BB JOURNAL OF THE BRISTOL EXPLORATION CLUB Vol. 9 No.91
April 1955
CAVING in DERBYSHIRE Part 1. by STAN GEE As there appears to be a growing like of caving in Derbyshire, amongst B.E.C. members, I thought I would write, for the benefit of future visitors, a series of brief articles on Derbyshire and its caves. So salvaging my pen from the dustbin, I commence my scrawl. First, let me try to describe Derbyshire without sounding too much like a tourist’s guide book. Derbyshire is a land of sudden contrasts, from the bleak, grit-stone mountains, to the equally bleak limestone moors. It offers much scope for practically all outdoor activities, for instance: - in the summer there is mountaineering and rock-climbing, caving, canoeing etc., whilst the winter provides some fine skating and skiing. Its mountains are high enough to provide the necessary thrill of mountaineering, but they are not high enough to be extremely strenuous. The only exception to this is Kinder Scout, (2,080ft.) which is high and under winter conditions very dangerous to inexperienced climbers. At the other extreme Derbyshire possesses caves that are extensive and deep, and which are often arduous. The cave areas can be divided into a few main groups, though there are smaller areas surrounding them. The main areas are: - Manifold and Dovedale area; Myam and Stony Middleton area; Matlock area, and, lastly, the main caving areas of Castleton and Bradwell Moor. The types of caves differ greatly, from extensive horizontal caverns to deep vertical caves. Derbyshire caves are rather singular in that though many of them possess deep drops, there are only three open potholes of any note. These are Elden Hole, Nettle Pot and Mountbatten Hole. I will deal with these in future articles. Our ‘pot’ occurs underground, and the majority of our caves are entered by nine shafts and passages. For instance, Oxlow Cavern has a mineshaft entrance of 55 feet, and a second shaft of 40 feet before the first natural cavern of 40ft.is reached. Thus, many of our caves are if not approached with caution somewhat dangerous due to the age and sometimes loose condition of the mine workings. Generally speaking however, an explorer entering the caves that I will mention need have no fear, as most of them are quite safe. Again in contrast, Derbyshire has several fine horizontal caves, of both Debaucher and Engulfment types. Unfortunately, though our caves possess some large and impressive caverns, they are singularly lacking in formation, and only a pitiful few can compare with the wonderful formations of both Yorkshire and the Mendips.