The Devil's Arse

Bee and Jak set up a great trip to Edale in the Peaks at the weekend, renting a bunk house and sorting out some extremely good food. There were sixteen of us and everyone got on great, which was lucky!

On Saturday, we went to Castleton and had a tour around a cave system called the Devil's Arse. It's called that because of the sound it used to make when air was forced through a narrow gap by water. Increased drainage through effective mining during the early 19th century (thanks for the information Nommie!) stopped the noise happening though. Various production companies have shot films and programmes in the caves and I could see why. It's a great location and I might keep it in mind for future projects.

The tour guide, a woman who managed to achieve an impressive number of decibels, demonstrated how to make a rope and then gave us the grand tour of the cave. People used to enter the caves in a boat that looked more like a horse trough through gaps no bigger than the boat itself. In the pitch black that's really gotta freak you out. There were paints on a table by the entrance, most likely for kids. There was no notice to say that adults couldn't use them, so I did a painting of what I'm calling the Devil's Arse Cave Bug, hehe.

Anyone who is on my school boy level of humour might appreciate the following cave instructions:

"Short stay available nearby. No parking in the Devil's Arse."

"The Devil's Arse provides food and beverages."

"Video cameras must not be turned on while entering or inside the Devil's Arse."

"Don appropriate footwear to avoid slipping in wet holes."

"Photographing the Devil's Arse is permitted, but flashing is not allowed."

We had an awesome barbeque in the evening, expertly manned by Wayne. I brought some gluten-free roles, so as to seamlessly join in with the highly tasty eatings. It's the first time I've had a decent burger in ages. Mmm...

Mike showed us how to play a game called 'Mafia', which involves randomly selecting two or three people by choosing playing cards. Everyone closes their eyes while the Mafia silently agree on an innocent to murder, then the group has to work out who the Mafia are. It's a great game, though I did get killed off pretty quickly almost every time. People had different strategies, including accusing everyone else, being as quiet as possible and sometimes playing highly complex mind games to win at all costs. It was a huge amount of fun, even when Bee got me killed off at every opportunity.

There were a lot of great walks and I really enjoyed the company. Lots of photos too!

The Devil's Arse website: www.devilsarse.com
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