Moorland Caver (2003)

NGR: SE 678857
Altitude:58m
Access: No known restrictions
Caves lie in an abandoned and overgrown quarry to the NW of the (often dry) ford over Hodge Beck.

KIRKDALE I
Length: 436m
Grade: III
Entertainment value: II+ (masochists excepted)

Warning: Beware of foul air in Asphyxia.

Kirkdale I can effectively be divided into two parts: The old cave known from 1821 onwards and the extensions as discovered and dug by S.C.C. in 1995/6. The old cave is a pleasant, if somewhat tame, outing and is well suited for novices and their instructors who seem to be the main users of the cave. The extensions, in contrast, are low, squalid and gloopy, however they seem to offer a strange fascination to a small number of diggers, perhaps hunting for the fabled link with Manor Vale Caves.

“The Old Cave”
The obvious entrance lies 2.5m up the quarry face and is reached by an easy climb. Once inside the passage divides almost immediately, either route leading into the further ramifications of the hole. About 10m in a cross rift links both the left and right hand routes. The right hand route continues past the cross rift and soon reaches a T junction: The passage to the right chokes, whilst that to the left reaches Junction Chamber. The left hand route also continues past the cross rift and combines with the right hand route at Junction Chamber. In essence Junction Chamber is a crossroads with two routes leading deeper into the cave. The left hand exit from Junction Chamber leads to a further junction with ways on to the left and right, which reunite, forming a loop. The right hand exit from Junction Chamber is the key to the cave leading as it does to the extensions. This stooping/crawling passage can be followed around a couple of corners until it ends in a choke; this is the end of the old cave.

N.B Northern Caves notes that “one passage ….. leads to a sump, dived for 9m to 45m of muddy passage which becomes too tight”. Divers looking for this sump will be disappointed – it does not exist!

The extensions
About 8m back from the end of the old cave lies a muddy passage heading east. The extensions are entered via a low wet section known as The Sphincter (flat out, ear in water). On the way in this is unpleasant, however the return trip is more interesting; a slope at the end of the pool plunges one head first into the water. The Sphincter, leads to Fudge Crawl, which as the name suggests is extremely muddy. Progress here is flat out crawling in very tenacious mud, the only relief being a small chamber formed on a cross joint where it is just about possible to sit up. More flat out crawling in porridge brings one to the Bait Cabin. The Bait Cabin, formed on a further cross joint, is a reasonably sized chamber (by Kirkdale standards) and contains some reasonable formations. The cross joint can be followed in two directions: To the North soon becomes too low and is being used as a dump for dig spoil, whilst to the south, the Screaming Abdabs, is tight and awkward. Two further passages leave the Bait Cabin: The one nearest to the Screaming Abdabs known as The Garage ends blind after a few metres. This leaves the continuation of the “main passage” appropriately called Asphyxia. Asphyxia is a flat out crawl, passing a couple of squeezes and ending in an active dig. Air circulation at the dig is poor, high concentrations of Carbon Dioxide build up in a short space of time. Returning from the dig is complicated by the lack of turning room, the passage has to be negotiated feet first, backwards.

History
During the summer of 1821, as a result of quarrying operations, quarrymen “accidentally intersected the mouth of a long hole or cavern, closed externally with rubbish and overgrown with grass and bushes” . Initially the entrance to the cave was very small, however continuing operations in the quarry removed somewhere in the region of 30 ft of passage leaving the rather more impressive entrance that we know today.
When the quarrymen first broke into the cave they were not aware of the significance of the numerous bones that they were finding, supposing them to have belonged to cattle that had died by a “murrain” in the area a few years previously. As a result the bones were used, along with the quarried limestone, for road repairs in the district. However it was not long before the significance of the find was recognised. The credit for this goes not to Buckland as popular myth would suggest, but to a Mr Harrison “a medical gentleman of Kirbymoorside”. News of the discovery spread and various gentlemen including Mr. J.Gibson of Stratford in Essex, Rev. Smith of Kirbymoorside and Mr W.Salmond of York explored the cave and in the process removed numerous bones. Amongst others interested in the find was the Bishop of Oxford and it is to him that credit must go for bringing Kirkdale to the attention of Buckland.
As far as can be ascertained Buckland started work at Kirkdale in 1821. During his visits (1821 & 1822) to Kirkdale. Buckland enumerated the remains of 23 species of animals from which he concluded that Kirkdale had been hyena den.

