Cave Descriptions

EuroSpeleo 2016 - Cave Route Description

LOST JOHNS' / BOXHEAD POT / DEATHS' HEAD HOLE system

Click to enlarge

Trips in this section

• Lost Johns' Cave to Lyle Cavern
• Boxhead Pot to Lyle Cavern
• Deaths' Head Hole to Lyle Cavern
• Routes onwards from Lyle Cavern

 

These three caves are all excellent as standalone trips, involving some great pitches and a fine day out. All these caves eventually unite at the Leck Fell Master Cave, and a large chamber called Lyle Cavern, meaning exchange trips from one entrance to another are also possible.

Below, you will find descriptions for each of these caves as standalone trips, ending at Lyle Cavern; however, we have also provided a very simplified guide from Lyle Cavern out via each of the three routes, to help enable an exchange trip. If planning an exchange between two of these caves, additional reading is strongly recommended as the descriptions below are simplified.

Lost Johns’ is one of the most popular Dales’ potholes which can easily keep the fittest caver busy for the whole day! Two vertical routes are rigged down Lost Johns’ to provide some variety. These unite just before the final impressive vertical section (Valhalla) with some excellent long pitches and a memorable traverse (Battleaxe). At the bottom of the final pitch a short section of passage carries the water to the very impressive Leck Fell Master Cave. This is the quickest and easiest route to reach Lyle Cavern, and a trip there and back is an excellent day out, with no navigational issues.

Parking:

Park at the first major layby on Leck Fell, 700m after the cattle grid, just before a wall on the left.

How to find:

Grid reference: SD 6707 7864

From the layby, walk back down the road for 100m to the first field boundary wall on the left. Just past this, Lost Johns’ Cave is a stream sink through the gate on your left, only 25m from the road.

Navigation:

Follow the stream underground through a winding canyon passage, passing an inlet on the left after a short distance. If coming out of Lost Johns’ it is a common mistake to miss this junction and continue up the other inlet! Watch out for the left turn towards the exit on the way out.

Follow the water downstream. The water soon falls down a cascade towards a route called Monastery, which is a wet SRT route down the cave and is not rigged for Eurospeleo. Instead, just back from the cascade (and near a small inlet from the roof), some ledges allow a traverse over the cascade to reach a passage of walking size. This passage soon reaches three holes in the floor. The first hole is Dome route. Continuing over the holes reaches Centipede route. Both of these routes are rigged for Eurospeleo to allow extra variety on your trip.

Both Dome and Centipede routes are easy to navigate (follow the ropes) and unite half way down the cave at Dome Junction. Beyond Dome Junction a climb around a pothole leads to a further two consecutive pitches (Candle and Shistol). After this, the passage reaches a ledge with the Battleaxe streamway below. The way on is to the left, along Battleaxe traverse. This is a famous traverse with a large drop below (and is protected by a rope for the full distance). At the end of the traverse, the start of the excellent, long Valhalla pitch is reached.

Below Valhalla pitch a traverse above the stream rises and then falls, and leads to the final pitch. From the bottom of this pitch the water should be followed again for a few minutes through some easy passage to reach Groundsheet Junction in the Leck Fell Master Cave.

Downstream from Groundsheet Junction leads (after several hundred metres of comfortable walking) into very deep canals and swims to eventually (before the final sump) reach the climb/pitch up to the Death‘s Head Hole inlet, where a route out via Deaths' Head Hole is possible. This is not a trip to be taken lightly (it is very challenging) and additional research is essential.

Upstream from Groundsheet Junction leads is some excellent stream passage (mostly walking) leading to the Lyle Cavern boulder choke. Here, some stooping in the water reaches a climb up into Lyle Cavern itself, a huge, elongated chamber with fine flowstone high up on the walls.

A challenging exit via Boxhead Pot can be made from here (by two separate routes); however, for many cavers, a return back up Lost Johns’ Cave (via whichever route you did not come down) is quite enough excitement for one day.

See ‘Routes onward from Lyle Cavern’ for details of other possible ways out from Lyle Cavern.

