Several trips during October and November made good progress up into the choke to a point approx' 8m from the base. It was extremely unstable, consisting of silt embeded with boulders. On the 11th November KJ and DAN returned to find that the entire choke had collapsed. Work started on clearing the collapse and as spoil was removed an enormous amount of rumbling could be heard from above. It's turned into a much bigger job than expected but it's still looking good and at the moment is considerably safer! October saw two trips to A&E. One with concusion and the other with a fractured arm. At this point KJ would like to thank the NHS for continuing to support this project...

Cavers visiting Speedwell Cavern are asked to avoid everything above the base of the first aven until the chokes have been properly stabilised and the pitches properly rigged.

Thanks: The Backwater Aven Project.