Son of Nettle Dig
For information contact Jase Rider

Update by Jason Rider - February 2005
The last dig session was made on 14th November 2004 when a team comprising Mike, Nige, Gaz Bode, Ian Salt, Dave Ottewell and myself spent a day making good progress removing debris following a session with Bob a couple of weeks earlier. Unfortunately only a handfull of digging trips were made during 2004 - something we aim to rectify in 2005! Digging will hopefully resume during spring/summer as several of the dig team are working on other things at the moment. We estimate that the shaft is now about 50ft deep.

This photo of Jase half way down the shaft was taken by Sam Townsend in August 2003. Click here to see more from the same set (sorry for the delay in getting them published!!!).

Update by Jason Rider - October 2002
This really has turned into a big project over the last few months. We've often been there all weekend as well as at least one or two week nights.

Clive Levy has been recruited to the dig team after showing an interest while he was digging another pothole nearby. Clive (sometimes accompanied by young Colin) has put in a lot of time helping and we would like to thank him for use of his generator, drills etc. etc.

When I wrote the last progress report (August 2002) the shaft was 10 foot deep - it had been deeper, but the process of widening the shaft had filled it back in. At the time of writing (mid October 2002) we are now at a depth of some 35 feet below the surface decking.

This is how it happened...

On Thursday 19th September we finally reached the ‘floor’ of the main shaft. Myself, Nige and Clive stood at the bottom of the shaft somewhat disappointed as the way on didn’t seem obvious - we had reached a solid floor containing a rift of only an inch or two wide. In his frustration, Clive pulled out a large boulder from the foot of the ‘wall’. Peering into the void behind he remarked ‘That looks like your way on!’.

Unfortunately the excitement of the evening was dampened as some idiot (who shall remain nameless) knocked a loose rock out of the wall while climbing out of the shaft and rendered both Colin and Nigel requiring hospital treatment.

The rift that Clive had discovered was about 7 foot deep, but unfortunately less than a foot wide. We spent the next two weeks or so widening the rift to a reasonable size. On 5th October we reached the bottom, and while digging at the foot of the rift, Phil Nellor found a void which appears to be the head of the next rift we need to follow...digging continues, as they say.

Update by Jason Rider - September 2002

Sunday 9th June 2002 saw renewed interest in Son of Nettle after firstly ‘foot and mouth’ and secondly, lethargy, had put the dig on hold. Mike and I paid a visit to the dig to inspect where we had left off some 18 months previously.
Unfortunately, on climbing down the shaft, Mike came face to face with a dead calf that had found it’s way down the shaft. The calf was only a few weeks old and had only been down there a few days so we were able to haul it to the top of the shaft, though we couldn’t get it out of the top bit. Stik and Gaz joined us later on in the day to help us haul it clear of the shaft. By now, we had also informed the farmer of the incident who turned up to carry the unfortunate animal away (thanks to Bob for smoothing things over with the farmer).

Over the next few weeks we paid five visits to Son of Nettle in order to construct a new fence around the shaft - the previous year having taken it’s toll on the previous fence. As you can see from the pictures, we’ve done a job that even the CCPC would be proud of - thanks to all those involved! (Thanks also to the DCA for contributing 50% of the cost of materials and to Sam for donating the barbed wire).











We now turned our attention to the dig itself...

Our efforts during 2000 had left the shaft unstable. We had two options... either stabalise what was there, or remove it completely. We decided for the second option and during the weekend of 3rd and 4th August we removed some of the larger boulders with the help of Mr. Dearman. These boulders, as well as some smaller one’s have now collapsed to the bottom of the dig and will have to be pulled out - but at least the dig is more stable than it was. See pictures of the top of the shaft (left) as it is now compared with how it was last year. The removal of the boulders revealed what appears to be a solid wall behind - this was what we had been hoping for.

The next challenge was that the diameter of the shaft was a lot larger and it made it difficult (and unsafe) for bucket hauling. We therefore came up with a plan to build a wooden platform above the shaft, with an overhead frame for a winching device...

A few days later (Saturday 10th August) a team assembled at the dig to bring Mike’s plans to fruitition. Nigel Strong and John Taylor arrived first, carrying a van full of wooden joists and planks. Mike and myself arrived a short time later. Bob Dearman arrived and then went to fetch some sand and cement which we used to build up the walls where the beams were to sit. The team was complemented by Steve Fellows, who can be quite capable when he puts his mind to it!

Without going into too much detail, by the end of the weekend the platform of Mike’s dreams was complete - see picture.





The following weekend (Saturday 17th August) we installed the tripod. This can be used to hook up various pulleys/winches etc. depending on what needs to pulled out of the hole. Using a block & tackle we removed some pretty large boulders and generally made quite a lot of progress. A certain Mr. Starr also turned up to see what all the fuss was about...

It will take several days of digging to get the shaft to the depth that it had been before we collapsed the loose wall, and after that, who knows! Anyone wishing to volunteer his or her services should speak to Mike Salt.






LATE NEWS
An Eldon team headed by Stik have now got the dumper truck running... Apparently it just needs a few more jobs doing before we should be able to use it at the dig. We would also like to thank Mike’s dad for straightening the steering column.

Update by Jason Rider - April 2001

Frequent trips were made to the dig during the tail end of last year, however, a mixture of the foot and mouth outbreak and other commitments has put the dig on hold so far this year. The last trip I was involved with took place on 26th November 2000 with Mike Salt and Steve Fellows. Bob also turned up to lend a little encouragement of his own in the morning. The afternoon was spent taking it in turns at the dig face to fill buckets with the remaining debris. The floor of the dig was lowered by several feet before young Steve starting making noises to the effect that the bottom of the dig was becoming unstable to which Mike replied 'Keep digging yer wuss...' etc. Anyway, Steve soon finished and it was Mikes' turn in the hole. Several minutes passed before Mike shouted 'F**king hell !' and managed to climb out of the pothole in record time, much to Steve's amusement who said 'I told you it was unstable!'.

Apparently one half of the loose wall had suddenly dropped several inches, which is not a good sign. A lot of debate has taken place since as to the best way of stabilising the dig (ie. to scaffold it out, to use concrete or foam or to completely remove the 'loose wall', however this could simply reveal more loose rock behind). Another trip is planned to assess the current situation as soon as we can regain access to the land.

Report by Jason Rider - November 2000

Sunday 22nd October 2000 saw the beginning of the long awaited Son of Nettle dig. The hole is situated about two fields away from Nettle Pot and displays similar water-washed characteristics. Before digging began the shaft was about 8 feet deep.

The day began with the early arrival of an Eldon fencing team consisting of Stick, Gary and Dave. With the help of Mike, Steve and Jase (sent to retrieve a roll of wire sheep fencing from Nettle), it wasn't long before a suitable fence was starting to take shape around the perimeter of the shaft.

The real work of deepening the shaft got underway in the afternoon...With Mike at the dig face (bottom of the hole) and Steve and Jase hauling at the top, reasonable progress was made for the first day. Equal quantities of rock, soil and the skeletal remains of sheep were removed by the bucket load together with various other bits of shit that tend to accumulate in these sorts of places.

Midway through the afternoon and the peaceful country air was broken by the excited tones of 'f*** me a void's appeared!' emanating from the hole. Mike had uncovered a water-washed side-rift about 5 foot deep (but unfortunately only a few inches wide!).

By the time it was going dark, the main shaft was about 3 foot deeper and two voids, each of several feet deep had been discovered in the floor of the shaft.

All in all, a good days work and hopefully it won't be too long before we know whether or not Son of Nettle can fulfil the potential of its famous 'father'. Digging continues...