Join a team of cavers who film this spectacular and difficult and complex 2km. through trip that joins up two of the the UK's Peak District's famous Showcaves.
THANK YOU! This is so important to me. I'm very scared of heights and have recently begun to challenge my fear by doing these bigger caving trips. I've been so worried about this trip, and I really need a lot of my trips visualised so I know what I'm getting into. The excellent filming quality, the way you show the toppo and how you describe the journey has put me at ease so I know what I'm getting into. Thanks again x
4 cameras used selectively by 2 of us. Sony A7, Sony Handycams, Hero7 - choice depending on conditions and complexity of caving and safety for kit and operatives. A real mix of lighting from caver's lights , Earthworm filming head sets and cheap Skyray handhelds, one for each of the team. All footage on one trip except for final Peak Cavern closing section. Mostly single take, 4K for the set pieces, HD for the tough bits - All the kit came out ok!
You have to remove SRT kit flat in the crawl and it is 'snug' for a few metres but you can flat out squeeze through. Failure would be a real pain. reversing the whole crawl and kitting up again flat out at the letterbox ! ok for average but critical for barrel chested. Re. entry - yes we had special permission for the Speedwell entry due to the filming objective. It is part of a full Peak filming project.
The active stream passages in Peak & Speedwell are separated horizontally. Speedwell is the "master cave" for the Rushup Edge swallets like P8 & Giants which flow in a southerly direction underneath the Sparrowpit road and then flow in an easterly direction, possibly along a mineral rake, to the Main Rising. Peak takes the drainage from Dirtlow Rake - see Jim Lister's project in Ink Sump & Doom's retreat also on this RU-vid Channel.
That needs a long answer Paul, My understanding is Speedwell stream does not link with Peak ( Buxton water) except through Treasury Sump and the overflow in Showcave Lumbago walk . Lower Speedwell streamway is quite a reasonable gradient torrent in places too. Needs ref. to survey and more knowledge than I have. Sorry. I'll check.
That freaking crawling is the worst, something gives out, you miss something and fall face first, get stuck like John. Terrible way to go. Be safe cavers
Another 5* vid from Catchpool1. What's the total ascent and descent? I'm asking because I'm thinking that the difference in level between the bottom of The Bung in Speedwell and Peak's stream passage can't be much different?
At 4:20 this scared me, my wife So much!! Visions of John Jones getting / being stuck deep, Down-inside-Nutty-Putty. For life. And his dead 💀 body remains there to this day.
Man dry caves scare me, my opinion there so much more dangerous then wet caves. You got all sorts of dangerous species of critters snakes and spiders, flash floods, cave ins, bad air, really cold. Jagged edges I can go on. I don’t think I could do a dry cave, maybe if there’s sick climbing but it has to be like I can’t find that climb anywhere else take a chance… even then without cave training it’s impossible
