Bar Pot facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bar Pot |
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Entrance shakehole of Bar Pot
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| Location | Ingleborough, North Yorkshire, [UK] |
| OS grid | SD 7517 7234 |
| Depth | 104 metres (341 ft) (To South East Passage) |
| Length | 274 metres (899 ft) |
| Elevation | 395 metres (1,296 ft) |
| Discovery | 1949 |
| Geology | Carboniferous limestone |
| Entrances | 3 |
| Difficulty | III |
| Hazards | verticality |
| Access | Permit |
| Cave survey | 1980 LUSS survey on Cavemaps |
Bar Pot is a cave entrance that leads into the huge Gaping Gill cave system. It's located about 340 meters (370 yards) south of the Gaping Gill Main Shaft. You can find it on Ingleborough mountain in the Yorkshire Dales, England.
This cave is a popular way to enter the system. It's known for being one of the easiest and driest routes. It only has two main vertical drops, called pitches, that cavers need to use ropes for. Bar Pot is part of a special protected area called the Ingleborough Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Contents
Exploring Bar Pot: What to Expect
Bar Pot starts with a passage that goes down into a large rocky hole in the ground, called a shakehole. This passage leads to the first drop, which is about 13 meters (43 feet) deep. The top of this drop is a bit narrow.
After the first drop, you step down onto a slippery slope known as the Greasy Slab. This part is about 4 meters (13 feet) long. Most cavers use a handline to get down safely. This slope leads into a chamber called Bridge Hall.
Reaching the Big Pitch
From Bridge Hall, you'll find a path called Horrocks' Way on your left. This path leads through more chambers that go downwards. At the bottom of these chambers are two more drops that take you into the South-East Passage of Gaping Gill.
The main drop, often called the Big Pitch, is straight ahead. It's about 30 meters (98 feet) deep. You can reach it by moving around a ledge to the left or by crawling forward from the bottom of the slope.
Other Routes and Passages
There are other interesting passages within Bar Pot:
- An older route to the Big Pitch starts from the bottom of the first entrance drop. It goes through a wide passage to the right.
- Another path from the entrance drop leads to Small Mammal House. This area connects to two other entrances: Small Mammal Pot and Stile Pot.
- Leakey's Way is a passage to the right at the bottom of Bridge Hall. It leads into a high, narrow passage called Whitehall.
- The Graveyard Inlet is a passage that almost reaches the surface.
- Violet Ground Beetle Passage is another series of passages that can be reached by climbing in the Bridge Hall Aven.
- Wild Cat Rift is a passage that goes down to a hole opposite the bottom of the Big Pitch.
Small Mammal Pot Entrance
Small Mammal Pot is another entrance to the Bar Pot system. You can find it about 5 meters (16 feet) from the path leading into the Bar Pot shakehole. A 3-meter (10-foot) climb down takes you into a passage. This passage quickly drops down a 19-meter (62-foot) pitch into Bar Pot's Small Mammal House. This area got its name because explorers found many small animal bones on the floor, showing a connection to the outside world.
Stile Pot Entrance
Stile Pot is located in the shakehole below Small Mammal Pot, near a wall-stile. It's a passage that goes steeply downwards. It can be loose and tight in some places. This passage eventually comes out through the floor of Small Mammal House.
Bar Pot's History and Discoveries
Bar Pot was first explored in 1949 by members of the British Speleological Association. They moved some rocks at the bottom of the shakehole to get in. The first explorers used a route through a passage below the entrance drop, then down a 10-meter (33-foot) pitch, and through Whitehall.
Later, a caver named Bob Leakey found the route from Bridge Hall to Whitehall. Ken Horrocks then discovered the passage now named after him, which is the most common way to go through the cave today.
Later Explorations and Developments
The Wild Cat Rift was explored from below in 1969. Small Mammal House and the Graveyard Inlet were discovered in the late 1970s. Violet Ground Beetle Passage was first entered in 1993.
The alternative entrance of Small Mammal Pot was opened up from below in 2005. Stile Pot, another alternative entrance, was opened up in 2008.
In 1959, an accident occurred when Eric Sugden fell down the entrance pitch while setting up ropes. In 1980, a detailed map of the cave was published. In 1987, the company that manages the nearby Ingleborough Show Cave wanted to develop Bar Pot for tourist trips. Their plans included building scaffolding and ladders for the two main drops. However, these plans were stopped after many groups, including cave research associations and national park authorities, objected.