Since Bucklands excavations little serious work was done in Kirkdale until recently, the cave becoming something of a local curiosity. As with many well known caves Kirkdale has attracted its own share of myth, most notably the fabled connection with Manor Vale Caves (q.v) at Kirbymoorside. The oft-repeated story tells of a chicken, which entered Kirkdale, did the through trip and exited at Manor Vale with less than its usual complement of feathers!

SCC began work in Kirkdale in late 1995. A protracted dig pioneered a route past the “Sphincter”. From the breakthrough the S.C.C. explored a new series of passages, which increased the length of the known cave by 260m making Kirkdale by far the longest cave in the district. Asphyxia is currently being dug on an intermittent basis.

KIRKDALE II
Length: 8m
Grade: I
Entertainment value: I

Entrance lies 30m south of Kirkdale I (q.v). The cave is an uninteresting single passage, which soon chokes.

Pennine Underground (1965)

Northern Caves Volume 5 (1974)

BCRA Transactions – Vol.3 No.2 – The North Yorkshire Windypits (1976)

Moldywarps Speleological Group – Journal 6 (1973)

SCC Survey (1997)

Moorland Caver (2003)
NGR: SE 512816
Altitude: 250m
Length: 4m
Depth: 10m
Access: Ravenswick Estate
Grade: II
Entertainment value: II

Warning: Care should be taken not to disturb the packs of deads at the bottom of the pot

Small entrance 200m upstream of bridge, to the right of the cliff and 4m up leads to 3m – 4m of stooping passage. This passage leads over the head of the totally choked first pot to the head of the second pot. The head of the second pot is reached via a constriction (best taken head first). Caution is needed as the constriction opens directly onto the top of the pot. The Acrow prop at the head of the pitch should not be trusted. The second pot is circa 9m deep and is free climbable. From the foot of the pot a narrow slot links with the rubbish choked first pot. Two thirds of the way down the pot lies a backfilled rift known as The Conservatory. A further rift at the foot of the pot provides a backdoor into The Conservatory. The bottom of the rift has received considerable attention from diggers. There is a school of thought which suggests that Dowsons may link with the, as yet unentered, subterranean course of Hutton Beck; hence the digging activity.

History
Discovered and explored by Raymond Hayes and a team of local boys in circa 1941.
The pot was pushed by Edgar Dowson (of Dowsons Route fame in Ashberry I (q.v)). Dowsons was dug to its current depth by S.C.C. from 1998 onwards.

Pennine Underground (1965)

Northern Caves Volume 5 (1974)

Moldywarps Speleological Group – Journal 8 (1976)

SCC Dig Progress (1997)

Moorland Caver (2003)

NGR:SE 674896
Altitude:160m
Access: Permission to descend not granted
Grade: I
Entertainment value: II

Three caves situated in a disused limestone quarry to the east of Boonhill Road, North of Fadmoor. Fadmoor I & II lie in the southeast corner of the quarry whilst III is on the north side.

FADMOOR I
Length: 33m
This cave is the finest example of a abandoned phreatic stream passage in the whole of the North Yorkshire Moors, with its perfectly rounded passage and beautiful scallops one could easily be in the Dales.
Hands and knees crawling in a roomy passage 2m wide and 1 m high. Over a partial roof collapse (Hayes’ 1941 dig) and past a 2.5m high aven on left. Passing through the M.S.G. 1971 dig gives access to a further 2m of passage. Cavable passage ends at a point where the roof drops to within a few cm. of the clay floor (diggable).

FADMOOR II
Length: 14m
Cave is located in the same face and 3m higher than Fadmoor I. Obvious cave type entrance with roomy passage, leading to a boulder ruckle after circa 10m. The ruckle is passable for circa 4m to a complete choke.