Additional reading: Selected Caves (page 92), Northern Caving (page 48)

 

Boxhead Pot is essentially a large and airy entrance pitch leading to a huge and spectacular main pitch. A route onwards to Lyle Cavern via two challenging routes is possible. The route via the Tube is the quickest (but definitely not the easiest) way to reach Lyle Cavern. The other route goes on a long adventure through some excellent passages (via the Tate Galleries) to eventually drop into the top of Lyle Cavern. From here, exit from Lost Johns' Cave is very easy to navigate. The trip from Boxhead Pot to Lost Johns’ Cave is an example of the best of British caving.

Parking:

Park at the first major layby on Leck Fell, 700m after the cattle grid, just before a wall on the left.

How to find:

Grid reference: SD 6701 7841

From the layby, walk back down the road for 100m to the first field boundary wall on the left. Just past this, Lost Johns’ Cave is just through the gate on your left, only 25m from the road (where the stream goes underground). From Lost Johns’ Cave, take the bearing 195° across the fell (walking diagonally across the fell an equal angle from the right and left walls) for 250m. Two side-by-side shakeholes are found, and Boxhead is the smaller of the two with obvious plastic pipe.

Navigation (Boxhead Pot to Lyle Cavern via the Tate Galleries)

The rope for the first pitch starts at the top of the pipe and it is important to attach yourself before climbing into the pipe!
The pipe opens directly onto an impressive 25m descent down the middle of a large chamber. A short climb/abseil down a boulder slope then reaches the main Boxhead pitch, a stunning 70m deep hole! The route rigged for Eurospeleo follows the Kendal Flyover, which pulls the rope to one side of the shaft and avoids the water. This means Boxhead Pot is passable even in wet weather. This route drops part way down the shaft before swinging into a side rift. From here, two more descents reach a balcony with a rocky crawl leading off on the right (the start of the Tate Galleries and the way on).

A final rope descent leads down to the floor, where a route towards the Tube can be taken by following the water.

Through the rocky crawl, two hours of excellent, varied, and challenging horizontal caving now follows, ending at a pitch dropping into the top of Lyle Cavern. Navigation is difficult; however, an excellent description from the book ‘Not for the Faint Hearted’ will be available as a printed sheet at the conference, courtesy of Mike Cooper. This description also covers the route from Lyle Cavern back out of Boxhead Pot via the Tube (see below), which is very challenging.

See ‘Routes onward from Lyle Cavern’ for more details of possible ways out from Lyle Cavern.

Navigation (Boxhead Pot to Lyle Cavern via the Tube)

This is a very short, but challenging route and requires very low water conditions!

Follow the route above; however, continue down the final rope of the Boxhead pitch to the very bottom. Follow the water downstream. This soon leads to a climb down to the Tube, a very tight 5m long flat out section of passage carrying all the water from Boxhead Pot. After the Tube, about 15 minutes of easier caving in the stream reaches a small step up out of the stream into a crawl. This enlarges to stooping height before reaching a calcite chute dropping awkwardly into the boulders just below Lyle Cavern.

See ‘Routes onward from Lyle Cavern’ (below) for more details of possible ways out from Lyle Cavern.

Additional reading:

Not for the Faint Hearted (page 50 – Highly recommended)

Northern Caving (page 52)

http://www.pdf-archive.com/2016/02/21/boxhead-topo-jan-2016

 

Deaths' Head Hole is an impressive 64-metre deep surface shaft which lands in a chamber. It is impressive, simple and great fun!

An excavated shaft at the bottom leads via two short pitches to a section of streamway which emerges into the Leck Fell Master Cave a few hundred metres away from the downstream sump. From here, an impressive and very wet walk/swim upstream eventually passes the Lost Johns’ Cave inlet (Groundsheet Junction) before reaching Lyle Cavern. This is one of the more challenging routes into the Leck Fell Master Cave.

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 6699 7918

To approach from the car park, walk for about 500m across the fell on bearing 285°.

Alternatively, walk back down the road for 75m. The turn right and walk across the fell, directly away from the road, for 350m to locate Deaths' Head Hole, half way between the left/right field walls. On the approach, you will pass near to Rumbling Hole. This is a much narrower, elongated entrance with a stream entering. Deaths' Head Hole is approximately 150m further across the fell (and is not a stream sink).

Navigation:

Deaths' Head Hole is a massive open shaft in the middle of the fell. The rope commences on the surface (usually belayed to a tree) and can be followed down the long entrance pitch in daylight. A further short pitch at the bottom reached the main chamber. Many people choose to turn around here after admiring the view and the vastness of the chamber.

