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For many years during the 1960's, Jim Hanwell, with the help of many other sadomasochists including myself, enlarged a tight little swallet using prodigious quantities of explosives that became known as Priddy Green Sink. One unfortunate feature of this cave was that the slurry from Farmer Maines cows also found it's way underground by the same route. This slurry also helped in tracing the connection with a high chamber or aven when Swildons four was discovered as a strong smell under this aven resulted in it being called Cowsh Aven.
Blasting was carried out midweek and weekends until we had a cave over a hundred feet long which was largely man made. Eventually the connection was made and a through trip is now possible for small people by descending Priddy Green Sink and returning to the surface via Blue Pencil Passage and Swildons One or even via the Troubles and Swildons Two for a more sporting trip.
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As I was walking one summers day, on Mendips pleasant face,
I came across a village green, a sylvan sort of place,
I met a caver, rough and crude, singing a strange refrain,
O'h you'll rue the day that you came this way to dig on Priddy Green.
The dig was started in '59 by a bloke called Hanwell James,
He had a reputation O'h for playing nasty games,
We dug it four times over boys, our language was obscene,
O'h you'll rue the day that you came this way to dig on Priddy Green.
At last a rift was entered fed into by a drain,
Connected by a sewer pipe to some cows of Farmer Maine,
The smell it was fantastic O'h, some say it was obscene
O'h you'll rue the day that you came this way to dig on Priddy Green.
The entrance t'was a fearsome place, 'tis a circular concrete pot,
It's easy if you're six feet tall for the likes of me it's not,
There's a nail hold half way up me boys but only it can't be seen,
O'h you'll rue the day that you came this way to dig on Priddy Green.
Then someone started a rumour off as you've doubtless heard before,
They said this dig on Priddy Green would connect with Swildons Four,
It's only 500 feet away and there's limestone in between,
O'h you'll rue the day that you came this way to dig on Priddy Green.
We've used a ton of gelegnite and we've lost a man or two,
I 'spect we'll loose another one before this dig is through,
But we've added a hundred feet or more to the subterrainean scene,
O'h you'll rue the day that you came this way to dig on Priddy Green.
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