here we go agin a few adults and i think 8 kids are trappped in a cave near Ingleton…. every year we hear about this…usually River walking… and these groups always go into the rivers or caves when its been chucking it down all day….
these caves are dangerous in times of heavy rain and they flood within the hour…i know..
someone should have advised them not to go down the cave in this heavy rain……
think it was a princes trust group…. mountain rescue are trying to reach them now…. i hope everyone will be ok….. fingers crossed..

I once fell in Gaping Gill.

I once fell in Gaping Gill.

You probably weren’t the first. Very apt nickname for a girl who can’t say no.

River walking ? Yes, that’ll be jesus alright.

they flood within the hour…i know..

How?

Lots of water pours in really quickly TSY

One minute you’re dry, 60 minutes later, you’re wet.

Kinda like a bath tub?

Now, reading between the lines (I was guessing that elaine might have first hand experience (am I right elaine????…

an additional element is being so absorbed in exploring that you don’t keep an eye on water levels…. you’re also underground so don’t know how hard it’s raining ‘outside’

I once fell in Gaping Gill.

Did she mind?

ive been down loads of caves…..around the area….soemtimes the caves are bone dry and some just have a trickle of water so your just getting wet up to your ankles, but if its rained for a few days or raining continous then you are waist deep in water….. you have to b so careful cos some caves you can be in there for 2 hours or more…treacking your way through, then you have to come back out of the cave the way you came sometimes , and other times you can find another way out.. so if you have been in the cave for a good hour you have to keep an eye on the water rising and if is constantly rising …get yerselves out of there quickly.. limestone is very pouress..duno if i spelt that correctly. caves flood very quickly and up to roof height …. they even shut Ingleton show cave when its constant bad weather …they have a flood line which most of us have seen… now this is a showcave where it is very well lit…… when you enter a cave or pothole you require helmets and lights cos inside these caves its pitch black once you are in …… ive been in caves where normally there is a small waterfall and at times like this in bad rain the small waterfall is ahuge gushing torrent of water running extremely fast…the water is so powerfull….

We have the same thing down at Brean near Weston-Super-Mare. People get stuck out on the mud almost several times a week in the height of summer. It costs THOUSANDS every year to rescue mud-trapped tourists.

I (& some other excited schoolkids) went up Dungeon Ghyll in Langdale when we were about 13 one February, & in the same week went from Red Tarn straight up to the top of Helvellyn, roped up, ice axes the lot. The leader (bloke called Steve Mitchell) had to cut a gap through the cornice at the top to get onto the summit.
It’s not cave science but WTF happened with health & safety??

PS this was 1971 ish

BBC says all now out and ok. As allready said suprised anyone underground today given todays forcast for heavy rain. Having said that dont know that cave system and my vast caving experience extends to a wopping one trip underground. It was good fun but i remember been told many times how important it was to be aware of not only that days forcast but how much rain had fallen over the past few days. I belive someone drowned in the cave i went in a year or so after my visit…

someone should have advised them not to go down the cave in this heavy rain

Just maybe they were responsible for seeking and heeding advice? Or is that what you meant?

there are many cave rescues many times per year, people have to be sensible and think alittle more…. if its raining hard or been raining for some days ..then KEEP OUT.
some of the caves ive been in have very low roof space so i only enter these if very good weather , there have been occasions where it has got very trickey so i know only too well caves can be dangerous…