Cave Descriptions

EuroSpeleo 2016 - Cave Route Description

RUMBLING HOLE

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Rumbling Hole is a very impressive 50m deep surface fissure. At the bottom of the excellent entrance pitch, a continuing rift leads out of daylight to several shorter and generally fairly easy pitches. Rumbling Hole provides a very uncomplicated and pleasant SRT excursion with some fine situations particularly on the entrance pitches. Most cavers choose to enjoy a trip to the bottom and back out. However, a very challenging and wet route does lead onwards into the Leck Fell Master Cave (to connect with Lost Johns’, Boxhead Pot and Death’s Head Hole).

Parking:

Park at the second major parking layby on Leck Fell, a few hundred metres before Leck Fell House.

How to find:

Grid reference: SD 6712 7911

To approach from the car park, walk for about 200m across the fell on bearing 285°.

Alternatively, walk back down the road for 50m. The turn right and walk across the fell, directly away from the road, for 200m to locate Rumbling Hole, half way between the boundary walls about 200m to the right and left. The fenced entrance is a large, elongated slit with a stream sinking into one end in most weather conditions (and not to be confused with the larger Death’s Head Hole which is a large open shaft, about 150m further across the fell).

Navigation:

The entrance shaft is an impressive and technical multi-pitch descent. From the bottom, a rift passage continues onwards to the second and third pitches. A short section of passage then leads to the fourth (final) pitch. At the bottom of this pitch, the water flows away in a narrow canal and most cavers commence the upward journey.

However, for those with sadistic tendencies, this canal can be followed downstream for 250m through some torturous wet squeezes and many low-airspace ducks to emerge in the Leck Fell Master Cave, 250m downstream of Groundsheet Junction (near the bottom of Lost Johns’ Cave). Further research is essential if you are considering doing this!

Additional reading:

Selected Caves (page 95)

Northern Caving (page 42)