Taking my safety helmet off and pushing it in front of me I squashed into the tiny space, 10 Inches high and 20 feet long.  A space made thousands of years ago by water rushing between solid limestone rock and now aptly called ‘The Cheese Press’ by cavers. 

‘Use your left foot to push against that rock behind you’ Mark our guide said.  I listened to his voice as he guided me through.  I could do this.  I could see the lights from the lads at the other end who had just gone through and our guides had been through the previous week when they had come to do a reccy.  Even so, it was very tight.  I could not get a deep enough breath to fill my lungs and I had to take quick shallow breaths.  I was moving very slowly, the battery pack for my helmet light kept catching; I was worried in case it got stuck. 

Mark calmly kept talking.  ‘There will come a point where you feel you are stuck, just let all your breath out and keep pushing forwards’.  My heart was thumping and I was tiring from the effort and shallow breathing.  I shouted back ‘I’ll just have a little rest to get my breath back’.  I had to keep going forwards as I certainly couldn’t go back!  After a short rest I set off again, slowly wriggling my hips and shuffling forwards with my feet and hands.  Thousands of tonnes of solid rock above and below me. 

I concentrated on Marks calm confident voice encouraging and instructing.  I kept control and continued.  Suddenly the rock space became wider and I had made it!  What an achievement!  And for the rest of the day I basked in the warm glow from the praise of my husband and friends and the new found respect from the young macho males in the group. 

What an excellent idea it was to come on this club adventure and to find that at the age of forty-two years I had found a skill and aptitude for caving.  This had been the second club caving adventure I had been on, it was very professionally organised and run by three experienced cavers from our diving club.  Thirty divers spending a weekend in a converted old school made into bunkhouse, sleeping in bunk beds with my husband and friends. Not to forget eating big fried breakfasts at Ingleton and having great social evenings in the local pubs, trying out the local beers and food, all brilliant.  Now, what are we going to do next?