User:Chris Fox (Goydenman)/New page Nidderdale Caves

Nidderdale Caves
The caves of Upper Nidderdale are in the main associated with two hydrological systems. One system (Goyden system) beneath the valley floor leading from Scar House reservoir and another system (Eglin system)alongside How Stean Beck. Both systems have unusual features that make them quite unique in the UK. The Goyden system is well developed with a labyrinth of passages many of significant size. This is surprising since the whole system has been developed under the floor of a major valley and for most of it's length under an impervious cover of sandstone. Even more surprising as the caves are not in the Great Scar limestone but the higher more thinly bedded Middle limestone. The Great Scar limestone present across the Dales and associated with the more developed caves is visible in Wharfedale just over the hill from Nidderdale. The easterly dip of the limestone takes it well under the surface of Nidderdale too deep for any caves to be associated with it. Virtually all the caves in the Goyden system are in the Middle limestone band at best 40m thick. The limestone outcrops in three areas, three inliers. The most northern inlier includes the sinks of Manchester Hole and Goyden pot. A small inlier 300m further south includes the cave New Goyden pot and Frog pot. The final inlier contains the resurgence for the Goyden system, Nidd Head and all the caves of How Steam Beck. How Stean Beck is a tributary of the river Nidd that passes though a spectacular How Stean gorge. The Eglin cave system in its development captured the How Stean Beck and probably resurged close to Canal cave near the village of Lofthouse. At a later stage of development the drainage route through Eglin’s system was abandoned, in an unusual case, for a surface water course. The rejuvenated course created the spectacular limestone gorge some 15m deep, How Stean gorge. Underfit streams now traverse the Eglin’s system to resurge out of alluvium at Sandbeds Rising.

Goyden System
Water flowing from Scar House Reservoir flows along the valley to the west and then turns south. Soon after turning south fissures in the bed take the water from the river Nidd into Manchester Hole. The main entrance of this cave is just a bit further along higher up on the river bank. The river Nidd flows through Manchester Hole into Goyden pot via Lesser Stream passage. When the river Nidd overflows Scar House reservoir the fissures for Manchester Hole soon get overwhelmed and the river Nidd flows on down the valley to the main entrance of Goyden pot. The river Nidd flows from Goyden pot through a series of sumps (flooded sections) into New Goyden pot and from there through a further series of sumps to resurge at Nidd Head Risings. Cave divers have traversed the system from Manchester Hole to New Goyden pot by diving the sumps linking them. Cave diggers are exploring previously unexplored cave passages that link the caves by removing glacial infill. In severe flooding the Goyden system completely floods to the roof and cannot take any more water. In this case the river Nidd flows down the valley along the normally dry river bed past Lofthouse and through to Gouthwaite reservoir.

Caves
The river Nidd that flows from Scarhouse reservoir follows the valley west and then south. Not far after turning south it disappears underground down one or more sink holes to reappear at the rising just beyond the village of Lofthouse. Between the sink holes and the resurgence is the Goyden cave system. Cavers are able to access several sections of this system via the different entrances.

List of entrances in order from most northern to most southern. The ones in bold are classed as distinct caves in their own right and the ones not in bold alternative entrances into those caves.
 * 1) Manchester Hole (NGR  SE 100736 Length 578m)
 * 2) Bax pot (alternative entrance to Manchester Hole Divers chamber, providing through trip)
 * 3) Lesser Stream pot (entrance into connecting passage Eternal Optimist, Linking Manchester Hole and Goyden pot)
 * 4) Goyden pot (NGR  SE 099761 Length 3.7km)
 * 5) Back Steps (alternative entrance to Goyden pot  main chamber)
 * 6) Church pot ( alternative entrance to Goyden pot Gaskell’s passage, flood exit route)
 * 7) Limley pot (alterative entrance to Goyden pot, Mud Hall)
 * 8) Zanussi pot (close to Limley pot now sealed closed)
 * 9) Guscott pot (NGR  SE 100757 Length 103m)
 * 10) Frog pot/Aquamole series (NGR  SE 101756  Length 640m)
 * 11) Harrogate pot (close to Frog pot, now sealed closed)
 * 12) Dry Wath entrance (original entrance to New Goyden pot now blocked)
 * 13) Vulcan rift pot (close to New Goyden main entrance bypassing first pitch, now blocked)
 * 14) New Goyden pot (NGR  SE 102754 Length 2.2km)
 * 15) Thrope pot (alternative entrance to New Goyden pot South Avens)
 * 16) Stream entrance (alternative entrance to New Goyden pot South Avens, now blocked)
 * 17) Nidd Head NW Rising (NGR  SE 104731  Length 850m)
 * 18) Nidd Head SE Rising (NGR  SE 105730  Length 250m)

Total explored passages = 8.3km

Exploration

Presently cavers and cave divers have explored and linked together the caves from Manchester Hole through to New Goyden pot. The section from Goyden to New Goyden is only traversable with diving gear although cave diggers have opened up a way from New Goyden to Frog pot and attempting to find and open up a link from Frog pot to Goyden pot. Cave divers have over the years attempted to explore the link between New Goyden pot and Nidd Head. At New Goyden pot they have explored eight flooded passages (sumps) with various lengths of dry passages between. At the Nidd Head rising they have dived for over 850 metres with still about 1km gap left to explore between the two caves.

Geology

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