Having a couple of hours spare this afternoon, I had a wander round Ecton, although the wind on top of the hill was a bit fierce! The lid on Chadwick is only secured by two small bits of weld, so if the trust can be persuaded in future, getting in again shouldn't be too difficult (although the large frame harrow that the farmer has put on top would be more of an obstacle!). I had a look over the wall to the sough tail location - anyone ever had a serious crack at reopening, or is the pond owner unwilling to allow this?

The bolt on Waterbank sough is getting a bit cattle damaged unfortunately, although nothing that a bit of resetting on the slabs couldn't fettle. I'm glad to see the engine house has had some repairs, and the large reinforced concrete slabs over the engine shaft are a big improvement on the old wooden railway sleepers - safer, and idiots can't shove them in as appears to have happened on Jones' shaft at Grassington....

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these organisations are probably no more or less risk-averse, unhelpful and obstructive than any other organisation faced with the management of old workings which they don't understand, don't much care about and see little or no value in spending a fair amount of time and money making available to small minority interest groups who can't produce the appropriate insurance and risk assessment paperwork.

caves aren't mines; no-one 'owns' a cave, in the sense that a mine owner 'owns' a mine under the relevant legislation.

my experience of caving groups over the years is that the larger clubs are pretty organised, having been around a long while, usually having funds and an organised committee, insurance.. 'credibility', in fact, for third parties who aren't usually much interested but can be persuaded by anyone who looks like they know what they are about.

mine exploration is a contentious topic in caving circles, some are interested and some certainly aren't

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