County Pot, Manchester Bypass, Mancunian Way, Molluscan Hall

County Pot Entrance Series

An easy 4m climb down leads into a pleasant winding passage. [An inlet on the left leads to a pitch down.] Five minutes pleasant caving in a well-sculpted passage with short climbs leads to the first pitch.

• Ladder descent: 8m ladder rigged to two P-bolts; 20m lifeline.
• SRT descent: 12m rope; back-up to P-bolt; Y-hang off two P-bolts.

There are two ways on from the bottom of the pitch.

• The normal route is a 3m climb down, just round the corner from the pitch. This lands in The Broadway.
• Ascending a boulder slope to the right reaches a crawl to The Snake.

The Broadway

The Broadway is a large passage in the County Pot entrance series. There are four routes from the Broadway.

• Upstream, the stream can be followed for a few minutes until the roof lowers; eventually an aven is reached.

• Downstream to the left, following the stream, is Razor Passage, leading to Molluscan Hall.

• Downstream to the right, over a rock slope, is Showerbath Passage, leading to Trident Series, the Manchester Bypass, and Eureka Junction.

• Part way along the largest part, on the left (looking upstream), is a 3m climb up into the County Pot Exit Series.

Showerbath Passage, from Broadway to Battle of Britain Junction

Showerbath Passage is easy walking passage. The Showerbath itself is on the first bend, bringing in a sizeable streamway.

Downstream, an inlet on the right leads to a climb, [and then becomes small.] After a few minutes, Confusion Corner is reached. [To the right is The Snake, the original route from Oxford Pot]. [On a ledge on the left is the start of a crawl, which rejoins the main route in Spout Hall; this provides a useful bypass to The Spout in bad weather.]

Shortly after, are two side passages on a ledge on the right.

• [The first passage soon closes down.]
• The second passage leads to Battle Of Britain Chamber, leading to Manchester Bypass and Trident Series.

Ahead leads towards Poetic Justice.

Manchester Bypass, from County Pot to Main Line Terminus

The Manchester Bypass is usually reached from Showerbath Passage in County Pot, starting on a ledge on the right, 1m above the stream, a few metres upstream of The Spout. A walking-size passage leads, after about 10m, to a junction. To the left, a crawl leads into Battle Of Britain Chamber, a low flat-roofed chamber. A stream flows through the chamber in very wet weather.

The way into Manchester Bypass is slightly to the right, a crawl up over boulders. About 5m from the centre of Battle of Britain Chamber, where the passage becomes taller, is a crawl off to the left. This leads over boulders and below perched boulders, into a taller passage. A few steps ahead, a 3m climb up the rift leads to a crawl, which opens up at the top of a descent into a 10m by 2m chamber. At the far end of the chamber is a 4m fixed iron ladder.

At the top of the ladder, a rift leads off to the left. [The ladder can by bypassed by a tight crawl, Coño Crawl, entering on the right at the top of the ladder.] The passage soon closes down. The way on is through a window to the left at head height, which enters Brown and Smelly Chamber, a 5m diameter chamber with stal bosses.

To the right in Brown and Smelly Chamber is a 3m climb up, with an in-situ knotted handline (February 2016). This enters Spangle Passage, which starts as a narrow ascending rift, but soon widens. A mix of walking and crawling leads after five minutes to Old English Chamber, sloping up to the left.

The way on is a hole down on the right at the bottom of the chamber, which soon reaches a junction of crawls. [To the right, a very low crawl leads to Carrot Chamber.] To the left, the floor soon lowers to reach comfortable walking passage with straws and stal bosses. Ahead, three minutes of walking, with occasional boulder obstacles, reaches a junction. [To the left is Main Line Passage.] Ahead, a step up and over a mud bank reaches another junction. [To the right leads to Carrot Chamber.] 20m ahead is Main Line Terminus.

Main Line Terminus

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.

Monster Cavern to Snail Cavern

From Main Line Terminus, Monster Cavern is the very large (10m wide), boulder-strewn passage, leading westwards. The passage gradually widens to 20m wide, and passes a blind alcove on the right.

After about four minutes, a junction is met with three passages on the left.

• About 4m up the left-hand wall is a window, which is the end of Main Line Passage; reaching the passage requires pre-rigging: it is normally entered from the other end, near Main Line Terminus.

• A few metres to the right of Main Line 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.

Continuing up the boulder slope ahead leads into Snail Cavern.

Snail Cavern to Cornes' Cavern

Snail Cavern is another very large, boulder-strewn passage. After about two minutes, some taped-off formations on the right are reached. Ahead, the passage narrows to about 3m wide. It soon widens again into Cornes' Cavern. Hidden behind a very large boulder on the left at the start of Cornes' Cavern is the start of the Mancunian Way.

Mancunian Way, from Cornes' Cavern to Ease Gill Aven

The start of Mancunian Way is located in Cornes' Cavern, about 10m from the exit towards Main Line Terminus, behind a huge detached flake on the right hand wall (left, if coming from Main Line Terminus). The flake and the chamber wall form a narrow rift. This soon reaches a crawl down between boulders into a small chamber with stal bosses. A continuing crawl, with boulder obstacles, becomes easier. It passes a low section, and then rises to stooping passage.