FADMOOR III
Length: 11m
Tight passage opens out slightly before ending too low. Exploration of this small and uninspiring grade I cave is hampered by some extremely aggressive chickens nesting in the entrance.

History
At some date prior to the 1940s Fadmoor I & II were discovered by quarrymen one of whom, a Mr. G. Windress of Gillamoor, explored them. This work was followed up by Raymond Hayes & Co. who did some digging and extended I past the first roof fall. The M.S.G. were active in Fadmoor during the early 1970s extending Fadmoor I to its current conclusion in circa 1970/1 and exploring III in 1974.

Pennine Underground (1965)

Moldywarps Speleological Group – Journal 5 (1972)

Northern Caves Volume 5 (1974)

Moldywarps Speleological Group – Journal 8 (1976)

Moorland Caver (2003)

Alt:280m
Access:No known restrictions
Grade: I
Entertainment Value: II

3 caves found at the foot of the cliff, in sub-parallel fissures and jumbled boulders.

1. Whitestone Cliff Pot
NGR: SE 507836
Length: 12m
Depth: 15m
The entrance is at the foot of the cliff about
1.5km from the Sutton Bank visitors centre. A steep climb (hand lined) down a sandy slope leads to a small chamber; a tight passage leads off to an intersecting rift, which is only for very thin people.

2. Whitestone Cliff Through Cave
NGR: SE 507837
Length: 40m
Depth: 10m
At the foot of the cliff about 25m North of 1.Entrance is a roomy slot at the foot of a 3m climb between fallen boulders. The entrance rift leads to the main fracture, which runs sub-parallel to the cliff face to another exit.

3. Whitestone Cliff Rift
NGR: SE 507838
Length: 30m
Depth: 10m
At the Northern end of the cliff foot is an obvious entrance leading to a sub-parallel fracture. To the right this chokes after 2m. To the left, the rift descends to a loop round a large boulder, which partially blocks the passage. Climbing up enters a high-level passage split in two by some dodgy looking boulders, a further climb up reveals a dog with eyes as big as saucers guarding a chest full of gold coins.

BCRA Transactions – Vol.3 No.2 – The North Yorkshire Windypits (1976)

Moorland Caver (2003)

NGR: SE 575835
Altitude:150m
Length:171m
Depth: 43m
Access: Permission to descend is not granted
Grade: III
Entertainment Value: III

Entrance in slumped hollow, beneath tree, a few metres down from the forestry track.
A short climb of 3m leads to a broken pitch of 23m (laddered as one using tree as belay) lands in Main Rift. North West end of the rift pinches out but heading South East and down leads to a choke, left of choke is the route to
the new series, a crawl past two squeezes ends on a boulder bridge with 10m pitch into wide rift. Climb over choke and down into rift, right is two branches, the first leads to a 5m climb down to the deepest point. Straight on leads to 9m pitch and a large rift passage. Three quarters of the way down entrance pitch (behind the ladder) a small passage leads to the head of a 6m pitch, the bottom of pitch, joins the large rift which connects to the previously undescended 9m pitch.

Tackle:
Entrance: 25m ladder, sling and 30m lifeline
Boulder bridge:10m ladder, spreader and 15m lifeline.
9m pitch:10m ladder, spreader and 15m lifeline
6m pitch:use the end of main pitch ladder

History
First descended by Paul Fitton in 1949.
A Late Neolithic handled beaker was found on ledge by John Ford and is now on display in the Rotunda Museum in Scarborough.
Extended in 1981and 1997 by M.S.G.

BCRA Cave Science – Vol.2 No.12 – The Ryedale Windypits (1950)

Yorkshire Ramblers Club – Journal 7 (1952)
The local interest we had aroused put them on to three others, Snip Gill, W. of Antofts, 109 ft.

