Fifty metres of hands and knees crawling leads past two choked passages on the right to a 10m blind pitch in the floor. To the right of the pitch is a tight wriggle through to a small chamber. Turning sharp left at the entry point to the chamber leads up a steep slope to a climb through a boulder choke. Larger passage is gained at the top until an easy climb down is met. The way on is straight ahead at floor level, ignoring the large rift halfway along. The crawl eventually pops out in a large chamber with a cracked mud floor and tree roots. To the left the way on chokes, though there is a draught in a tight hole. To the south, and following the draught, One Footprint Passage leads to Laredo Junction. The passage to the west takes some of the draught towards the surface and ends at a low crawl, terminating at an undiggable choke. The main route to the south is stooping over muddy boulders and leads to another junction after 35m. Straight on is Worthwhile Passage, a crawl which enters a small passage with a muddy duck into a large rift with some calcite which closes down at its high point.

   At Easter 2004, the following extension was made in the entrance series. A black hole rises up above Worthwhile Passage. The first section can be easily free climbed and leads to a long gallery with two inlets coming in on the right hand side. These were examined but found to be far too small. The left passage of the gallery leads to a chamber with steep, muddy walls. This can be bridged up the steep muddy sides, but only after digging steps into the mud. The top is only an alcove and a rope is useful for the descent. A steep slope back in the middle of the passage rises up for about 10 metres to another tight inlet. Above is a boulder jammed in the rift, it looks like there is a chamber behind. There is a rock bridge up in the roof, and this has been bolted to. On the other side is a pitch straight back down into the chamber and, with the aid of a bolt, it is possible to bridge over the top of the pitch. On the left is a steep muddy slope leading up into a passage and a climb up into the chamber with the large jammed block. (The climbs up can be made easier by dropping a rope down the other side).
Lower down there is another ramp leading off which has been followed for a short distance into a small rift. The rift pops into the bottom of a large walking size phreatic tunnel, followed to a choke in one direction and a low dig in the other. This was dug through a low crawl and led into a chamber with double avens and another crawl leading off to another aven. All of the avens have been climbed and tree roots noticed at the top of one of them. 

   Turning to the east in the main passage enters a mud floor. A side passage to the north leads to an undescended 20m pit and 80m of passage which eventually gets too tight.

    Twenty metres further, on the west side of the passage a small inlet was explored in August 2018. The route is a narrow, winding inlet up to a climb where the passage soon splits. Following the water reaches a 5m climb up that was tackled using a maypole, then a ladder from a natural belay. (Now removed, but there is 10m SRT rope in place). At the top there are three ways on. Back over the entrance passage reaches a junction: upstream is too tight and full of boulders. Black space can be seen above. Downstream is a dead end after a few corners. There are animal scratches in this area - probably bats. Back at the pitch head, the middle passage leads to a junction after a few metres - this is unexplored. The main way on, following the water, is a muddy rift to yet another junction. Right follows the water, passing another junction to a large chamber with a calcite flow. Right here is a 2m climb down that needs further pushing. Ahead, an excavated route through mud enters a well decorated area with very impressive stal. Here, a low crawl in water needs a lump hammer to continue with a larger passage seen ahead. Up the slope leads to a climb down back into the main stream and a passage continues in the roof beyond. A rope is required to protect this and the lead is unpushed. All of this inlet series is very muddy! (Batch 18-02, length of survey 73m).

   The main passage continues as a mixture of stooping, crawling and walking in mud with cross joints in the roof, past two choked inlets on the north side to the Big Rift which has been climbed at both ends and closes in. Forty metres of muddy passage leads to a traverse. Just before the traverse, a climb up on the right enters a small passage which drops into a small chamber, one end of which rises up to give a verbal connection with the previous small chamber.
   The traverse over a rift is about 20m long and ends in a chamber. a squeeze up to the left enters a tall chamber which slopes down to a 5m blind pit and slopes up to the south. This traverse now has 18m of rope, installed August 2015.
    To the right after the traverse, a small inlet a short distance on the right is followed by a small hole down to a passage which rejoins the main drag some 45m on. The main route enters a boulder choke – Bottle Junction – where the way on is under the right wall through a slot (usually marked by a plastic bottle pointing the way). By going up the boulder slope to the north a big chamber is entered. This chamber has been looked at in some detail and eventually connects to the bottom of Paul's Chamber in the Knotted Rope Series.

