United Cavers Exploration Team

I'll try and be there - no promises.

If someone's got a van we can all pile in to the top of the hill, that'd be handy 

UCET Trip Advisor Thursday 26th June

Hello all,

Here are the details for our next Thursday evening trip;

Belgrave mine

This week we will be headed to Belgrave mine near Maeshafn for a walkabout trip (not doing the SRT trip this time). This will probably involve a small amount of crawling and climbing. We will be exploring both the middle and top adits. There is plenty to see including miners graffiti

This trip is open to non-members, please let us know in advance if you need to borrow ang equipment


Location : Llanferes
Meet Place : Llanferes layby (parking for pothole quarry / bryn alyn)
Link to parking: https://maps.app.goo.gl/7fTMgAzE3jhFLNdj6
Meet Date : 26th June
Meet Time : 18:30pm - 18:45pm
Suitability : novice
Requirements : Helmet, Lamp etc

Here is a link to the forum thread; https://www.ucet.org.uk/index.php?topic=11854.new#new




Thanks
Jacob

And another one bites the dust: sergked...

Yes, see you soon

Quote from: Dave Tyson on Jun 11, 2025, 05:06 PMMy understanding is that the Pool Park and Western shaft drop into connected workings, but the route through has collapsed - probably in multiple places. The workings associated with Western shaft can now be accessed from ODB vi the marathon dig started years ago. NWCC did organise winch trips a log time ago, but sadly the winch is unsafe and Grosvenor estates forbade access.

There a a lot of interesting holes on Eclusium mountain and the areas to the east of cabin shaft. All deserve an investigate, survey and documentation. The whole area has been thoroughly investigated and surved by NWCC in the past 40 years, but the chances of any of the paperwork being released is negligible - it's all locked in Peter Appletons filing cabinet and will probably die with him :-(

I have dropped a couple of shafts east of cabin shaft and really should go back with DistroX and document them. They are about 50m pitches, so not too knackering on the way back, There is also the route to the diesel stopes to document - another interesting area which might repay a bit of digging to connect to Grand Turk via white vein.

I did have a look in Gas Pot about 10 years ago at the request of the late Cris Ebbs. The bottom passage (gas lane) is very dangerous - Transit sized boulders suspended by magical means, but he said there was a draft halfway down the Gas pot shaft which might be work a poke. I couldn't locate it... A route in here would bypass Pool Park shaft.

Dave

Dave

Thanks for that Dave, I'm learning a lot about the area from all these posts!

Pool Parc shaft... ahhh that might be the one I remember there being winch trips down years ago. I guess quite a deep shaft then? I don't know a lot about it. I remember some black and white photos of cavers getting lowered down, but I don't know much else. I only ever did one actual winch trip and that was to Bage Mine, very cool big diesel winch with a seat. Was something like 350 feet if memory serves, would have been a pig to SRT so very glad of the ride.

Vaguely related, I've got a battery powered rope-climber now, so I can float up shafts in a very angelic and graceful manner fitting of my persona. No need to waste precious calories.

Quote from: Tom Howard on Jun 10, 2025, 01:50 PMHi Miles,

Yes, I know what you mean. I don't think that there is a great deal of mine passage accessible as such, but then again i'm not sure as to how much effort has gone into pushing that side of things since I think the cave links have been the focus over the years.

I think it's Park Western that had a huge concrete tube put in to stablise the shaft top, therefore any workings and passage accessible will only be lower down.

There are a few other shafts accessible on the tops, and then of course the likes of Ogof Dydd Byraf which was entered via mining. I think the whole Minera Lead Mines system needs a good amount of work too, as I think there's still a lot to be found down Cabin and the likes.

Thanks for that Tom. From what I could see (and it wasn't much!) the shaft just below the gate looked smooth and circular, most likely a concrete pipe lowered onto steel braces where the good rock starts. I presume below that the shaft is just as-is. From your description, I guess it must be Park Western Shaft then?

Cabin Shaft. Yeah back in the days when I used to actually do things, I did a number of day-explores down there, as I was hoping to find ways down into the much deeper victorian workings below. There was so much to go at. I remember coming across a fairly meaty engine shaft dropping down a long way but never went down it.

I gave up after a little while because somebody in a nearby house called the police and said I was casing the area for crime or something like that! Whoever it was clearly didn't like explorers in Cabin Shaft so I moved onto other things.

I figured the whole place must have been explored to oblivion by now with so many caving clubs in the area, but never came across any maps or surveys, so it always remained a bit of a mystery to me.

Hiya     o/

Hello everyone,
I've just sent in a membership form and paid the fees… So I suppose I'm a member now! Some of you will know me; I've been in NWCRO for years (just resigned yesterday). I went on last month's ladies trip and really liked it, so I suppose Mary is dragging me straight back underground. I want to do the Derbyshire trip in July and I hope to see several of you there.
Margot

I'll be there hopefully.

My understanding is that the Pool Park and Western shaft drop into connected workings, but the route through has collapsed - probably in multiple places. The workings associated with Western shaft can now be accessed from ODB vi the marathon dig started years ago. NWCC did organise winch trips a log time ago, but sadly the winch is unsafe and Grosvenor estates forbade access.

There a a lot of interesting holes on Eclusium mountain and the areas to the east of cabin shaft. All deserve an investigate, survey and documentation. The whole area has been thoroughly investigated and surved by NWCC in the past 40 years, but the chances of any of the paperwork being released is negligible - it's all locked in Peter Appletons filing cabinet and will probably die with him :-(

I have dropped a couple of shafts east of cabin shaft and really should go back with DistroX and document them. They are about 50m pitches, so not too knackering on the way back, There is also the route to the diesel stopes to document - another interesting area which might repay a bit of digging to connect to Grand Turk via white vein.

I did have a look in Gas Pot about 10 years ago at the request of the late Cris Ebbs. The bottom passage (gas lane) is very dangerous - Transit sized boulders suspended by magical means, but he said there was a draft halfway down the Gas pot shaft which might be work a poke. I couldn't locate it... A route in here would bypass Pool Park shaft.

Dave

Dave