This is the interior of Britain's biggest known cave chamber named Gaping Gill.
The main chamber is 476 feet long, 82 feet wide and 115 feet from floor to vaulted ceiling.
Cave enthusiasts were winched one by one down the gigantic pothole in Ingleborough, North Yorkshire - a descent that takes a full minute to reach the floor.
The cavern was formed by the action of a stream, Fell Beck, which flows from the flank of 2,373ft Ingleborough, the second highest mountain in the Yorkshire Dales, on to limestone rocks and roars down a dizzying 360ft drop in a natural fault line which makes it Britain's highest unbroken waterfall - twice the height of Niagara.
14 comments:
What gives with those astronauts at the bottom? They always have to take their golf clubs with 'em everywhere.
They'd need some solid drainage works at the bottom of this. The cave's open for tourists for a week, so I expect some photos from the intrepid spelunking archaeologist expert of Fleetwood.
(no chickening out and sending Michelle down the rope)
I love caves, but I've never been in any. If I were to go visit some they'd have to be big ones, since I'm just a tad claustrophobic.
River, I'm claustrophobic, afraid of heights, the dark, water and creeping leggy things in caves. The photo will do nicely.
Wow is a good word to describe. I can feel our Thompson rising just looking at it.
Witchy...where did you say it was? Yorkshire?! I'm a Lancastrian, for crying out loud! They haven't forgiven us for the War of the Roses yet. I wouldn't cross the Lancashire/Yorkshire border if I was paid.
WOW is right!
That is fantastic!
So, when is it open, who's going, who's going to send the pics back and do we need to pack extra food for when the rope breaks and everyone is left at the bottom of the shaft in the dark with cavemen poking at them?
No?
I've been down the Princess Margaret Rose Caves near Glenelg but I don't think I could do it again - cramped in places and the tour guide turns the light out in total darkness - YIKES!
Cool.
Hi. This morning I played Mozart's Concerto Number 23, wondering if you might prefer Schubert. I could have checked, but it was 4am and a little early to ring you up. And then of course, not wanting to leave her out, I played Crocodile Rock for your mother, hoping the accompanying good wishes through telepathy would help keep her marbles stacked.
And oh I have been a busy bee!
This evening I played You Made Me Love You, for Miss Pavlov.
And call me foolish, call me what you like, I cannot but feel it is reciprocated.
-Robert. X
Robbert, neither Mozart nor Shubert will do it for me but Rachmaninof's Piano Concerto makes me swoon. As for my mother's marbles, I blame you for the fact they were scattered to the four winds yesterday. That's another favourite, The Beatles 'Yesterday'.
Oz, somewhere to send the kids next holidays.
Jayne, I went down the caves in South Australia (I can't for the life of me remember the name, right on the tip of my tongue) famous for the one chamber full of complete skeletons of prehistoric animals. It was before the grand entrance they have now, then it was a very small set of steps straight down.
Fleetwood, any good caves on your side or is it just the bogs you're famous for? What's the weather like? The wedding I was supposed to attend is this weekend and next week I'd have been in Fleetwood. I'll just have to content myself with annoying you from afar.
Andrew, how come you didn't do cool stuff like this?
I was distracted by other more pressing matters.
Oh yes, Andrew, I remember now, 'boi in tight jeans' photos from the length and breadth of Britain.
Witchy,
I hate to tell you this, but strictly speaking, White Scar Caves are in Lancashire...at Carnforth to be exact, although we have got others as well.
There's a "boi" on TV tonight, 6:30.
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