Peak District Rigging Guide
Around the turn of the century, Crewe Climbng and Potholing Club were heavily involved in the project to replace 8mm Spit expansion anchors in Peak District caves and mines with stainless steel resin hangers. In 1994 we compiled a guide book that gave rigging topos for all the worthwhile SRT trips in the Peak District and this rapidly became an essential item in any Peak District caver's, or club's library. This guide book went through many editions as new routes were added, or existing ones altered.
Time moves on and in 2020 we decided to transfer the rigging guide to our web site. This allows us to update the guide more quickly and gives cavers access to the latest version of each rigging topo. Derbyshire Caving Association publish rigging topos for caves that they have installed hangers in. These can be viewed and downloaded from the Peak District Caving web site. There are many more caves and routes than this and the CCPC rigging guide tries to cover as many as possible.
The complete guide and individual topos can be viewed, downloaded and printed by individual cavers, clubs and those carrying out caving on a professional basis. Copyright for the guides and rigging topos remains with Crewe Climbing and Potholing Club. Selling topos and guides downloaded from the web site is prohibited.
Any profit from sales of the paper version of the rigging guide used to go to Derbyshire Cave Rescue Organisation. If you've found the free on-line version useful, then please consider making a donation to DCRO, using the PayPal link below and support the fine work they do:
The topos are divided in to regions based on Peak District geographical watersheds and then alphabetically by cave. The scheme is the same as that used in the Caves of the Peak District (2010) guide book (ISBN 978-0-9563473-2-9) and the DCA's Peak District Caving web site. If you are not sure what region a cave is in, there is an index, sorted alphabetically by cave name. Once you've finished with the guide, feel free to browse the main Crewe CPC club web site.
The following information and links are provided:
Between them, these sources of information should provide the knowledge you'll need to plan a successful trip. Happy Caving!
If you have only a limited number of ropes available, the "what can I rig?" tool below will help you find which trips you can do. It was written by Ari Cooper-Davis, following a discussion on the UKCaving forum. The tool can also be found here. The information for Derbyshire is from this guide.
Fill in the rope lengths in metres that you have. Click on + to add another rope. Tick the check box if you are happy joining ropes together mid pitch, then click on "Go" to find the SRT trips you can do. If you have no ropes at all, click on "Go" to find trips with fixed ropes in place, though see the warnings on using such ropes in the safety section. If you insist on caving in lesser regions, like Yorkshire, then these are available from a drop down box.
Check on the actual rigging topos that the information is correct. If you find any errors, please let us know with the feedback form.
If you have a new reel of rope and are contemplating how best to chop it to either maximise the number of SRT trips you can do, or minimise the excess rope you need to carry, then Ari has written a companion app called how-should-I-cut-my-rope?. This attempts to mathematically optimise the cut rope lengths against the rope lengths in the data used in "what-can-I-rig?".
| Latest Edition | The Complete Guide | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Edition 16.2 28th November 2023 |  |
Download the complete current edition of the rigging guide in pdf format to print out, or view. This is about 4.8MB in size. Alternatively, view, or download just the pages you need below. | |
| Preamble | |||
| HTML | Description | ||
| Front Cover | |
Front cover. | |
| Contents | |
Contents page. | |
| Index | |
Index, alphabetical by cave. | |
| Introduction | |
Introduction. | |
| Safety | |
Important safety information. | |
| Topo Key | |
Topo key. | |
| Regions and Caves | |||
| HTML | Location and Access | CotPD Page No. | |
| Bradwell | |||
| Bagshawe Cavern | |
Bagshawe Cavern | Page 47 |
| Long Rake Mine | |
Long Rake Mine | Page 58 |
| Castleton | |||
| Eldon Hole (two pages) | |
Eldon Hole | Page 88 |
| Giant's Hole (three pages) | |
Giants Hole | Page 93 |
| James Hall Over Engine Mine (JH Mine) (two pages) | |
James Hall Over Engine Mine | Page 98 |
| Longcliffe Mine | |
Longcliffe Mine. Micro-guide and survey. The 2010 edition CotPD entry is now very out of date. | Page 99 |
| Maskhill Mine | |
Maskhill Mine | Page 100 |
| Nettle Pot (two pages) | |
Nettle Pot | Page 101 |
| Odin Mine (two pages) | |
Odin Mine | Page 105 |
| Oxlow Cavern | |
Oxlow Cavern | Page 107 |
| P8 / Jack Pot | |
P8 / Jack Pot | Page 111 |
| Peak Cavern / Speedwell - Cliff Cavern | |
Peak/Speedwell.| Page 129 |
|
| Peak Cavern / Speedwell - Far Sump Extensions | |
Peak Cavern. Description in the Far Sump Extension microguide. | Page 117 |
| Peak Cavern / Speedwell - George Cooper's Aven | |
