Lancaster Hole to Link Pot

Lancaster Hole Entrance Series

The entrance pitch is 30m deep.

• 40m rope (with minimal rigging); Y-hang from drilled thread and bolt; rebelay from one or two bolts at -1.5m; Y-hang from two bolts at -5m. (The pitch has many superfluous bolts, which should be ignored.)

The pitch lands in a 5m diameter chamber. Two rifts lead off. [The left-hand rift, to the south, leads to Slug World.] The way on is to the right. A short climb reaches a ledge. The continuing passage soon crosses a ridge and descends a long boulder slope. Several routes lead off from the slope.

• The first two passages lead to Sand Caverns;

• The lowest passage leads to The Graveyard.

At the bottom of the slope is Bridge Hall, a large chamber containing a rock arch.

• [Ahead leads towards the Colonnades.]

• The normal way on is at the bottom of the chamber, a descent through boulders, Kath's Way, leading to Bill Taylor's Passage.

Bill Taylor's Passage

Kath's Way descends through boulders, past two scaffold bars. This drops into a stooping/crawling passage with a small stream trench. The passage gradually enlarges. It passes a chamber with water entering from the roof. The main passage then turns to the left; [ahead leads to Sand Caverns]. This leads to a slightly awkward climb through a V-shaped slot between a large boulder and the left-hand wall, or a stoop underneath to the right. Beyond, the passage splits.

• To the right is the quickest route to Fall Pot.

• To the left leads to Montagu Passage West, and an alternative route to Fall Pot.

Bill Taylor's Passage to Fall Pot

From the junction at the end of Bill Taylor's Passage, turning right gives the choice of two ascending mud slopes. Ascending the left-hand slope leads up to a slot, and then a descending mud slope.

[Turning left at the bottom of the slope leads to a careful step across a hole. Beyond, the mud slope leads up to Montagu Passage West, while turning left soon leads back to the junction at the end of Bill Taylor's Passage.]

Turning right at the bottom of the mud slope, and following the right-hand side of the passage, passes a hole in the floor; care: the hole drops into the main streamway. The passage soon leads to a balcony overlooking Fall Pot, with the sound of inlets entering. At the start of the balcony, on the right, is the top of an 8m hand-line climb down between boulders (rope in situ, March 2016).

At the base of the climb, to the left leads after a few steps to a rift between a very large boulder and the right wall. This opens out by a stal boss with large stals above. A choice of two routes, either to the right, or descending to the left under huge jammed boulders, leads to Fall Pot.

Fall Pot

Fall Pot is a major junction in Lancaster Hole.

In extremely wet weather, the streamway backs up from the sump, and floods the whole of this area.

The following are described from near a memorial plaque on the wall, in a clockwise direction.

• Up-slope and to the right, just to the left of the plaque, is the start of the route towards Bill Taylor's Passage, leading to Lancaster Hole exit.

• Down-slope, just to the right of the plaque, a route below huge jammed boulders joins the previous route.

• Down-slope, at the bottom of the chamber, is a route down to the Main Streamway.

• Up-slope and to the left, opposite the plaque, is a climb into Montagu Passage East.

Montagu Passage East, from Fall Pot to Stake Pot

From Fall Pot, ascending the slope opposite the plaque leads to a 4m hand-line climb. At the top of the climb, crawling forward through boulders leads to a climb up through boulders; [alternatively, a more exposed climb above the rope reaches the same point.]

Montagu Passage starts as a fine 5m wide, 5m high passage, with an arched roof; it is mostly mud floored with some boulders. The holes in the floor should be avoided, as they drop into the main streamway: the best route is to the left part way along, then crossing to the right, and then back to the left for the final section.

After about four minutes, a rope on the left is reached, with the streamway audible below. The rope is is the top of an 8m climb down to Stake Pot.

Stake Pot

Stake Pot is a major junction on the high level route between Lancaster Hole and the caves of Easegill, with a connection down to the man streamway. The following are described in clockwise order. Each route has an in situ handline (March 2016).

• Downslope leads to the Streamway.

• Ascending to the right of the stream route leads to the continuing high-level route towards Oxbow Corner and the E.P.C. Series.

• Ascending to the left of the stream route leads to Montagu Passage East, leading to Fall Pot in Lancaster Hole.

Stake Pot to E.P.C. Series Junction

From Stake Pot, ascending the short mud slope to the east leads to a 3m hand-line climb. 30m ahead is an important junction.

• To the right, behind some boulders, is an irregular-shaped hole, marking the start of the E.P.C. Series, leading to Link Pot.

• Continuing ahead leads towards Oxbow Corner.

