- Leck Fell
Infobox SSSI
name=Leck Beck Head Catchment Area
aos=Cumbria, Lancashire
interest=Geological
gridref=gbmappingsmall|SD669797
area=703.1hectare
notifydate=1959 [cite web
url=http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1001420.pdf
publisher=English Nature
title=Site Name: Leck Beck Head Catchment Area]http://www.natureonthemap.org.uk/map.aspx?
]
Leck Fell is an area of typically heavily grazed open moorland of rough grass and remnant patches of heather with little or no tree cover, characterised by the virtual absence of surface drainage and an extensive subterranean drainage network resulting in cave systems and numeroussink holes .cite web
url=http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/environment/landscape/landscapecharacass/charcarea21.asp
title=A Landscape Strategy for Lancashire - Landscape Character Assessment
accessdate=2008-02-03] It surrounds the high point ofGragareth (625 metres) betweenLeck Beck andKingsdale .The pasturing of animals, along with changes in the climate in the later
Bronze Age , contributed to deforestation of the open fell sides and the development of hill peat deposits. The present landscape is dominated by long straight enclosure walls of later 18th or 19th century date.A number of important cave systems have been known and explored since the 1930s on
Leck Fell , many of which have been linked below the water table bycave diving . These include:
*Lost John's Cave
*Rumbling Hole
*Notts Pot
*Short Drop Gavel
*Ireby Fell Cavern A formal permitting system operates for access to the caves, with no caving allowed in April, May, and June. [cite web
url=http://www.cncc.org.uk/leck_fell.html
title=Leck Fell FAQ
publisher=Council of Northern Caving Clubs]For cavers, the change into and out of caving gear at the side of the road on Leck Fell is often the most extreme part of any trip, with horizontal sleet or hail storms being typical conditions. [cite web
url=http://www.pendlecc.org.uk/Archive/2003.html#21
title=The saga of Notts Pot, flood styley
date=2 November 2003
publisher=Pendle Caving Club]References
External links
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75wtMtKwtq0 YouTube video of the crawl in Short Drop Cave]
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