    Following the main route, through the hole at the lower level, twenty metres beyond the boulders is a small chamber with a straw stal which is about the only formation in that part of the cave. The main route continues hands & knees and stooping until a large flowstone inlet is met on the left at a large gour pool, Gour Junction. Here, it is possible to climb down into a passage in the floor, which drops around 15m to a sump.
   Climbing up the flowstone at Gour Junction gains a large chamber with an inlet, Cascade Inlet, entering at the top of a waterfall. Opposite the inlet is a muddy slope that is the entrance to The Knotted Rope Series; whereas right connects back to the main route to The Howling.

Knotted Rope Series
   Climbing up the muddy slope in the chamber above Gour Junction leads to a slope down to a large, but short, walking passage. A 20m pitch up here (rigged with a fresh rope in Summer 2022) is the start of the Knotted Rope Series. There is also an alternative route up into Knotted Rope, gained via an exposed free climb up to a ledge (in the alcove at the back of the passage behind the rope). This is followed by a small connecting tube up to near the top of the pitch. (Additional notes on access to the KRS).
   At the top of the rope there are two ways on. One way trends SE towards Known Passage; the other requires a short traverse over the pitch head and trends N. For ease of reference, these two passages will be referred to as South Passage and North Passage, respectively, in what follows. 

   Up in the ceiling, at the start of the South Passage, is a hanging straw with a distinctive bulge, which looks just like a knotted handline. It is this formation that gives the series its name. A hole in the right wall just beyond gains a chimney which connects to the slippery calcite chamber described below. Ignoring the hole, the main passage continues as a sandy crawl until a bowl-shaped chamber is gained. There are two ways on here: a climb up to the left or a handline up to the right. The left hand passage soon reaches a T-junction in a large passage. Both ways close down, but the left branch ends at a sandy dig not far from Known Passage.

   Back at the bowl-shaped chamber, the handline climb leads to a chamber with a slippery uphill calcite slope to the left. Below the slope is the chimney connection back to the Knotted Rope, mentioned earlier. Also below the slope is a greasy pitch that is the top of an aven, the bottom of which can be entered via a wriggly tube, What Passage, from the other side of the traverse over the original pitch head (see the North Passage description below). The top of the calcite slope reaches a window looking out over a deep 30m pitch, which drops to a boot-sized outlet with no draught. A passage can be seen 8m above the point of entry into the shaft and another was seen across the shaft about 6m down. A traverse around the right hand wall (originally bolted from the other side) eventually connects to the traverse around the top of Paul's Chamber (see below).

   Back at the original up pitch, the traverse enters North Passage, and almost immediately reaches another junction. Left here follows a short passage, passing a crawl under the left wall. The crawl is the start of What Passage, which is a short but entertaining wriggle to the bottom of a slimy aven. The top of this aven is the slippery calcite chamber accessed via South Passage. Continuing past the crawl into What Passage, a climb up to the right is met. This leads to a bedding plane, which ends at a window overlooking an impressive pitch into a very large space, Paul's Chamber. A traverse around to the left, at the top of the pitch, leads to a high-level passage passing over several deep pits. These originally required a maypole to cross. Eventually, this passage connects around to the top of the slippery calcite chamber in South Passage.

   At the bottom of Paul's Chamber it is possible to make a connection back to the main Fresnedo II passage at Bottle Junction, dropping in above the boulder choke there.

   Back at the start of North Passage, right at the first junction is a crawl through mined pretties, which follows a sandy tube, crossing a deep pit in the floor (possible passage at the bottom), until a 5m pitch is reached. Straight ahead at the base of the pitch is Bag o' Shite Passage, ascending to a rift and muddy chamber with a bit of stal. The other way on at the base of the pitch is a passage at floor level under the left hand wall. This reaches a breakdown chamber with a slope down to the left. Straight ahead is dominated by a huge stalagmite in the centre of dark arch, beyond which is Soft Option Chamber (also referred to as That Chamber in some logbook entries). This can be entered via a traverse around the right hand wall. Soft Option Chamber is about 40m long by 10m wide. There are various holes in Soft Option Chamber which all choke. One climb down and squeeze through boulders leads to 25m of muddy passage to a choke. The chokes at the upper and lower ends of the chamber appear to go nowhere, although it was possible to worm one's way deep into the upper boulder choke to where a larger space could be seen on the other side of unstable blocks (lacking a distinctive draught). A trip in summer 2022 went to investigate an overhanging 4m calcite wall up to a possible large passage from Soft Option Chamber. This was originally described as needing "ice hacks and crampons" to access. However, improvements in light technology quickly revealed this to be a blind alcove.

