| Pate Hole | |
| Map: | Cumbria |
| Location: | Great Asby, Cumbria, England |
| Coords: | 54.5035°N -2.4981°W |
| Grid Ref Uk: | NY 678 121 |
| Geology: | Carboniferous limestone |
| Entrance Count: | 1 |
| Difficulty: | III |
| Hazards: | flooding |
| Survey: | On Cavemaps |
Pate Hole is a solutional cave located adjacent to Asby Gill south of Great Asby in Cumbria, England. It is 970m (3,180feet) long and has a vertical range of 33m (108feet). The entrance is normally dry, but in flood it becomes an impressive resurgence.[1] Its name derives from the north country word for badger.[2]
It consists of three main passages. From the entrance a stooping height passage heading south-east reaches a large 6m (20feet) deep pool after 330m (1,080feet) from which a stream emerges. This flows down a low passage to the north for some 270m (890feet) where a sump is reached. The third main passage continues south underwater from the pool for 225m (738feet) at a depth of 27m (89feet) where it reaches a junction and becomes too restricted.
The cave is formed in Carboniferous limestone,[3] and is thought to drain the Great Asby Scar area to the south-west.[4] The resurgence is presumed to be St. Thomas's Well in Great Asby.[5]
The main part of the cave has been known for a long time, and it was an object of curiosity in the nineteenth century.[6] A brief foray into it was described in The Gentleman's Magazine in 1791,[7] and a description appeared in The Monthly Magazine in 1802. The first full description complete with passage lengths appeared in 1813.[8] The first account of an exploration by cavers was in 1941 by members of the Yorkshire Ramblers' Club,[9] and in November 1946 it was surveyed by a group from Appleby Grammar School led by Brian Price.[10] The upstream sump was first dived for about 10m (30feet) to a descending rift in 1960 by members of the Cave Diving Group, at which time the main part of the cave was re-surveyed by Warburton et alia. Further exploration took place in 1975-1976 by members of the same group to reach the current limit.
