Gaping Gill by Kevin Dixon

MY first encounter with Britain's most famous pothole was back in 1970 when I found myself staring up at the distant light from its cavernous base.

Unlike most people who experience Gaping Gill by being lowered into it from the surface during 'winch meets', I approached via one of the many underground routes.

I didn't quite know how many approaches there actually were until I read Kevin Dixon's fascinating guide to this wonderful geological landmark near Ingleton.

Forty-five years ago, my route in with a team of potholers from the Yorkshire Subterranean Society was via Disappointment Pot.

Rather a misnomer, I remember thinking at the time, as the cave system and the ultimate delight of reaching Gaping Gill was anything but a disappointment. Just like this book.

Dixon provides us with a wealth of information which will fascinate caving historians, walkers geologists, and nature lovers alike.

He also adds a gruesome tale involving the discovery of male human remains - one headless - found in Gaping Gill several years apart in the 1940s. At the time there was speculation they could have been the bodies of German spies who had stumbled into the pothole after being dropped by parachute. This was never proven and the fascinating mystery of who the men were remains to this day.

ALLAN TUNNINGLEY