Cascade Inlet
   Cascade Inlet was the preferred main route into the far reaches until The Howling was dug open in 2016. It is mainly walking with traverses on crappy limestone. After 120m, just as the passage starts to get smaller, there is an obvious passage up on the left with the draught coming through. The Cascade Streamway continues straight on for some 60m to a dig with water entering.
    The draughting 5m crawl enters a cross rift and a 6m climb up. A further climb up of 6m enters Known Passage. To the west, this closes down in a draughtless choke; to the east, walking passage has several avens - all of which except the first have been climbed to a phreatic series above which totally chokes. Known Passage continues to the Big Chamber. Just before it reaches this point a small passage on the right has been followed to an 11m pitch into a streamway which got too tight. An alternative route to here from Known Passage slopes down to the bottom of the 11m pitch. The water is assumed to be that which enters through the dig at the end of Cascade Streamway.

    A rope climb down is required to enter Big Chamber and a number of possibilities remain unexplored (March 2023). A pit in the floor is blind but a nearly vertical wall of mud on the western side appears to have passage at the top. On the northeastern side of the chamber is a steep slope up to an alcove, bolted to in 1993.
    The route onwards lies to the northwest of the chamber and is a climb up mud and boulders into a walking sized passage. This crosses over a blind pit and reaches a junction. The larger route to the left is Tile Passage chokes except for a 15m deep pitch which drops to a too tight streamway with no draught. A hole opened up amongst boulders at the base of an aven needs to stabilise from '93. Snail shells, bones and two small pieces of well-rounded roof tile were found under the aven. An attempt has been made to climb up to the passage seen 6m up the aven. The flake which was lassoed is now at the base of the climb and another attempt needs to be made.

    The main draughting way on is up a mud slope to the right. A bouldery area and a complex series of passages can be passed by following the draught. Two pitches of 5m and 8m must be descended – Stal Pitch and Pendulum Pitch respectively. Pendulum Pitch is so-called because it requires a pendulum off into an obvious passage, 5m in diameter. The old phreatic passage gets bigger with side passages which all close down apart from the first one which has a draught and possibilities, although it may connect back to the pitch. A boulder collapse can be crawled under with a chamber above and the continuing passage enlarges and then suddenly closes in.

    A slot on the left hand side is the Mistral squeeze (now widened) which carries a powerful draught. The squeeze leads up to Venus's Playroom, a chamber with stal floor, long straws, columns and a draughting pitch which connects with the passage from The Howling to Ecstasy.
    There are two ways on from Venus's Playroom: one is a crawl which avoids damaging formations; the other involves walking through formations. Both unite in a large passage. Uphill to the east enters Ecstasy Chamber, where it rejoins the main route to the far reaches, via The Howling.

The Howling
   The main route to the far reaches from Gour Junction is to continue along the large, obvious passage. This very quickly reaches a much larger chamber. Sharp left here connects back to the Cascade Inlet and the start of Knotted Rope Series. Slightly to the left is a passage that requires a 5m ladder to drop down to where it rises to an aven and a squeeze down to a small stream passage. This is followed by a climb up to a higher level passage on the right.

   The main route continues eastwards along mudbanks around a pit in the floor to a walking passage. This leads to a small boulder collapse which breaks out into a large chamber. To the right is a decent sized passage which may be pushable over boulders but there is no draught. Across the chamber, the passage descends with slippery mud banks and ends at a muddy calcite run-in from the roof and a small slot down to the left – The Howling. This route carries a strong draught and is a low crawl with limited airspace and unpleasantly sticky mud. After 10m the passage enlarges and passes two boulder chokes before it eventually reaches Ecstasy Chamber (see above). Passing the first boulder choke requires a climb up an in situ rope. At Easter 2016, a search for leads between The Howling and Ecstasy Chamber returned nothing.

