We planned to meet Mark at the Yonderman’s Cafe for a “cavers breakfast”, or that was the idea. Seems like this was the place to be this morning so we had to find an alternative and headed to ‘Cafe Adventure’ in Hope.
After three large full english breakfasts and some caffeine we felt warmed up and ready to head into Giant’s hole which will have been the first trip for Sam and myself into this Peak District Classic Caving Trip.
We parked up in the farm and stumbled across Hollie and Mat (both MCG members) who were undertaking their ‘Cave Leader Course’.
We got changed into our suits, sorted the SRT kit and started heading towards the entrance of Giant’s. Just at the mouth we met up with Hollie and Mat again who were just discussing safety aspects with their instructor before heading in. We quickly slipped past and started heading downwards.
Mark lead the way and showed us the remnants of attempts of turning Giant’s into a show cave, luckily these were failed attempts so the cave only attracts serious explorers.
We assembled in Boss Aven where Mark gave us a heads up about the upcoming Garland’s Pot and gave me the possibility of rigging our rope for the descend down.
We all ditched our SRT kits at the bottom and continued with just our personal bags into the Crabwalk. Now I was sceptical about this Crabwalk but now fully understand why it’s called that way – tedious, sideways, wet, bendy but FUN!
We exited into the Great Relief Passage before having an attempt at finding Geology Pot which was interesting in itself as we had the option of just heading off in various directions before heading back towards the Giant’s Windpipe.
A quick detour down Poached Egg Passage where Mark mentioned the ‘Chamber of Horrors’ which connects towards Oxlow and Maskhill but can be very serious and difficult. We opted for a quick snack break at the beginning of the Windpipe before taking the plunge and pushing through.
Continuing onwards we traversed high above the Crabwalk with occasional confidence ropes being used as some parts required a wide stance. We finally descended down into the passage again before ascending Garland’s Pot having a small peek into Boss Aven which I followed as far as possible and was rewarded with some amazing crystal clear stalactites.
We exited Giant’s approximately 4 hours after entering into a very muggy warm outside before de-kitting and going home to clean the kit. It has been an absolutely amazing trip for both of us and we are glad to have ticked off this Derbyshire Classic.
Fabian