Darfar Potholing Club, based in the Manifold Valley, Staffordshire


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Home arrow Projects arrow Darfar Crag Swallet - 2007
Darfar Crag Swallet - 2007 PDF Print E-mail

Darfar Crag Swallet entrance - before work
Darfar Crag Swallet entrance - before work

Original description of this cave:-

Norman Thornber, A.H and R.D. Stride, J.O. Myers, BRITAIN UNDERGROUND, Dalesman, Clapham (1953)

Darfar Crag Swallet.  O96 558.  Depth 9Oft.

"In wood under Darfar Crag on east bank of Manifold. Entrance 3 feet wide, 15 feet above river bank. Rope pitch of 50  feet followed by 30 feet descent to clay bank and down rock passage for 6O feet. Possible to squeeze past huge boulder where water can be heard. Ends in large pool. In time of flood fills upward. On National Trust land and permit required to explore."


During the 1970's and 80's the entrance shaft was filled with domestic rubbish, only to be part emptied again by members of Darfar P.C. during the 1980's and extended horizontally to the length shown below.

Description in the 1991 edition of COPD:-

NGR 0967 5607 Length: 130ft (40m) Depth: 30ft (9m)

Large sloping entrance shaft 25ft (8m) deep leads to choke (dig). On right a way may be open to a continuation passage via a crawl. Right leads to narrow rifts approaching the river, left leads for 40ft (12m) to a mud choke, passing a dig on the right which draughts and is less than 30ft (9m) from the end of the Wind Tunnel in Darfar Pot. 


At the start of August 2007 the cave was only 9m (30ft) deep to a total silt blockage.

During the next 3 months, visits between other activities to re-arrange the silt, increased the cave to 12m (40ft) deep. The way into the side passage leading towards Darfar Pot was also uncovered.

darfar crag swallet - after work
Darfar Crag Swallet - after work

In late October, Martin Milner and Pete Ray removed the old iron monorail and repaired the entrance of the cave. (See photo.)

On 8/11/2007, the horizontal way on from the current bottom of the entrance shaft was properly re-opened by Martin Milner and Pete Ray and the right-hand (towards the river) and left-hand (towards Darfar Pot) passages partially re-explored.

This was the first time that Martin had been in this part of the cave since 1984 when a squeeze into a draughting continuation heading towards Darfar Pot in the right-hand side of the left-hand passage was banged to enlarge it. (Atrocious weather during 1985/6 prevented a return being made and it subsequently got 'forgot about' due to other projects.)

 

 
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Darfar / Dafar
You should be aware that Darfar (as in Darfar Bridge, Pot, etc.) is misspelt as Dafar on OS maps of a certain scale. On larger scaled (more detailed) maps it is correct as you can see on the excellent Magic web site. This map shows the correct spelling and this one the incorrect spelling. (Then of course there's Darfur, which is a place in Africa...)
 
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