Seven of us turned up at the small parking area opposite the Delph in Stoney Middleton, with the intention of having a good look around Nickergrove Mine. The history of the mine, and the more recent history of the work and exploration by John Beck and many others is alluded to in Iain Barker's excellent book "Classic Caves of the Peak District". By the time most of the group had arrived, Pete and I had walked out to Didsbury Shaft at the far end of the Delph, opened the lid and rigged the shaft in anticipation of our exit.
Nickergrove Mine
Ten cavers met on the muddy verges of the A623 opposite the entrance to Cucklet Delph. Arriving early allowed me time to quickly nip to the far end of the Delph and pre-rig the Didsbury Shaft before returning and joining the full party for the ascent to the Adit Entrance. Any considerations of entering via the upper Palette Shaft had been discounted because of the numbers, but, on our way in, a few of us diverted into the hands-and-knees crawl which leads to the dreaded squeeze on the way to the foot of the shaft.