For thise wishing to continue on into the Leck Fell Master Cave, a scaffolded shaft in the floor of the main chamber leads via a short rigged pitch, some crawls and short squeezes into the main Deaths' Head inlet passage. Downstream leads to a junction where the majority of the water joins. This continues downstream for 100m to another short rigged pitch which drops into the Leck Fell Master Cave.

Downstream reaches a sump in about 200m; however, upstream passes through several very deep sections (which may require swimming). This sumps completely in wet weather, so extreme care is needed. Eventually the water depth decreases and you can now walk down a fine passage. Follow this upstream. The Lost Johns‘ Cave inlet (Groundsheet Junction) is passed on the left, leading (after 100m of twisting stream passage) to the bottom of the final pitch of Lost Johns’ Cave. This is the quickest and easiest way out to the surface from here (see Lost Johns’ Cave description).

Alternatively, you can continue upstream to reach some stooping in the water and then boulders, where a climb up enters the impressively large Lyle Cavern. A route out of Boxhead Pot via the Tube (or the Tate Galleries for an extremely long trip) can be negotiated from here. This would complete the famous ‘Head-to-Head’ (Deaths' Head to Boxhead) trip. The Boxhead Pot description found in ‘Not for the Faint Hearted’ should be used for either route out via Boxhead Pot.

See ‘Routes onward from Lyle Cavern’ (below) for more details of possible ways out from Lyle Cavern.

Additional reading: Northern Caves (page 40), Not for the Faint Hearted (page 50)

 

Routes onwards from Lyle Cavern

From the highest point of Lyle Cavern (where a rope from the high level Tate Galleries enters from above), is possible to exit the cave from three entrances: Lost Johns, Boxhead Pot or Deaths' Head Hole. The following descriptions all start from the bottom of the Lyle Cavern rope. They must be used in conjunction with the description for the inward route for that particular cave.

 

Lyle Cavern to exit via Lost Johns’ Cave (easiest)

Carefully descend Lyle Cavern towards the main stream. Follow this downstream, initially through blocks. This soon enlarges into a splendid river passage. A few hundred metres downstream is an obvious inlet (Groundsheet Junction) on the right. Follow this walking-sized inlet upstream for 100m to arrive at the bottom of the final pitch of Lost Johns’ Cave. Ascend this pitch and then follow the traverse to Valhalla pitch, with the famous Battleaxe Traverse leading away from the top. At the end of Battleaxe Traverse, turn right away from the water and continue up a few further short pitches (Candle and Shistol). Not far beyond these pitches, a choice of two routes up the final section of the cave can be taken (Dome or Centipede routes), both re-uniting near to eachother at the top. Finally, at the top of the cave, follow the passage to meet the water again and follow it upstream. At a small junction of two inlets, take the less obvious left route (which is easily missed) to return to the surface.

 

Lyle Cavern to exit via Deaths' Head Hole

Carefully descend Lyle Cavern towards the main stream. Follow this downstream, initially through blocks. This soon enlarges into a splendid river passage. A few hundred metres downstream is an obvious inlet (Groundsheet Junction) on the right, leading to Lost Johns’ Cave. Ignore this inlet and continue downstream along the fine master cave passage. After about 10 minutes, The Long Pool is reached, a long, deep, stooping height canal which may be neck deep in places. This may need a short swim on occasions of high water. This may also be sumped in wet weather. This very wet section lasts for about five minutes before opening back up again into fine stream passage. The Deaths' Head inlet is a 3m waterfall on the right. This can be followed upstream in the main inlet passage and then via a few short pitches, crawls and squeezes, eventually reaching the main chamber of Deaths' Head Hole and a long prussik out to the surface. It is recommended to preview this route from the Deaths' Head Hole side first.

 

Lyle Cavern to exit via The Tube and Boxhead Pot

The last two paragraphs in the ‘Not for the Faint Hearted’ guidebook description for Boxhead Pot should be read if wishing to exit via The Tube back to Boxhead Pot (this will be available as a printed sheet at Eurospeleo). This route is very tight and wet, and can be quite hard to find from Lyle Cavern where it commences as an obscure calcite chute leading upwards. Careful research is required before undertaking this route out of the cave.