Pennine Underground (1965)

Northern Caves Volume 5 (1974)

BCRA Transactions – Vol.3 No.2 – The North Yorkshire Windypits (1976)

BCRA Cave Science – Vol.9 No.1 – The Windypits in Duncombe Park (1982)

Yorkshire Archaeological Journal Vol 56 (1984)

Life and Death in the Ryedale Windypits Near Helmsley, North Yorkshire
Stephany Leach, University of Winchester,
The human remains from Slip Gill Windypit were found at the base of a deep pitch or sheer drop below a small, sloping entrance chamber. While on a site visit it was noted that the atmosphere, even with modern caving equipment to light our descent, was unnerving and sinister. Looking out over the edge of this upper ledge it was not possible to see the floor below, only a pitch-dark abyss. This Windypit was only partially excavated, but the remains of four people were recovered. These comprise of two adults, a man and a woman, and two younger individuals, one possibly male, both dying during their late teens or early twenties. The mandible (lower jaw) of the younger male exhibited evidence of a cut from a wide sharp blade, most likely from an axe (Fig 1).

Fig 1: Slip Gill mandible exhibiting impact site of bladed weapon and radiating fracture

The angle of the wound suggests that it was probably caused when a blade passed through the young man’s neck during the act of decapitation. In such cases, the lower border of the mandible is often damaged, particularly if the head is held down and slightly to one side.

Two radiocarbon dates generated from the bones of these people suggest that they lived during the very late Iron Age or the beginning of the Romano-British period, during the transition to Roman rule in this area. This was a turbulent time in British prehistory and there are several examples of people meeting violent deaths and their bodies placed in natural, liminal locations, for example Lindow Man. It has been suggested that these deaths relate to the encroaching presence of the Roman military, representing sacrifices to the gods in an appeal for aid. Did the Ryedale Windypits form another arena for such ritual activity?

Memoirs of a Moldywarp (2008)

Moorland Caver (2003)
NGR:SE 957917
Altitude: 240m
Length: 10m
Access: No known restrictions
Grade: I
Entertainment value: I

The cave starts as a small mud filled passage, which continues down slope to a small chamber with a passage on the left. The main passage continues for a short distance before ending in a choke of loose (and dangerous) slabs.

History
Originally discovered by M.S.G. in 1974, later dug by a S.C.C./M.S.G. team during June – August 1995.

BCRA Transactions – Vol.3 No.2 – The North Yorkshire Windypits (1976)

Moorland Caver (2003)

NGR: SE 526886
Altitude: 268m
Length: 230m
Depth: 29m
Access: Permission to descend is not granted
Grade: II+
Entertainment value: III

This is by far the prettiest cave on the North Yorkshire Moors……… MAKE SURE YOU KEEP IT THAT WAY !!

Like Gowerdale, this hole had been used for the dumping of “farm waste”, rendering descents particularly unpleasant. However thanks to Pete Roe, funded by English Nature, the hole has now been cleaned up.

This classic Windypit lies in an open field 100m from the barn at the Eastern extremity of the Noddle End spur. Its wood covered entrance is a 0.5 x 1m hole but is easily missed.
The 20m entrance pitch is best laddered and belayed to a scaffold pole or stake. Stepping off the ladder on a ledge at -12m and heading West climbs steeply to within 3m of the surface. Heading East past a branch fissure on the right leads to a boulder ruckle.

Crawling left through the ruckle and into a fissure with three levels, all of which end in chokes but holes in floor reveal an unexplored lower level.
Back at the ladder and climbing down a further 5m the rift continues West to a T junction in the main rift with 3m pitch
To the right the fissure runs for 15m to moonmilk covered blocks, a climb here reveals a short continuation to a hard work dig heading towards Gowerdale. To the left the fissure stretches for over 50m past flowstone and delicate stalagmites to a small cross rift containing rimstone pools. Left and right are too tight but continuing on for 30m leads to a rounded chamber with an exit on the slope of Peak Scar.

