History of exploration in Devis Hole Mine Cave
Back in 1971, the Moldywarps Speleo Group (MSG) commenced efforts to gain access to Devis Hole Mine, which had collapsed only a short distance into the entrance several years earlier. The team were spurred on by the miner's records of natural caverns in several locations which were never properly explored or mapped.
The MSG didn't quite hit the mark with their sunk shaft, but the Earby Mine Research Group (EMRC) later took on the project, intersecting the mine adit but finding it silted almost to the roof. Further extensive digging was needed to clear this and pass a major roof collapse, installing oil drums to stabilise and gain access to the passages beyond.
The EMRC's interest was the mine, so the MSG returned to focus on the cave. Leading off from the entrance adit, they located the Central Maze Cave Series, a compact and complex network of hypogenic passages.
The further reaches of the system were not reached until the early 2000s. A several-year dig along Cranehow Bottom Level was pushed by Ernie Shield, Tony Harrison and others. Later in this dig, Pete Roe tackled a collapse in a parallel adit (Robinson's Level), achieving success in a matter of weeks, and located a route that bypassed the Cranehow dig. No doubt a highly bittersweet moment for everyone involved.
This breakthrough allowed the MSG to explore various workings and four further areas of hypogenic cave, including some of good proportions. One of these (South Cave Series) connected Devis Hole into Wyvill's Level, a separate mine. Beyond there, the South Cave Series offered the most extensive series of natural passages yet found.
Over the years, the entrance became progressively more unstable, and finally Storm Ciara in February 2020 caused massive flooding of Cogden Gill and collapsed the entrance and filled sections of the mine with debris. In 2021 an MSG team with the help of a mechanical digger and a 5m length of concrete pipe were able to create a new entrance further along the adit and regain access. Open access is now available for the caving community to enjoy with appropriate caution of the hazards posed by abandoned mine workings, and respect for the desire to conserve mining heritage including any original items or miners' marks you may encounter while underground.
Our new route description
Devis Hole probably doesn't receive the number of visitors it deserves, for many reasons.
- Located in Swaledale, a long way from the Three Peaks.
- The trip involves complex navigation requiring multiple surveys.
- Hard to work out which bits are worth visiting from online trip reports.
- Limited information about the tackle and anchor status for Pearson's Sump.
- A lack of appreciation for hypogenic cave (Devis has some of the finest).
We are hoping to rectify this situation through publication of our route description to the East Cave Series.
This route takes in excellent mine passages, an abseil descent and two sections of hypogenic cave, both of very different character and with some impressive passages and fun navigation. It is a great route to the furthest reaches of Devis, and the document is furnished with the required surveys for the more complex maze sections, so should serve as a one-stop shop for anyone happy to accept our recommended route.
For those looking to explore other areas, larger-scale surveys are on the NYMCC website.
We'd like to thank Tony Harrison (MSG) for use of the surveys, and also for reviewing the description.
Visitors are reminded of the need for additional care in mines, watching out for unstable roofs and bad air (generally not an issue in Devis unless you decide to explore off-piste). Please respect any mining artefacts by leaving them alone, and watch out for historic miner graffiti (dating from around 1860) in some of the areas of hypogenic cave, which stands as a historic record of the tenacity of early explorers who pushed along these natural passages either in search of new mineral veins - or perhaps purely for recreation - we may never know.
More information and a link to the description HERE.