus is reached.

Main Line Terminus[edit | edit source]

Main Line Terminus is at the eastern end of the high-level series leading from Lancaster Hole to Easegill. Several routes lead from Main Line Terminus; in a clockwise direction:

  • To the west is the very large Monster Cavern, leading towards Lancaster Hole.
  • To the left (as seen from Monster Cavern) is an alcove, leading to a split of routes: [to the left leads to a long dug passage]; to the right leads towards Stop Pot.
  • Ahead, and slightly right (as seen from Monster Cavern), leads after 20m to a junction: to the left leads to Carrot Chamber; to the right over a mud bank is Manchester Bypass, an important flood escape route leading to County Pot.

Mainline Terminus to Stop Pot[edit | edit source]

From Mainline Terminus, the route to Stop Pot is in an alcove to the left (as seen from Monster Cavern). This soon splits; [the route to the left leads to a long dig]. To the right, stooping leads into a wider area, with straws on the roof and stal to the left. The easiest route is to follow the right-hand wall, a slightly precarious route over large boulders. The way narrows to a 2m wide passage. Just before this passage, the best route is down between boulders, before the final boulder: a 2m climb with hidden footholds to the right, followed by an easier 1.5m descent under the final boulder.

Walking passage, 1-2m wide, continues, with boulder obstacles. After two minutes, the way goes up a slope to the left, often with the stream audible; [ahead soon closes down]. A 5m diameter chamber is entered, which narrows again. 5m ahead, there is a route down between boulders, marked by a rope, which leads to the top of a fixed 6m ladder.

The ladder lands at the top of a boulder slope. Following the slope for 40m (with 20m of descent) meets the streamway at Stop Pot. Most of the way down the slope, on the right, is the route to Four Ways, a flood-escape route into Wretched Rabbit.

Stop Pot[edit | edit source]

Stop Pot is a major junction in the Easegill streamway. It is in a very bouldery area, with a boulder choke downstream.

Several routes lead from Stop Pot. The following are described from a position in the streamway, surrounded by boulders, at the base of the boulder slope leading up to the fixed ladder, where the streamway splits. In a clockwise direction:

  • A few metres upstream, on the right-hand wall, a climb onto a ledge leads to Depot Passages.
  • Following the stream downstream to the left, and clambering ahead over boulders leads to a dry route through the choke, towards Eureka Junction.
  • Between the two branches of the stream is a large ascending boulder slope; part way up the boulder slope, on the left, is the route to Four Ways, a flood-escape route into Wretched Rabbit.
  • At the top of the boulder slope is the Stop Pot ladder, up to Mainline Terminus at the start of the high-level route leading towards Lancaster Hole and Cow Pot, with a connection to Link Pot, Pippikin Pot, Bye George, Peterson Pot, and Mistral.
  • Following the stream downstream to the right leads to the wet route through the choke, towards Eureka Junction.

Stop Pot to Eureka Junction[edit | edit source]

In reasonably dry conditions, the easiest route from Stop Pot to Eureka Junction is to follow the streamway, near the right-hand wall. The route is in, or just above, the stream, all the way through the choke.

[Alternatively, from Stop Pot, a drier route starts by following the stream to the left, into the boulders. A slight left turn leads into a flat-roofed crawl, with some small stal on the left. The crawl becomes lower, and has an orange floor in places. The way opens out beyond the choke, and a short slope leads back down to the streamway, to rejoin the wet route.]

Beyond the choke, two minutes of easy walking in a large stream passage leads to Eureka Junction.

Eureka Junction[edit | edit source]

Eureka Junction is in the Easegill streamway, where the route from County Pot and the Wretched Rabbit traditional route hit the streamway. Note: this area floods to the roof in wet weather.

  • Downstream, a stooping passage leads after a couple of minutes to a choke.

Eureka Junction to Pierce's Passage[edit | edit source]

A muddy passage leads off to the left of the streamway at Eureka Junction. This very soon reaches a junction: [to the left is Wretched Rabbit.] Ahead, the passage continues as a roof oxbow, which soon steps down into a tall stream passage, Pierce's Passage. A few minutes upstream, the floor changes from boulders to bed rock, and two prominent calcite bands mark the climb up to Ignorance is Bliss. Continuing upstream, soon a climb up through boulders reaches another junction, with the streamway entering from the left.

  • Following the dry passage, slightly right, leads towards Poetic Justice.

Pierce's Passage to Poetic Justice[edit | edit source]

Ahead, two minutes of easy walking leads to the Poetic Junction pitch (P6), which needs pre-rigging. Ascending this leads to a streamway rift passage (often dry). [Ahead, upstream, is a route to Battle of Britain Chamber.] The normal route is a step up to the right into a bedding plane with stal bosses. A few metres ahead reaches a window looking out over the County Pot streamway. In front of the window is a narrow, 3m calcited chimney, Poetic Justice. Sliding down this drops into the stream.

  • Upstream to the left leads towards The Broadway, giving the quickest route to the County Pot Exit.

Poetic Justice to Battle of Britain Junction[edit | edit source]

From Poetic Justice, the normal route to Broadway is a short crawl in the streamway. [Alternatively, a longer, dry, well-decorated route is to the right.] The two routes unite in Spout Hall, a large chamber, about 10m by 8m, sloping up ahead and to the right.

The normal route is to ascend The Spout, by stepping up from a ledge on the right. [Alternatively, ascending to the right leads to a bypass.] Ahead soon reaches a junction, at two side passages from a ledge on the left.

Battle of Britain Junction to The Broadway[edit | edit source]

From Battle of Britain Junction, the streamway soon splits at Confusion Corner. [To the left is The Snake.] [The Spout bypass enters on a ledge on the right.] After a few minutes, the Showerbath is reached. Round the corner to the right leads to a slope down into The Broadway.

Broadway to County Pot Exit[edit | edit source]

From the Broadway, the route towards County Pot entrance is a 3m climb on the left-hand side of the passage (when looking upstream), part way along the largest part of the passage. Some cavers find the climb difficult: there is a foothold for the left foot near the top which makes it easier.

At the top of the climb [to the left, a boulder slope ascends to The Snake.] Round the corner to the right, is the first pitch (which needs pre-rigging; see County Pot Entrance Series).

Above the pitch is a pleasant well-sculpted passage, with a few short narrow climbs. [An inlet on the right leads to a pitch down.] After about 10 minutes caving, the entrance is reached: a 4m climb, starting on a ledge on the left.