   The Howling is now the preferred way to the end of the cave, after a reappraisal and excavation in July/August 2015, since it requires no additional tackle. It may need digging out at the start of a caving season and some engineering work may dry it out completely. This route was used during the 2016 and 2017 explorations to the end of the cave. See this proposed solution to keep the crawl dry and open. Photos were taken of The Howling in August 2016 and a video in July 2017.

   From Ecstasy Chamber, a steeply descending mud and boulder slope with some stal leads to the main passage while to the right a couple of undescended rifts appear to be 20m deep. An obvious traverse over these leads to an unentered passage.  A walking passage continues with places where it is possible to climb down to a modern streamway and up to higher level passage with formations. (There's a bit of passage off here - stns 500 - 509 - which Toby needs to draw up and describe). The obvious route passes through Cooling Fin Grotto and ends in Bat Skeleton Chamber, a collapse in the Orbitolina bed, which has a draughting exit which has been looked at. (Side passage description needed - stns 510-522 & 783 - 800 need drawing up).

    Turning right at the choke leads downhill to a walking passage. A western route links back to the main drag some 60m before Bat Skeleton Choke (Toby? and the survey drawn on) but to the east the passage continues walking sized for 200m with high and low level oxbows and a number of unexplored passages until Block Chamber is reached. (Stns 765 - 782 need writing and drawing up).

    Scrambling up over boulders in Block Chamber leads to Pseudo Almond Chamber with a crawl to the right in a large passage nearly choked with mud and a slight draught. This can be followed to a pit in the floor of a chamber which has been approached from the far end and from below.

   Just before Block Chamber is reached, a route sets off to the south which joins back to the main route to the end in a couple of places. This was surveyed as batch 17-01 at Easter 2017.

    Just east of Block Chamber, a slope up on the left enters the generally low Horse's Hoof Passage, surveyed for 85m as batch 17-02 at Easter 2017. A passage on the right at the start is the route to Coyote Inlet.

   About 100m beyond Block Chamber, an obvious passage (Job's Defiance?) on the left goes for about 100m to dig called Situation Normal. This enters a lower stream level passage with high level which hasn't been followed. There is also a climb on boulders at their angle of rest into a very big rift ending in small phreatic tubes. This area was investigated and further surveyed (into the stream, batch 0841-16-03) in August 2016 and the following description produced by James Carlisle.

   After about 50m of respectable passage, a tight dig has a squeeze into a larger chamber. The draught here is very strong. A cairn is station 47 of the original exploration. Below was a passage in nodular, black limestone. Upstream becomes seemingly impassable after a few metres, apart from a necky squeeze under a pile of choss to a second squeeze and possible space beyond. Downstream was get-on-able but tight and wet. (This is going back to the main drag anyway and may be the source of the water heard there - but it doesn't seem worth pursuing.

   Climbing up 3m from station 47 leads to a steep scree slope and through an excavated hole into a very large trunk passage. This was blocked at the southwest end but goes for 50m or so to the northeast (towards Riolastras). Eventually, it reaches a boulder pile requiring a handline and a lot of bottle to climb, or a dodgy way on through boulders. Idiot required! The whole area is extremely loose and dangerous and one landslide could easily block the way out.

    The passages up to the northeast need describing, after the passage detail has been added. That is, the route from Block Chamber up to and including Coyote Inlet.

    Coyote Inlet starts at a 2.4m climb, passed with a scaling pole at Easter 2017. Passage beyond was surveyed as batch 17-03. High level passage is entered (surveyed in the summer as batch 17-04) and a 4m waterfall, Pépé le Puits was bolted up in the summer, 2017. The passage at the top was pushed for 314m and surveyed as batch 0841-17-05. (Video).

   Pépé le Puits, originally a chossy and muddy bolt route, has a rope hanging down out of the water. The top of the 5m pitch is loose and enters a 3m wide streamway. This can be followed for about 80m until it degenerates then becomes too tight after 20m. At the "end" on this lower level, an inlet is possibly too tight and there is an unpushed tube. A 3m climb up at the northern extremity reaches the middle level. To the north is a draughting boulder choke of black rocks and to the east a possible climb down to the stream. The route south has possible climbs down to the stream below and occasional false floors. However, a draughting climb up enters the impressive and well-decorated chamber, "That's All Folks!?", where a number of routes, some draughting, require extra work. The highest point reached is some 100m above the entrance. The details of possible work in this area is outlined in the logbook.