Peak Cavern. Description in the Victoria Aven microguide. | Not in the guide book |
| Peak Cavern / Speedwell - NCC Shafts | |
Peak Cavern. Description in the Galena Chamber circuit and NCC Shafts microguide. | Page 120 |
| Peak Cavern / Speedwell - Victoria Aven | |
Peak Cavern. Description in the Victoria Aven microguide. | Page 115 |
| Peak Cavern / Speedwell - White River Series | |
Peak Cavern. Description in the White River Series microguide. | Page 122 |
| Pindale End Mine | |
Upper Shaft, Lower Shaft. The entries also have route descriptions. | Not in the guide book |
| Rowter Hole (two pages) | |
Rowter Hole | Page 126 |
| Snelslow Swallet | |
Snelslow Swallet | Page 129 |
| Suicide Cave | |
Suicide Cave | Page 133 |
| Titan | |
Titan Entrance | Page 123 |
| Winnats Head Cave | |
Winnats Head Cave | Page 134 |
| Derwent South | |||
| Clatterway Levels | |
Clatterway Levels | Page 144 |
| Deep Shaft also known as Day Shaft. Gentlewoman's Pipe Climbing Shaft | |
Deep Shaft (also known as Day Shaft). The base of the shaft connects with Ringing Rake Sough, also known as Youds' level. Also, Gentlewoman's Pipe Climbing Shaft. This connects via a stope and a pipe with Old Jant Mine, then with Masson and Ringing Rake Soughs. See this trip report from the EPC for a good description of the route. See Mining History Bulletin Vol,8, No,2 1981 pp.65-102 for descriptions and surveys of the mines in this area. | Page 165 See entries for Youds' Level & Day Shaft |
| Devonshire Cavern | |
Devonshire Cavern | Page 148 |
| Snake Mine (two pages) | |
Snake Mine. See Mining History Bulletin Vol,3 No,5 1968 pp 291-298 for description, history, geology and survey. The connection to make the "round trip" was made after publication, so is not on the PDMHS survey. | Not in the guide book |
| Dove | |||
| Robin's Shaft Mine | |
Robin's Shaft Mine | Page 184 |
| Lathkill Dale & Monyash | |||
| Hillocks / Whalf Mine | |
Hillocks Mine Adit Entrance, Whalf Climbing Shaft, Whalf Engine Shaft | Page 233 |
| Knotlow Cavern | |
Chapel Dale Engine Shaft, Climbing Shaft, Engine Shaft, Fourways Shaft | Page 234 |
| Lathkill Head Cave Garden Path | |
Lathkill Head Cave Garden Path | Page 237 |
| Lathkill Head Cave Top Entrance | |
Lathkill Head Cave Top Entrance | Page 237 |
| Water Icicle Close Cavern | |
Water Icicle Close Cavern | Page 243 |
| Stoney Middleton | |||
| Carlswark Cavern | |
Carlswark Cavern, Eyam Dale Shaft, Flower Pot Entrance, Gin Entrance, Resurgence, Stub Scrin Shaft | Page 258 |
| Eyam Dale House Cave | |
Eyam Dale House Cave | Page 264 |
| Hungerhill Swallet | |
Swallet Entrance, Timbered Shaft | Page 269 |
| Lay-by Pot | |
Mined Passage Entrance, Oil Drum Entrance | Page 272 |
| Merlin's Mine | |
Main Entrance, Top Entrance | Page 275 |
| Middleton Dale Mine Level 7, Hope Shaft | |
Middleton Dale Mine Level 7, Hope Shaft. Note that the grid reference for Middleton Dale Mine Hope Shaft in Caves of the Peak District is wrong! | Page 276 |
| Nickergrove Mine | |
Adit Entrance, Didsbury Shaft, Pallet Shaft (Also known as Top Shaft), Hillside Entrance | Page 278 |
| Wye | |||
| Putwell Hill Mine | |
Putwell Hill Mine | Page 308 |
Important! Pitch and rope lengths are for guidance only. Rope lengths may need to be increased depending on your rigging techniques. Err on the side of caution. Are your ropes long enough? Have you tied a knot in the end?
 |
Pitch length (m) |  |
Descent distance to deviation (m) |
 |
Rope length to that point (m) |  |
Rope length for entire route (m) |
 |
Natural and Drilled thread belays |  |
Scaffold pole belay |
 |
8mm spit, rawl bolt, thunderbolt etc. Not stainless steel |  |
Stainless steel permanent anchor. IC, Eco, BP, DMM, Goujon, P38, Fixe etc. |
 |
Spike, or flake |  |
Deviation |
 |
Fixed ladder |  |
Pull through |
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Fixed rope |  |
Belay stake |
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Tree belay |  |
QR Code link to DCA access and location info. |
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Derbyshire key required |  |
Locked. Key, or code required. See peakdistrictcaving.info for details |
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Flowing water (normal conditions) |
Updates to the guide are announced on the CCPC home page, the RSS feed and also on the UKCaving Forum.
| Edition | Date | Changes |
|---|---|---|
| 16.2 | 28-11-2023 | NCC Shafts topo in Peak Cavern. The down pitches diagram has been stretched to make it clearer. The final pitch has been added. |
Earlier revisions can be found here.
If you discover a problem with a rigging topo, or any of the links here, or have any suggestions, then please let us know by filling in the feedback form below. See our Privacy Statement.
Alternatively, you can email us at . We try and check our email fairly often, but you might have to wait a couple of days for a reply.
Ralph Johnson hand drilling for a resin anchor in Maskhill Mine 28/8/1995. Photo © Steve Knox.
The photos in the banner at the top of the page are in Victoria Aven in Peak Cavern and were taken by Grace Chu 2/2/2020.