Caving has a way of taking whatever physical traits make you unique, and punishes you for them. Never has that been more apparent than on our joint Shark-Orpheus trip to Hillocks Mine, Derbyshire.

The 5 of us entered through a small circular tunnel, and soon found ourselves in a wide-open, natural chamber. So far, Hillocks seemed like a promising expedition.

A short walk brought us to our first obstacle - a squeeze through a shelf which was open on the left, showing an awkward drop. The aim was to crawl along the shelf until the floor rose to a level where we could jump off.

Holme Bank Chert Mine: Stuart Morris, Steven Spall, Matthijs Bouwman, Matt Chubb

Caves: Dunsley Spring, Spinney Level and Silver Eye
Members: Stuart Morris, Steven Spall, Matthijs Bouwman, Joshua Vale, Matt Chubb

It wasn’t overly too cold for November, when we awoke at the lesser-known Crich caving hut, where the Sharks were nesting. This is despite the harsh frost overnight, and even harsher night in the pub, as we welcomed our annual Christmas caving trip.

It was full faff ahead as we slowly put ourselves together, and drove in various cars to the Via Gellia. We set off for our first mine of the tour - Dunsley Spring. From the lay-by, the melted frost had efficiently converted the old up-hill hiking paths into a waterslide of mud - but we pressed on. We were rewarded at the top with an opening, framed nicely by a tired berry bush.