  The area was inspected in August 2018 (James Carlisle):
  1: The draughting dig S above ACME Chamber was dug into a tight continuation. Further, more extreme digging is required. The draught is strong but this is no longer a good prospect.
  2: Drop down into the upstream continuation of the right hand streamway below That's All Folks! was too tight to make progress.
The following leads remain:
  1: The traverse over Pépé le Puits.
  2: The dig to the east in That's All Folks!. A chamber can clearly be seen ahead, but there is not much draught.

    The main cave continues for some 600m in similar style - small, modern passage down to the right (south) of the main route and to the north occasional higher level chambers which hint at a main high level.
    At a wide and 5m high section with mud banks, a deep pool to the north sumps (station 558). The stream disappears down a small passage about 50m back from the junction. This was enlarged and explored and surveyed (batch 13-01) in August 2013 where it breaks into larger passage up a 3m climb, finishing at a mud choke. About 20m beyond the climb up, water can be heard flowing strongly about 10m down. This is a significant passage as the stream is at a lower altitude than any other water in the cave with possible resurgences in Fresnedo or Secadura. The extension was revisited in August 2015 when one person kept in the stream and a pair of cavers followed the higher level route.

Description of Galeria de Caliza Negra, batch 0841-15-01 (James Carlisle)
   A hole between boulders just before station 1.41 (marked) leads down to a crawl back under the main passage for a few metres. A thrutchy climb of 5m leads down to a narrow streamway. Upstream leads along the floor of the passage with further holes connecting back to the main passage above (unsurveyed). Downstream leads to narrower and sharp stream passage in a tight rift. A short drop of 2m leads to slightly larger going until a cascade is reached and the passage becomes too narrow. An attempt was made to pass through this black limestone passage, however it continued to be too narrow and did not show signs of improving in size.

   Back on the main route, the passage widens with mud banks, encounters a small stream with sumps and meets a large aven where the draught appears to be lost. This has been bolted to where it can be seen that there is no way on. The aven appears to be a collapse feature. (In 2013, exploration towards Munster's Waltz was halted at a "scary climb" - a pit just after the Sandy Crawl. This had a handline installed at Easter 2016.)
   After The Sandy Crawl, a handline protects a climb down into a large chamber. In the base, down through boulders, is the route to Not Too Shabby.

   Not Too Shabby (James Carlisle) Downstream from the base of the handline, the main Munster's Waltz water can be followed for about 150m through several chest deep sections of wading until, eventually, dry land is regained in a tall passage in which the water sinks in a small, uninspiring sump. Presumably the water rises at the nearby upstream sump. There are no obvious leads in this area.
    Some 200m from the known end, the cave turns from a downhill ESE trend to an uphill NE trend. This corner region has been investigated at roof level and nothing found.
    Upstream, the passage becomes smaller with a cascade and then splits, the northern branch going to Henry Chamber where a 6m pitch drops to 40m of passage to an aven. Bolting has started in the avens to the east of Henry Chamber.
    The eastern streamway branch leads through Munster's Waltz, past Shabby Inlet, to the terminal boulder choke, some 1.9km in a straight line east southeast of the entrance. This area was re-investigated at Easter 2016. Nothing new was found but the potential bolt climb was thought to be "interesting".

Shabby Inlet (James Carlisle) Towards the end of Munster's Waltz, about 80m back from the terminal choke, Shabby Inlet enters under the southern wall. Water is followed upstream through a small, rocky tube until a short cascade is reached.  Beyond this, a muddy inlet passage passes a 10m aven (with no obvious way on at the top) before continuing as walking, stooping and crawling passage to a sump - large enough to dive. The inlet has been surveyed as batch 16-01 for 116m.

   About 15m back from the terminal boulder choke at the end of Munster's Waltz is a climb up out of the streamway to the bottom of a 15m pitch. This was noted during the Easter 2016 explorations and was bolted in summer 2018. A traverse at the top of the pitch gains a roomy passage. South quickly closes down, but north leads to an easy climb down the side of a large boulder, followed by a further pitch.

