North Coast Caving Trip Report by Mark Sleator
July 2024
Members present: Liam, Ray, Dorothy, Lukas, Mags, James, Ana, Mark
We all met up at the campsite, had a bit of banter and got ourselves ready for the day ahead. The plan was to swim, walk and climb down the coast, calling in to a few sea caves along the way. We’d previously visited one of these caves in 2022 and after seeing it choked up with 45 years’ worth of rubbish carried out a clean up operation, removing tons and tons of plastic, sea debris and all manner of waste. This was our chance to go back and see the current state of the sea cave 2 years after our big operation, and maybe have a bit of fun along the way.
We started at Portcoon Jetty, close to the Giants Causeway, we split into 2 teams and slowly made our way into the water. The tide was high, the swells were big but after a brisk and challenging swim everyone seemed to find their sea legs. We got out of the water for a short time and after going around a headland we seen a rough channel of churning water to cross before we could make it to the first sea cave of the day. We all struggled our way across the stormy water with Liam and Ray at hand to help any stragglers being tossed around in the water.
The entrance to the cave itself is very grand and beautiful but with the rising tide and waves it was going to be a challenge to get into it. A few team members jumped into the rough water and we bobbed along into the cave. One thing you quickly learn is the ocean takes you wherever it wants to, you can kick and swim as much as you want but you haven’t really got a choice in the matter. We entered the cave directly in the middle of the channel to avoid being pushed against the rocks and walls of the cave and after 15 minutes or so we washed up on the pebble beach inside the cave. We crawled through a small restriction and entered into a large back chamber. Unfortunately there was more plastic and waste gathered on the floor of the chamber 2 years after the cleanup, but thankfully it was still a vast improvement on how it was in the past.
After a quick snack and a breather we struggled against the waves to exit out of the sea cave and regrouped on the opposite side of the coast.
Here we split up again, with half of the team having enough of the turbulent sea and the other half heading further down the coast. According to Liam the rest was “easy”. After some more coasteering and rock hopping we got to a steep 5 metre wall that precipitously fell into the ocean below. It was at this point that Liam revealed that maybe “easy” was underselling it a bit. But to his credit he was the first to traverse the slippery wall of rock. Next I followed. But for the rest it was enough for one day. We said our goodbyes and clambered around another headland to reveal the highlight of the trip, the legendary Runkerry Cave.
Runkerry Cave is a cavern of immense proportions, a gaping hole cut into the coastline with a roof 100 feet above the sea below. With the waves and whitewater below its huge arch it is an intimidating sight. Surely it was too rough to enter. But after we sat there for a few minutes examining the tides and wave patterns we took the plunge into the water. The waves around the mouth of the cavern were exceptionally rough and it was a hard slog but after getting deeper in, the waves settled a bit. Up on the cave walls there were a number of Cormorants nesting and glaring down at us with a mixture of anger and confusion. I guess I would feel the same way if 2 strange looking and mouthy blokes barged into my house.
We were nearing the end of the cave hoping to find some dry land to stop, get a breather and take in the immense view but in the blackness of the cave we could hear the thundering of waves against a solid rock wall. At this we knew it was time to make our escape while the going was good. 20 minutes later with a bit of effort and good luck we managed to get back on dry land.
All in all a great day, 8 drowned rats with a few bumps and bruises (standard for a good days caving) and a whole lot of good memories.
Honourable mentions:
Shout out to Lukas and James for facing their fear of deep water, Ana for her first caving trip, Ray for this life buoy throwing skills, Liam for his many rescues, Mags for her photography skills and Dorothy for taking a bang to the head like a champ.
BY MARK
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