Ladies’ caving weekend: the non-caving

After a really pleasant women-only giving trip in Parc I was pleased to hear of a whole weekend with the same crew. It would be in Derbyshire, so not stupidly far away, but still far enough to would guarantee I would have not visited any of these venues ever before. So when I saw I could make it, I signed up. 

There would be eight of us; six from Wales, and two ladies from the Derbyshire caving club (DCC). And the accommodation was simple: a field. So I got my tent ready, and everything that comes with that. We would have vehicle access to the field, so I didn't have to pack light. Not that packing light is compatible with mine exploration anyway.

My luggage got a bit heavier when we were told that there would be no water there. I packed a fair number of water bottles. I also had a good look on the map. There were some streams there, and there was even a waterfall indicated! I figured that would then be a washing opportunity. I figured drinking water wouldn't be a huge problem, but these streams could be a back-up.

I struggled a bit with leaving the house early. Some people would already be on the field at 18:30. I hadn’t even left by then! But once I left everything went well; traffic was fine, and I found it without problems. I said hello to the Welsh ladies, introduced myself to the DCC ladies Sal and Jane, and quickly pitched my tent. Then I joined them for a drink. One without alcohol for me. And I went to bed at a reasonable hour. I would get plenty of opportunity to hang out with these ladies in the coming two days!

Our home for the weekend! Mine is the dark green tent.

This super cute building is the DCC club hut

Because I was travelling by car anyway, I had brought my running kit. I figured I would be able to get a run in before we set off! And on the Saturday, that was even imperative, as I am a bit of a sucker for the Saturday Guardian, and I had spotted a supermarket about 3 km away. I figured I could run there in the morning, buy a newspaper, and be back on time! We wanted to set off for a café where we would meet some of the others, and have breakfast, at nine. 

My plan worked. I hadn’t slept overly well, but got up at seven anyway. Only then did I think to Google the shop’s opening hours. It opened at eight! Plenty of time, so I took the beautiful route to the shop.

We were right by Alderley Edge; a Permo-Triassic sandstone escarpment, which obviously doesn’t lend itself much to either building on or agriculture, so is wooded and pretty. And has very well-maintained paths following it. And the nearby town (with supermarket) is also called Alderley Edge. I ran through the woods to the town, got there a bit early, waited for the shop to open, bought a newspaper and a pistachio croissant when I was there anyway, put the newspaper in a bread bag in my running vest (it was raining), and ran back. I was on time to change, get my kit together, and brush my teeth. Then we set off! 

Damp view from the edge

I was sharing a ride with Mary, who had created this ladies only initiative. She seems to have single-handedly raised the proportion of females in the club from 10% to 26% in a year! That is good going.

We got to the very cute village of Monyash, with its even cuter cafe the Old Smithy. They found Sharon, Liz and Gwyneth. We sat down for breakfast. This was mainly fry-ups. I settled for a bap with fried egg and cheese. Not a familiar combination for Brits. And I learned something new: they had ‘oat cakes’ in the fried breakfast, and I know these as a sort of oaty cracker the size of a biscuit, but here they were oaty pancakes, filled with melted cheese. It’s a Derbyshire thing. One of the ladies couldn’t finish hers so I got to try. Quite nice! 

Interior of the cafe

We also decided to split in two groups of four, with the groups travelling in opposite directions. We would meet in the middle. It would be a rope-intensive trip, and if you do it with all eight ladies in one group, you spend a long time waiting!

After breakfast we went to the mine, and got changed. In the rain. And headed for the entrances. But the actual mine trip will get its own post.

The two groups came out only minutes apart. There had been mention of tea and cake in the same cafe  we had had breakfast in, but it would soon close, so we just  changed and went back to our field, only stopping to drop one lady off who had to leave. We would find a new one at the field who had not been able to make it earlier. 

We wanted to go to a nearby Thai restaurant,  but fortunately, people weren't in a big hurry, and they didn't mind that one of the ladies, Bee, and me wanted to check out that waterfall first. It was about a kilometre away.  it would be nice to feel clean while having dinner!

We didn't struggle to find the location indicated on the map. What was harder was to recognise it as a waterfall. There was absolutely minimal water coming down! I'm sure that in a very rainy November this can be a proper waterfall, but it totally wasn't right now. With a bit of patience you could still get considerably cleaner in it than you had been beforehand, so it was still worth it, but decidedly underwhelming.

Bee putting her shoes back on by the ‘waterfall’. In full screen mode you might be able to spot the water! 

After Bee and I came back, Sharon and I  drove everybody to the restaurant. It was an unusual place! It was an old-fashioned English pub, but also a Thai restaurant. Luckily, it did both things well. The food was delicious and served really quickly, and the atmosphere was fittingly rustic for a bunch of mine explorers.

When we got back we had another drink on our field. We had been paying Manchester prices in the pub! But we also had our own beer. And Mary produced  a super cute portable fire pit. We had a lovely rest of the night by the fire.  I had an actual alcohol-containing beverage!

Evening drinks

The next morning I went for a run again. This time I didn't have to slot a shop into my run, so I stayed out of the village. It was lovely!

Near our field

Scenic woodland 

Some signs of sandstone quarrying

Good quality paths

Handsome cattle

When I got back I got ready for our second adventure.  This was in a mine that was so close by we could walk to it. And this place will also get its own blog post.

We came out at about 2 pm, and we had a little cup of tea by Sharon's vehicle. But then it was time to go; it is a two hour drive. But I had had a great time! It was a lovely group to go underground with, and I liked the venues. And in spite of the lack of running water, I had enjoyed the camping in the field. Especially by the fire! And I had managed to slot some runs in. And we even had great Thai food. What is not to like.  I'm totally up for doing this more often.

Another thing we want to do is invite the DCC ladies back. They were up for it! It would be great to return the favour. Stay tuned! I hope I will be able to write more about ladies’ caving adventures in the not too distant future…