    The pitch is 12m deep with a side passage on the left about halfway down, accessed via an easy swing over to a rebelay. At the bottom of the pitch is a small streamway, Howard's End. Downstream enters boulders (presumably joining Munster's Waltz), upstream continues for a few metres in a tight, muddy rift, above deepening water. At floor level is an undercut into a wide duck that is unexplored, but presumed to be the downstream end of All Downhill From Here in The Honeymoon Series. At roof level, the tight rift continues up an unexplored greasy climb. This may be blocked by boulders, but could benefit from a second pair of eyes.

    The main way on is the side passage halfway down the pitch. This leads into a series of sandy passages, Howard's Way, plentifully decorated with 'popcorn' formations. Howard's Way continues for around 100m, passing a couple of promising bolt climbs and a pit in the floor down to a draughting dig in sand. Eventually, the rock abruptly changes character at an aven chamber, Oh Wow!!. Just beyond the chamber is a 15m pitch and the start of The Honeymoon Series. (Survey to here, batch 18-01, length 189m). Traversing to the left at the pitch head (rope protection required) gains a high rift passage leading to A Bit On The Side, a 24m high aven. A 2m climb at the back of the aven leads to a traverse over loose boulders around the top of Oh Wow!! chamber some 7m below. This pops out onto a balcony looking back into A Bit On The Side about 6m up from the floor. At the top of A Bit On The Side there appears to be a very large passage and the rock here looks excellent for bolting. (Batch 18-04, length 40m). After the disappointing extensions at Easter 2019, this bolting project was deemed the best prospect in this area and was tackled in August 2019. The bolt route met a large chamber and a traverse around the top of the aven is required to reach possible passage.

    The bottom of the 15m pitch is a large chamber, Trouble & Strife, from which there are two ways on. The first is to follow the obvious downstream passage, All Downhill From Here. This continues in a southerly direction through waist and then chest deep water until a final sump is reached in deep silt. (Batch 18-03, surveyed length 106m). This passage heads almost directly back under Howard's Way, some 15m above, and is presumed to be the upstream continuation of Howard's End. At the back of the sump pool, a mud bank leads to a boulder choke in a small chamber. There is a possible passage leading out of this chamber, but it would require some serious digging.

    The other way on from Trouble & Strife is up a 3m pitch on its north side. This leads up a cobble slope in high passage and appears to end at a boulder choke. However, the way on is to climb onto a large, poised boulder from behind and then step off into a crawl at head-height over a drop. A second, more difficult, climb down is then met. (The bypass via a wriggle between boulders on the left collapsed Easter 2019). A section of rift passage is then followed until a deep hole, Tying the Knot, is encountered (undescended, looks blind), with an in-situ traverse belayed to naturals. Water can be heard here and a large streamway, Honeymoon Period, is soon met. This is presumed to be the upstream continuation of Munster's Waltz.

    Downstream is Holey Matrimony, a sloping, easy climb of about 4m into Worst case Scenario. The stream down here degenerates into a crawl in water until a 7m pitch is reached. This splits into two halfway down with both ways becoming narrow. They could be forced through but it seems immature. There is also a duck here but it is tight beyond. Not a great prospect!

    Back in the main route, upstream, the passage is as tall as 15m high and is liberally decorated with calcite and straws, with glorious white calcite lining the streambed. This fine passage continues for some distance, ascending a short climb and passing over several loose boulder piles. The first boulder pile appears to have a small side passage on the right, likely choked; the second has an aven with a small passage seen above; the third boulder pile has a large, draughting side passage, Extramarital Inlet, coming in from the right behind boulders. This "crapped out" immediately when explored in April 2019. The top of a climb up calcite couldn't be reached but some water comes in here. This could be bolted if enough rock could be found. Not a great prospect!

    Continuing upstream past fine formations, the passage soon degenerates in size until a boulder choke, Hitting the Rocks, is met. A crawl at stream level leads into a very small continuing passage that becomes blocked with large boulders at Irreconcilable Breakdown. There was no noticeable draught here when visited in summer 2018. (Batch 18-05, length 207m).