A couple of weeks ago we met up with Graham, who took us out for half a day of caving in the Yorkshire Dales. We met in Bernies cafe in Ingleton and discussed the options he had lined up for us and sorted out the equipment we needed (including the very fetching fleece onesies, that have always been used amongst the caving community well before Amazon made them popular, but are way cooler!).
We headed to Calf Holes and Brown Gill Cave, just north of Horton in Ribblesdale, a nice 1 km of underground limestone system that ends at one of the sources of the River Ribble.

After a short walk in we found ourselves at the start; the weather was wet and miserable outside, so a good day to go underground!

The start easily lures in anyone with a sense of adventure and exploration with its entrance consisting of a waterfall disappearing down a hole, then re-appearing through a tunnel into the bottom of the opening, 8m below where we got lowered down into. The route began with a walk then turned into a crawl as it got narrower, the best part being a letterbox section where you have to lie down on your front and push along the smooth limestone. We then took a small detour to look at where the waterfall reappears, about 20 m below ground, and then came out into Brown Gill Cave at the end of the route.

Graham's wealth of knowledge and experience shows, and I would trust him to take me safely down the scariest looking of caves! Above all he has the perfect attitude for complete beginners or people who have done a bit before but want to improve, being very calm and friendly making you feel comfortable at all times. We all had a thoroughly enjoyable time and he pitched the grade of the route perfectly for us, nothing too technical but enough of a challenge to excite us for more! I would highly recommend him!

To get in touch with him, visit his website: http://www.gcoutdoors.co.uk/