Dunsley Spring, Spinney Level and Silver Eye

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.

Dunsey Spring was your standard dry mine. A few pretty formations appeared here and there, but the path was mostly flat and straight - until we reached the end. Some parts did stand out though - frosty ripples of calcite clung onto tiny orbs of white. As if the walls themselves were dusted with marzipan. “I’ll bet the walls don’t taste as good as they look”, one Shark quipped.

With first blood drawn, we climbed over the hilltop to find ourselves at Spinney Level - although approaching from the top of the hill made for an interesting navigational challenge as we scuttled down the other side.

Spinney level itself boasted a few features - the entrance water tickled the tops of our wellies, and the thick mud underfoot threatened to topple us into the cold pool. Even without falls, a few gasps of icy shock burst from the lips of some of our famously lipless sharks.

After crossing the pools, there were the customary low ceilings which had us stooping through as we navigated the old mine. An incredibly deep shaft marked the end of the cave, which we sensibly enjoyed from afar.

Upon leaving, we split up over safety concerns, with some opting to take the direct route to the hill-bottom, while others walked along the top.

Needless to say, the safety conscious top-walkers were much slower, although they did enjoy the luxury of avoiding road-walking for longer. The wet conditions made for some wonderful waterfalls bursting though dry-stone walls, forming enthusiastic twisting streams through the overgrown trail.

The first two mines were merely a warm up, and we set forth up another hill for the final mine: Silver Eye! Unlike the other mines, this one utilised ropes for climbing support - one we brought in, and one in situ. Immediately we could tell this was a superior trip, as we were clambering up and down the peaks and troughs of a feisty cave.

Having looped a rope around some rocks, we slid down into a small area which eventually took us to the cave-rope. We were soon launching ourselves up this rope with all the enthusiasm of a hooked fish - swinging from side to side as we tried to balance on the slippy uphill climb. The final roped section included a fairly technical climb, with not much support even with the rope.

At the top, Silver Eye branched out into multiple passages. Some ended sooner than others, some boasted crystalline cavities, and some shot upwards for the boldest sharks to follow.

Eventually we’d had our fun, and we shot out once again - narrowly achieving our 16:30 call-out. It was, overall, a most enjoyable tour of the many holes of Via Gellia.