Tackle
Entrance pitch : 20m ladder and lifeline, belayed to a scaffold pole or stake.
Rift pitch : 3m ladder, spreader and hanger. 10m lifeline. (Spit placed circa 1993)

History
A party led by Raymond Hayes explored the upper part of the Main Fissure in 1944, descending the entrance pitch on ropes. The East and West Transverse Fissures were explored by Raymond Hayes, Paul Fitton, Doreen Mitchell and Alan Precious in June 1949. The West Transverse Fissure was extended by about 30m by the M.S.G. in January 1975; Graham Stevens passing a roof fall. In 1993 Ernie and David Shield added another 30m by excavating under a choke and 1997 saw M.S.G. / S.C.C. members further extending Noddle End by creating the second entrance in the valley side at Peak Scar.

BCRA Cave Science – Vol.2 No.12 – The Ryedale Windypits (1950)

Yorkshire Ramblers Club – Journal 7 (1952)
Noddle End, 77 ft, extremely difficult to find but by the barn on the way to Gowerdale IV and V

Scovell, Simons, Parker and Roberts have done Noddle End.

Pennine Underground (1965)

Northern Caves Volume 5 (1974)

BCRA Transactions – Vol.3 No.2 – The North Yorkshire Windypits (1976)

Moldywarps Speleological Group – Journal 8 (1976)

Moorland Caver (2003)

NGR: SE 592883
Altitude: 230m
Length: 42m
Grade: II
Entertainment Value: II

This is a traditional climbers route down to the bottom of Peak Scar.
The entrance it self is 4m up from the bottom and runs sub-parallel to the cliff. A short climb up and 3m down drops into a lower rift which is choked
in one direction and too tight at the other, climbing up into boulders at the same level as the entrance is a short bit ending in a blank wall.
Further up, various high level routes exist eventually exiting at the top of the cliff.

BCRA Transactions – Vol.3 No.2 – The North Yorkshire Windypits (1976)

Pennine Underground (1965)

Northern Caves Volume 5 (1974)

Moorland Caver (2003)

NGR:SE 518889
Altitude: 290m
Length: 70 m
Depth: 21 m
Access: Permission to descend is not granted
Grade: II
Entertainment Value: III

Motts can be rather an awkward hole to find and is best approached from
Gowerdale II (q.v). From Gowerdale II follow the fence East for about fifty paces, then head North down slope through trees for about twenty
paces. Motts lies in a clearing with a tree growing from the entrance.

The entrance is free climbable with care, however the safest option is to ladder the 7m entrance, best belayed to a convenient overhanging branch.
Follow the descending slope down to the eastern corner of the rift where a thrutch through boulders leads into the main part of the rift.
Good going along the rift, past narrow branch fissures (blind).
The main rift ends in a rocky area, which can be passed on two levels both of which peter out in a narrow continuation to the right.
Back at the foot of the entrance pitch it is possible to enter a further, short length of passage at the western end of the rift, an L shaped fissure, which chokes after circa 3m. This section can be explored on two levels.

Tackle:
Entrance: 7m ladder, spreader & sling; belay to overhanging branch (optional).

History
Windypit VI was initially discovered in 1947 by Chadwick of the Y.R.C. The hole was rediscovered in circa 1962 by the Bradford Pothole Club who named it Motts Hole.
Pushed to a definite conclusion by A.C.V.S.U. in 1972.

Yorkshire Ramblers Club – Journal 7 (1952)
In 1947, Chadwick went 30 ft. down VI, a crack, 65 yards E. of IV, and 30 ft. down the slope of Gowerdale.

Penning Underground (1965)

Northern Caves Volume 5 (1974)

BCRA Transactions – Vol.3 No.2 – The North Yorkshire Windypits (1976)

Moorland Caver (2003)

NGR: SE 597791
Altitude:170m
Length:33m
Access: Ampleforth College

Entrance at the foot of a cliff near a dilapidated hut in Monks Wood
Flat out crawl in wide passage leads to climb into two chambers, from the second chamber, a passage leads off with a vocal link to the surface.

Moldywarps Speleological Group – Journal 6 (1973)

Northern Caves Volume 5 (1974)

BCRA Transactions – Vol.3 No.2 – The North Yorkshire Windypits (1976)