Soon an area is reached where spoil is reached. [Straight ahead, the rift closes down. To the right is a dig.] The way on is down to the left, into a low crawl. The crawl emerges into a chamber. The way on is up a mud slope to the right, to reach a small choke. An obvious window at the top of the chamber leads between boulders. Staying high, a crawl over boulders leads to a route between boulders into continuing walking passage.

The passage soon reaches a hole in the floor. Traversing to the right leads to a window up into continuing passage. A clamber over boulders reaches a small chamber. [Straight ahead, a larger passage, past straws and stal bosses, leads to a choke.] The way on is over a rib of rock, to the right. A short low crawl leads to the top of Ease Gill Aven.

• Stepping across the aven leads into the Mancunian Way Extension, leading to The Surprise and Nice Way.

• Descending the Aven leads to Molluscan Hall.

Ease Gill Aven to Molluscan Hall

Ease Gill Aven is a 10m pitch down a chimney. The Aven should not be descended if there is more than a trickle of water.

• 10m rope or 20m rope for pull-through; P-bolt and thread Y-hang. (Rope in situ, December 2016.)

There are various routes through Molluscan Hall. This route is based on John Gardner's description at http://www.braemoor.co.uk/caving/route22.shtml.

At the foot of the Aven, the way on is an obvious outlet in clean rock. A step across a hole leads into continuing sandy/bouldery passage. Descending the next hole leads into a lower rift passage.

Ahead soon enters a chamber, running to left and right, 6m long and 2m wide, with large boulders in the floor. [The sound of the streamway comes from the left.] Turning right, and clambering over boulders leads to an ascent in a rift. [This meets a bedding plane, running back to the top of the previous chamber.]

Ahead, a route through a breakdown passage soon leads to a step down to a muddy ledge with stal bosses, and a further pit [with continuing passage ahead]. Descending the pit leads into a small chamber. At the lowest point of the chamber, a route between boulders reaches a small, low chamber. A crawl outlet immediately reaches a junction. Going left is a flat-out crawl, initially over bedrock and then over gravel. The crawl becomes wider and higher, and reaches the streamway.

Upstream soon reaches a choke. Ascending the obvious open route through the choke, then going left, soon regains the stream in Molluscan Hall. [Doubling back, and climbing up, leads to Dismal Bypass.] Ahead leads to Dismal Junction.

Molluscan Hall to Dismal Junction

Following the stream upstream soon hits a choke. The way on is an unlikely-looking hole at the base of the choke, marked by a green painted arrow. This leads into a low, wet canal crawl. A few minutes ahead reaches Dismal Junction.

• Straight on leads to Platypus Junction;

• To the right is Clough's Passage.

Dismal Junction to Platypus Junction

From Dismal Junction, the way starts as a low cobbled crawl. Ahead, the roof soon rises, and the passage becomes more pleasant. A mix of crawling and stooping, mainly following the streamway but with some oxbows, leads after about 5 minutes to Platypus Junction.

Platypus Junction

Platypus Junction is the confluence of the Razor Passage and Showerbath Passage streamways in County Pot. It is marked by a rock that some believe looks like a platypus.

Three passages lead from the junction (described in clockwise order):

• Downstream leads to Dismal Junction, with connections to Sylvester Pot, The Nice Way and Molluscan Hall;
• Upstream to the left is Showerbath Passage, leading past Poetic Justice to The Broadway, with connections to Eureka Junction, Manchester Bypass, and Trident Series;
• Upstream to the right is Razor Passage. After two minutes, a passage leads off from a shelf on the right, leading to Dismal Bypass with a connection to Sylvester Pot. Continuing up Razor Passage leads to The Broadway.

Razor Passage, from Platypus Junction to The Broadway

From Platypus Junction, Razor Passage is a sporting streamway with various obstacles. After two minutes, a passage leads off from a shelf on the right; [this leads to Dismal Bypass with a connection to Sylvester Pot.]

Upstream, the stream splits, and then soon reunites in a bouldery chamber; the way to the left is easier and drier. A climb up through boulders leads into another chamber, where the streamway is regained. A short crawl in the stream leads to a climb up between boulders to the left.

Ahead, the stream splits; ascending the rock slope between the two branches leads to a route between boulders into a larger chamber where the two branches reunite.

Ahead reaches Toadstool Junction; [a large inlet, Butterfield's Passage, enters on the right.] Walking stream passage with a few wet climbs continues. A small inlet on the right is Green Passage. After a few minutes, The Broadway is reached.

The Broadway

The Broadway is a large passage in the County Pot entrance series. There are four routes from the Broadway.

• Upstream, the stream can be followed for a few minutes until the roof lowers; eventually an aven is reached.

• Downstream to the left, following the stream, is Razor Passage, leading to Molluscan Hall.

• Downstream to the right, over a rock slope, is Showerbath Passage, leading to Trident Series, the Manchester Bypass, and Eureka Junction.

• Part way along the largest part, on the left (looking upstream), is a 3m climb up into the County Pot Exit Series.

Broadway to County Pot Exit

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.