E.P.C. Series Junction to Canuck Climb

From the junction above Stake Pot, the route starts as stooping passage, round a couple of bends, passing above various holes in the floor. Ahead, the passage closes down immediately; to the right, a 2m ascent up a mud bank leads to a crawl. The crawl slopes 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 left at the point of entry at the top of the chamber, and crawl upwards. Very soon a junction is reached: [a narrow passage continues straight ahead;] the way on is a walking passage to the left. A few metres ahead is a step down [with another passage doubling back underneath]. A few metres further ahead reaches a junction in a bouldery area, with a side passage to the right.

Straight ahead at the junction, a crawl over a polished boulder leads to a traverse at the top of a rift. The traverse soon reaches the streamway. Continuing upstream, a long, straight, narrow rift provides a mix of walking and crawl traverses just above the stream. A crawl under a boulder leads to mostly walking passage. After about three minutes, Thirsty Junction is reached. [To the left, with the stream, leads to Razor Aven.] Ahead, round a couple of bends, leads to a junction, just before some stal.

• The normal route is a crawl to the right at floor level, leading to Canuck Climb.

• Ahead leads into The Subway.

Canuck Climb to Long Gallery

Cannuck Climb is a 5m climb up with a fixed iron ladder. At the top of the ladder passages go in both directions. [To the left soon closes down.] The way on is to the right, up a small boulder pile to a crawl which leads up through boulders into a chamber.

A well-trodden route continues. A crawl past stal leads to a left turn into a larger passage with tall stal bosses. Ahead, a crawl soon leads into the next chamber. [A side passage leads to the right, and a small crawl leads ahead.] The way on is the largest passage, a walking passage to the left, which very soon enters the next chamber. [A rift drops down to the left, and there is a blind alcove to the right.]

Ahead, a crawl starts from a ledge 1m above the floor. The floor soon drops again. A mix of walking, stooping and crawling past stal leads, after a couple of minutes, to a junction. [A passage doubles back to the right, soon leading to a pit.] The way on is ahead to the left, where a short bouldery section opens up above a dribbly climb down.

Below the climb, walking passage, up slope, leads into Brew Chamber. [Ahead, a choice of crawls leads to Equinox Hall.] To the left is a hole under the wall, leading down under boulders to a chute and a crawl, emerging at the top of a short mud slope in a chamber. The sound of water comes from the left. Directly opposite the point of entry, behind a large boulder, a slope leads down to a further slope into a lower passage, Long Gallery. [An alternative descent route is behind stacked boulders to the right.]

• A route to the left leads to Mortuary Passage.

• Turning right leads towards the 88' Pitch, and the route towards Link Pot.

Long Gallery to 88' Pitch

To the right in Long Gallery, towards the sound of water, a short crawl forward leads down into a bouldery chamber. Ahead to the right, an unlikely-looking crawl over boulders enters the top of a rift, with the water visible 5m below. Traversing forward leads to a step right into a parallel rift with a 3m-deep pit. Traversing forward leads to a 5m climb down into a chamber containing a scaffold bar. Continuing past stal flow, a short traverse leads to a junction.

• To the left, a traverse leads to the top of the 88' Pitch and the route towards Echo Aven.

• To the right leads to Maple Leaf Junction, leading to Maple Leaf Passage and Ramsden's Crawl.

88' Pitch to Echo Aven

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

The 88' Pitch (P25) is currently permanently rigged (April 2016). At the bottom, a stream is met. [The stream enters from Cellar Passage, which leads to an aven.] Downstream, after a few minutes, another streamway, The Wormway, is met, entering from ahead. [The combined waters run to the right, and sump almost immediately.]

Continuing up the Wormway, after a couple of minutes, Sausage Junction is reached. A large inlet enters on the right; [ascending this leads to pitches, which need pre-rigging, up into Ramsden's Crawl.] Ahead, a mix of stooping and crawling passage leads, after about four minutes, to a short muddy oxbow. Shortly beyond, a junction is reached, where a large inlet enters from the left, The Grind.

Continuing up the right-hand branch, a boulder in the passage can be squeezed past or clambered over. Stooping/walking passage continues, passing two small inlets on the left. After a couple of minutes, Echo Aven is reached, a chamber with a large, very drippy aven.

The pitch (P26) is currently permanently rigged. The top of the pitch has a slightly awkward traverse. Above, a route leads towards Hylton Hall.

Echo Aven to Hylton Hall

Above the pitch, a meandering stream passage continues. Soon, the water enters via an inlet to the right, and the main passage continues ahead over boulders. A few steps ahead, the way on is to the right, upslope, into a boulder choke, opposite a survey tag. The route leads into a small chamber within the choke: care. From here, a low crawl continues at floor level, slightly to the left. The crawl ascends and breaks out into a small bouldery chamber. A T-shaped rift continues, best tackled at the top. At the end of the rift, continuing passage turns left then right, and enters the bottom of Hylton Hall.

Hylton Hall

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.