• Anna digs deep at the finish

  • Anna starts the race

  • Dalma emerges from the Devil's Windpipe

  • Rachel and Elsie looking a bit damp

  • Group piccy: Elsie, Rachel, Pete, Dalma, Tish and Anna

  • Anna squeezes through a narrowing

  • Anna descending the ladder

  • looking down into Garlands pot

  • last chance to bottle it

  • getting ready in the car park.....

Rachel’s birthday Cave trip

Last weekend we joined Rachel and many of her friends in Derbyshire for her mid-year birthday celebrations. (Like the Queen she also has another one later in the year.) As Richard is still injured from his last trip underground he didn’t join us for the journey into Giants Hole Cave. This should have acted as a sort of warning; Richard is very experienced and had managed to break his arm last time out; I was a novice with one other caving trip to my name. Oh well. With Keith and Brendan helping Rachel look after us and Pete and Tish having a lot of underground experience there was no real need to worry……. was there?? The group was made up by myself, Anna, Dalma and Elsie.

getting ready in the car park.....

The cave had a number of different features; Long winding clefts, a ladder to descend into a large pot, a crawl through the Devil’s widpipe (half full of water) and a crab crawl. Most of the details have merged into one long experience of struggle, water and cold, but strangely it was again, thoroughly enjoyable. And yes Rachel, on Monday I could only paint skirting boards again. Big thanks to Keith and Brendan for looking after us.

last chance to bottle it
looking down into Garlands pot
Anna descending the ladder
Anna squeezes through a narrowing
Group piccy: Elsie, Rachel, Pete, Dalma, Tish and Anna
Rachel and Elsie looking a bit damp
Dalma emerges from the Devil's Windpipe

Series - Rachel's Rendezvous

  1. Stanage Rendezvous
  2. Rachel’s birthday Cave trip

7 thoughts on “Rachel’s birthday Cave trip”

  1. Perhaps those who ‘enjoyed’ this trip might like to see the trailer I did for a yet to be completed video of Giants? The video was taken on a Dudley Caving Club trip in March. If I’ve done everything correctly the link should appear below.
    Giants Hole Trailer

    1. And I look very happy just emerging from the Devil’s Windpipe but I could very easily have been photographed with an even more terrified face a bit later, traversing over the shaft! But I enjoyed the trip very much as well as meeting you all! :love:
      My body is still full of bruises! 😉
      The weekend was :star: :star: :star: :star: :star:
      And likewise 5 :star: for Rachel’s Sacher cake! :yum: :yum: :yum: It was worth extending my holiday just for that!

      1. Good to meet you, Dalma – funny that we all thought you knew other people :sarcy: – and very brave of you to turn up to meet a load of strange people (strange in both senses perhaps…. 😆 )

      2. Yeah, it was great to meet you. 🙂 🙂
        Because we hadn’t heard from you for a few days we feared you were soooo tired after the caving trip and the drive down to London you were still recovering.

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