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

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

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.