Lower Cradle Upstream Sump

Lower cradle upstream sump

8th July 2026

Ray, Nathaniel

Dive time 30mins

After the July 2025 floods, the previously laid line was washed out. So the plan was to simply lay a new line.

Vis was around 7 inches.

After a solid tie off over to a flake, 5m in snoopy on to a rock and piled some rocks on top, continuing on down many dead ends going down to 5.4m, another belay of a solid flake at -4.5 and headed NE following the more obvious way forward, which swallowed to 2.1m.

Around 40m of line.

I reeled back a few metres to a solid tie-off.

Playing it safe, I headed back, turns out this sump finding the way on is harder than I thought.

But I'll try again, of course.

18th July 2025

Ray, Peter, Dorothy

Dive time 42mins

After tying up the surface part of the line to the flake, I donned the cylinders and headed down the line with better visibility up to a metre or so in places.

Got to the reel in no time at all. And continued to push forward, another 10/12m more in a north east way, then turning north down a phethic passage (not big) used a snoopy, tied off and cut the line. This is at -1.7m only.

I decided to head back halfway and look over to the right. I tied a junction here and set out to hit a solid wall. I

saw a solid lie off, so I used this and clipped the reel here.

Further half back again, I used a line to search right and left, left on the way back, reached more solid walls, the right, I encountered a pebble loose slope continuing on.

So still haven't found the way onto the upper cradle connection or the JT connection just as yet.

Only half a reel of line left in the cave, so I may need to bring another with me next time.

On the way back, we decide to head back out the MAC, ducks' connection and up the main steps.

Maybe a Welly lost here!

Thanks to Peter and Dorothy for carrying kit today, does make all the difference.

Revisit to Lower Cradle Sump

2/08/2026

Diver:Ray

Sherpa: Nathaniel & his gf

Dive time:48mins

After leaving the call out, we headed off up the road, I left the bags already up at the gate to the field. Grabbed the bags and headed down to the cave, working as a team got the bags to the sump.

Geared up and ready I set off down the line, on looked from Nat and his gf.

Came to my junction, went left confimed the walls where I had tied off.

Then headed off right to push the right side where I'd cut the line, re tieing the extra reel to the end I pushed further up over cobble and the roof touching my back, an helmet scratching of the roof at times, I heard the bubbles going into air, so raised up a little to see a duck like, back under for a second, and it was apparent that it had looped back to main chamber.

Reeled back to the cut line, untied it , head back to the junction area.

Went over to the reel, unclipped and went up the gravel bank, with nowhere to tie off to and after robbing all my bands of my cylinders (because I forgot the bag of Snoopy's), the passage wall went right , as I followed that , the line pulled up high over a boulder, at the top of a black hole below I snoopyed of to flake like part of the solid wall, an headed fins first down a vertical shaft into the darkness below for a few metres, with the walls in reach all round, before I said to myself (another day) coiled the line back to last time off and clipped it off , attached the other reel here too for the next time or for who ever dives it.

Started heading back out slowly, picking my personal markers on the way and surfaced.

Buried the line under the sand.

And surface dived the cradle ducks , looking for Dorothy's lost Welly boot.

Seems to be lost for ever!

Got back to the show cave boat area , packed up the gear, and had a snack.

Carried the gear to the cavers choke entrance.

And then set off up the bypass to skeenhill 2 in search of the others, bumping into Peter and Sam from queen's and finding Nat and his gf just behind them back at the wet wiggle.

Went back for the bags and we all headed out.

Lower cradle upstream sump

28/08/2026

Two divers

Raymond Bell, Nathaniel Laplaud

NAT diving 2x7l ,50min dive and myself on 2x4l,40 mins dive.

Plan for today was to visit once again Lower Cradle sump.

After the following dive, finding the way on down a shaft to a phethic passage and tying the line off -12m at a large round stone.

Nathaniel to give it a push from where I had left off and myself to stay on the upper level and investigate all the questions marks to complete that and be sure there is no other continuous passages.

So two reels were emptied, pushing the phethic passage and reaching near 16m in depth.

And all question markers area where fully checked and push, all ending in dead ends or to tight to pass.

With both of us exiting the sump and delightful of the dive, and approval on my previous line work.

We packed up all the gear and started making our way out of the cave.

A push from the Upper cradle down stream sump and a further push on the lower cradle side is on the cards.

And a further push and exploration in John Tomas sump is also in order to connect all three.